COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE FOR ORDINANCE NO. 190935
Amending various sections of
Chapter 2, “Administration,” Chapter 34, “Health and Sanitation,” Chapter 38
“Human Relations”, and Chapter 78, “Water,” of the Code of Ordinances for the
purposes of creating a Rental Housing Assistance Operating Unit, modifying
healthy homes enforcement, expanding housing discrimination enforcement, and
authorizing the request for water usage reports; and amending the Code of
Ordinances by enacting a new Chapter 35, “Housing,” which sets out the
responsibilities of the Rental Housing Assistance Operating Unit.
WHEREAS, City
Council recognizes that the lack of access to safe, stable and affordable
housing has significant negative impacts on the health and safety of Kansas City
residents; and
WHEREAS,
forty-six percent of Kansas City residents live in housing that is not owner-
occupied, and the City of Kansas City recognizes the need to protect their
welfare by ensuring that they have knowledge of and access to applicable legal
processes that protect their rights; and
WHEREAS, the
health and safety of those residents must be protected with comprehensive and
enforceable standards for rental housing; and
WHEREAS, the
City Council desires to establish uniform standards for the conditions in
rental housing; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. That
Chapter 2, Code of Ordinances of the City of Kansas City, Missouri,
“Administration,” is hereby amended by repealing Section 2-525, Division of
housing and community development, and enacting in lieu thereof a new section
of like number and subject matter, to read as follows:
Sec. 2-525. Division of
housing and community development.
The division of housing and
community development shall be supervised by the director and will be comprised
of six operating units: planning and special projects; project implementation;
human services; housing rehabilitation and repair; rental housing assistance;
and fund management and compliance monitoring. Generally, the division shall be
responsible for the planning and preparation of the grant application for the
city's participation in the federal community development block grant program,
HOME investment partnership program, emergency solutions grant program and
housing opportunities for persons with AIDS program, in cooperation with the
health department, and the implementation and maintenance of administrative
procedures for the management and monitoring of program operations conducted
with funds received through these grant programs; serving as the principal
contact with the federal government for all matters pertaining to planning and
implementation of these grant programs; educating and assisting residents
regarding the rules and processes related to healthy and safe living conditions
for residential rental housing; and developing and administering programs to
increase new housing.
Section 2. That
Chapter 34, Code of Ordinances of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, “Health
and Sanitation,” is hereby amended by repealing Sections 34-831, 34-848,
34-861, 34-863, 34-865, 34-866, and 34-868, and enacting in lieu thereof new
sections of like numbers and subject matters; and enacting new Sections
34-848.1, 34-848.2, and 34-869, to read as follows:
Sec. 34-831. Definitions.
The following
words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a
different meaning:
Direct family
member means one's child, grandchild, mother, father, sibling,
mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparent, or the step equivalent of each of
those.
Director
means the director of health.
Hazardous
area means areas of structures or buildings posing a degree of hazard
greater than normal to the general occupancy of a building or structure, such
as areas used for the storage or use of combustibles or flammable, toxic,
noxious or corrosive materials, or heat-producing appliances.
Health hazard
violation means a violation when in noncompliance, is more likely than other
violations to contribute to injury, illness, or environmental health hazards.
Non-health
hazard violation means a violation that poses a lesser threat to health and
safety, but negatively affects health, and if left unaddressed, could become a
health hazard violation.
Offer to
rent means to extend an offer to enter into a written or oral agreement with a
prospective tenant under which the prospective tenant shall occupy rental
property as the tenant's residence.
Owner
means any person not a tenant who, acting alone or jointly or severally with
others:
(1) Has legal title to any building or structure with or without
accompanying actual possession thereof;
(2) Has charge, care or control of any building or structure or
part thereof as agent or personal representative of the person having legal
title to the building or structure of part thereof; or
(3) Is an agent or designee of a person listed in subsections 1
or 2 herein.
Permit
means a permit issued by the director for making an offer to rent to a
prospective tenant or owning, operating or managing rental property. The terms
"permit" and "rental permit" are used interchangeably.
Permit holder
means a person who is responsible for the operation of the rental property,
such as the owner or the owner's agent, and who possesses a valid permit to
operate a rental property.
Person
means an association, corporation, individual, firm, partnership, other legal
entity, government, governmental subdivision or agency.
