KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, tenants fighting eviction gained the right to free legal assistance Wednesday.
This change comes after the "Tenants' Right to Counsel" program was approved by KCMO City Council in December.
In addition to guaranteeing the right to a lawyer for people who need one in landlord - tenant disputes, the city will notify tenants of their rights and property owners will be required to provide notification with the lease.
The city will reach out to KC Tenants within 10 days of a court filing against them to remind them of their right to counsel and how to access it.
Now that the program is in effect, workers are holding a rally Wednesday morning to celebrate the launch of the program.
While the right to the lawyer will start on Wednesday, the group said some deadlines have been missed leading up to this rally, so they want to to call on City Manager Brian Platt to make sure his office fully implements this program in the way it was intended.
The rally starts at 10 a.m. at the Kansas City, Missouri, City Hall.
