LAWRENCE, Kan. — Housing is a crisis many communities are trying to figure out. Some are trying to create more housing, make it affordable and prevent homelessness.
In Lawrence, Kansas, the city expanded its protections against housing discrimination this year with an ordinance dubbed 9960.
This could serve as a model for what Kansas City, Missouri, might do.
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"[The] Majority of folks who receive those vouchers are elderly or disabled," said Gabby Boyle, prevention specialist for the Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center. "A lot of community members are one crisis away from housing instability. People who are structurally vulnerable are already there."
Boyle was a part of a group of advocates who pushed for Ordinance 9960 for years. It includes a ban on housing discrimination based on a person's source of income.
In 2021, Boyle said 800 families were on housing choice and section vouchers. Half of them were on an 18-24 month wait list.
According to the county's housing and human services program, since the ordinance went into effect in June, the county has noticed a three percent increase in landlords housing tenants with vouchers allocated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The utilization rate went from 94% to 97%.
"That was surprising to me. Many communities who've passed this ordinance don't see numbers until three to five years later," said Gabi Sprague, housing and human services program manager for Douglas County.
Kansas City, Missouri, is working on a similar ordinance. When the city passed a Tenants Bill of Rights to resolve landlord-tenant disputes in 2019, KC Tenants wanted protections included for viewing a tenant's income, but those amendments failed.
Lawrence advocates know their ordinance is not one-size-fits-all or the only solution.
"It's a systemic failure," Boyle said.
They said education on their part was key for the community.
"Their [landlords] property is an investment. It's a financial investment; one of the only ways people can build wealth, but to a renter, that's a house. That's a home," Boyle said.
Sprague and Boyle offered advice to KCMO as they move forward.
"There's a difference between having an ordinance and having accountability measures in place," Sprague said.
Boyle agreed the county lacks enforcement.
"We have an ordinance on the books, but if we don't have the resources to investigate its words on the page," they said.
They also think it would be beneficial for KCMO to speak with renters who've benefited from the ordinance passing.
A group of landlords and business owners are currently challenging the ordinance in Douglas County District Court.
They claim it "infringes on their constitutional rights and threatens the supply of rental properties."
“We strive every day to provide quality housing to people from all walks of life — including college students, families, senior citizens, and veterans. Our hard work and financial investments in the community make homes available to tens of thousands of Lawrence residents, meeting an important need in the local marketplace. Our goal is to continue to expand the availability of rental housing in line with community needs. To do this, a fair and reasonable business environment is essential. Over-reaching government regulation doesn’t help people. It harms them.”
KSHB 41 sent an open record request to the city of Lawrence for any violations of the ordinance since its inception.
They responded that all complaints remain confidential until it goes to a public hearing or court proceeding. No complaints have made it to a hearing.
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