Re-inspection
means an inspection conducted by the director to ensure corrective action is
taken by fee permit holder subsequent to a previous inspection where
noncompliance or violations of this article were found.
Rental
property means a structure which consists of one or more rental units,
where none of the tenants are owners or direct family members of owners.
Duplexes in which one of the rental units is owner-occupied and rental units
within an owner-occupied, single-family dwelling that is in compliance with the
city's zoning codes shall not be considered rental property.
Rental unit
means a rental property or part of a rental property used as a home, residence,
or sleeping unit by a single person or household unit, or any grounds, or other
facilities or area promised for the use of a tenant and includes, but without
limitation, apartment units, boarding houses, rooming houses, mobile home
spaces, and single and two-family dwellings.
Tenant
means:
(1)
A person, not the legal owner, occupying a building or portion thereof
as a rental unit; or
(2)
For purposes of this article, a purchaser under a contract for deed,
rent-to-own agreement, or comparable executory agreement, where the purchaser
resides in the premises and is not the legal owner of record, unless any such
instrument or affidavit of equitable interest which specifically identifies the
instrument is properly executed and filed of record with the recorder of deeds
for the applicable county and a file stamped copy thereof, along with a copy of
the referenced instrument, is provided to the director.
Utilities means
all services necessary for a property to have lawful heat, lighting,
wastewater, and potable hot and cold water, in accordance with habitability
standards.
DIVISION
3. INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 34-848. Complaint by
tenants; retaliation prohibited.
(a) In an
attempt to provide an opportunity for corrective action to occur without the
initiation of a field investigation, unless there are allegations of health
hazardous conditions, the director may request a complainant to first
communicate concerns to the owner, permit holder or designated management.
(b) The director
is given discretion to consider instances where the tenant is the obvious
source of damage or reoccurrence of issues in determining whether to conduct a
re-inspection or to charge the permit holder for a re-inspection.
(c) Retaliation
prohibited.
(1) No person shall file an action for eviction or fail to renew
a lease or alter the terms of a lease because the occupant has reported a
violation of this article or a related provision of the city Code to the
director, to another city employee or to any other person, or because the
occupant has sought to organize or participate in a tenants’ association or
collectively bargain with the property owner.
(2) No person shall cause any service, facility, equipment or
utility required under this article to be removed, shut off or discontinued in
retaliation for making a complaint, participating in a tenant’s association, or
bargaining collectively.
(3) No person shall charge or demand reimbursement of any fees
arising from this article, including late fees, annual permit review fees and
re-inspection fees, to a tenant. The passing of fees from an owner or permit
holder to a tenant shall be considered retaliation.
(d) If the
director finds violations during a complaint investigation, a re-inspection may
be required to ensure collective action is taken and violations no longer
exist.
(e) It shall be
considered a violation of this article for a permit holder to include in any
lease a term which seeks to waive any right or protection furnished to the
tenant under this article.
Sec. 34-848.1 Prohibitions.
(a) No owner
shall commit any act of housing discrimination, as described in Section 38-105
of this code.
(b) For all
residential leases and rental agreements first entered into after the effective
date of this ordinance, no owner shall require a security deposit or any
deposit of money or property, however denominated, which is furnished by a
tenant to a property owner to secure the performance of any part of the rental
agreement, including damages to a unit, that exceeds the amount of two months’
rent charged to the tenant for that residential unit. Such payment shall only
be charged once.
(c) An owner
shall not enter the tenant’s premises unless:
(1) the tenant gives written consent; or
(2) during reasonable hours, after giving notice to the tenant
not less than twenty-four hours in advance and attempting to coordinate with
the tenant to schedule a mutually acceptable time. Such notice shall specify
the date and time of intended entry, the identity of the person or persons to
enter, and the reason therefore.
The owner shall enter the
premises only in order to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed
repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed
services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers,
mortgagees, tenants, workers or contractors; except that the owner may enter
the dwelling unit without notice to the tenant in case of an extreme hazard
involving the potential loss of life, property damage, ongoing criminal
activity or in the case of tenant abandonment as determined by state law. The
owner shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.
(d) No owner
shall refuse to accept and acknowledge receipt of a tenant’s lawful rent
payment.
(e) No owner
shall harass a tenant, as defined in Section 50-159.
(f) No owner
shall violate Chapters 441, 534 or 535 RSMo.
Sec. 34-848.2. Disclosure to
Tenants.
