KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nakya Mozee reached a breaking point on Christmas Eve. The furnace in her duplex within the Blue Valley Court complex in Kansas City, Missouri, stopped working.
“They told me they had to replace the whole furnace,” Mozee said. “The furnace never got replaced.”
The furnace was one of several issues Mozee’s had with her unit since moving in with her 9-year-old son in September 2021.
She described finding mice and water damage within the unit.
“No matter how much I tell the [property management company], it’s like they don’t care, they don’t care at all,” Mozee said.
A nonprofit focused on community development called Empire Dreams has rallied support among tenants, helping them bring their voices together.
This month Mozee and 53 other tenants filed a multi-plaintiff lawsuit against Millennia Management Company, which manages Blue Valley Court.
The petition claims residents live in hazardous conditions and Millennia does not properly resolve the issues.
“It just broke my heart, absolutely broke my heart,” Jesi Stanley described first walking through the complex. “It makes me angry, which I think is the right response. I think outrage in this type of situation is the absolute right response.”
Stanley’s law firm is representing the tenants. They’re asking for a judge to grant them a jury trail.
They want the jury to decide fair and reasonable compensation for the tenants.
“Beside for the dollar for dollar losses, it’s about punishing Millennia in a lot of ways and it’s also about trying to make these people whole,” Stanley said.
Most residents at Blue Valley Court receive government subsidies to pay their rent.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development oversees the subsidy program.
It conducts regular inspections of the properties with which it works. The department’s most recent report on Blue Valley Court gave the complex a score of 32, where 100 is best.
Millennia did not respond directly to the lawsuit.
A representative said Millennia said, “We disagree with the characterization that the complex is mismanaged."
The company explained its maintenance process, pest control procedures, and explained it also routinely inspects units at the complex.
Millennia said it does not retaliate against tenants who file complaints and it actively works with Kansas City’s Health Homes program.
“It really is not just about housing, this is human rights. This is human dignity,” Stanley said.
Mozee feels compelled to speak up and join the lawsuit so residents after her do not end up in the same situation. She wants to see change.
“It going to continue to keep happening over and over until something gets done about it,” she said. “Somebody had to step up.”