Before
entering into a contract to rent a residential property the owner shall furnish
to each tenant:
(a) For
every utility provider used to service a dwelling unit, the phone number that a
perspective tenant may use to obtain a summary or statement of past utility
usage. Upon request, the owner shall provide their consent and any facilitation
necessary for the tenant to access the utility history.
(b) A
written description of all notices of deficiencies and citations issued to the
owner of the property of which the rental unit is a part during the prior
twenty-four months under Chapter 34, Chapter 48 and Chapter 56 and of any
other deficiencies prohibited under these chapters existing at the time of the
notice of which the landlord is aware.
(c) A copy of the tenants bill of rights as published by the
Rental Housing Assistance Unit under Section 35-10, also available on the city
website.
Sec. 34-861. Appeals; permit
suspension or revocation.
Appeal request.
A permit holder whose permit has been suspended or revoked, or whose property
has been ordered vacated, may appeal the director's decision within thirty
calendar days following the notice to vacate or of suspension or revocation of
a permit to the rental housing appeal board. If a request for an appeal is not
filed by the permit holder within the thirty day period, the action or order
is final.
Sec. 34-863. Violations
generally; penalty; failure to obtain permit or renew.
(a) Any person violating any provision of this article, the
rules and regulations of the director, or the conditions and requirements
contained in the permit, as any or all of such provisions, rules, regulations,
conditions or requirements may be amended, shall be deemed guilty of an
ordinance violation, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided
in section 34-864. Such violations apply to actions or inactions taken by the
owner, permit holder, their agents, designees or employees.
(b) Failure of any person to obtain a permit or keep the permit
in force and effect by proper renewal thereof, where a permit is required,
shall constitute a violation of this article.
Sec. 34-865. Judicial remedy.
The director may
seek a judicial remedy to achieve compliance with the provisions of this Code.
Sec. 34-866. Notices; how
served.
A notice issued
in accordance with this article shall be considered to be properly served if it
is served by one of the following methods: (1)The notice is personally served
by the director, a law enforcement officer, or a person authorized to serve a
civil process to the permit holder or the tenant, (2) For notice to the owner,
notice shall be deemed sufficient if sent by first class mail to the owner at
the address specified in the last permit application filed under this article.
If the owner lacks a required permit under this article, notice is deemed
sufficient if sent by first class mail to the person listed on applicable
county records for purposes of paying property taxes on the subject rental
property, to an officer of a corporation, to a person in charge of owner’s
local business office, or to a registered agent or any other agent authorized
by appointment or required by law to receive service of process; or (3) For
notice to the tenant, notice shall be deemed sufficient if sent by first class
mail to the tenant, whether by name or by the term "occupant."
Sec. 34-868. Rental housing
appeal board.
(a) There is
hereby established a rental housing appeal board with the following powers and
duties:
(1) to hear appeals of orders and actions of the director taken
in enforcement of this article.
(2) to conduct hearings required for duties, including the
authority to grant extensions of time and continuances, to administer oaths and
affirmations, to issue subpoenas compelling the presence of witnesses and
production of evidence, to cause all hearings to be suitably recorded, and to
render its decision in writing.
(3) to advise the director on the processes undertaken by the
healthy rental homes inspection program including, but not limited to,
regulations, and code revisions.
(b) The board
members shall be appointed by the mayor for terms of two years and shall
include: a representative of the rental housing industry, a member representing
tenants, a representative of a local neighborhood association, and four members
at large. The mayor may remove members upon written notice. Each member shall have
been a resident of the city for at least one year prior to appointment.
(c) The board is
hereby authorized to establish its own rules and regulations to implement this
charge.
(d) The board
shall conduct business as promptly and efficiently as is possible without
compromising any rights of the parties.
(e) The method
of judicial review of any decision of the board shall be as provided in
Chapter 536 RSMo.
Sec. 34-869. Costs of
emergency housing and relocation assistance.
In the event the
director orders a property or areas of violation to be vacated, locked or
secured, the director may provide emergency housing and relocation assistance
to qualified tenants whose incomes are so low as to prevent them from accessing
affordable relocation options, as determined by the director, including
payments for:
(a) The
relocation of the tenant to appropriate accommodations for a term not exceeding
three months;
(b) The moving
and storage of personal property for a term not exceeding three months;
(c) Rental
application fees, security deposits and utility deposits;
(d) The
first month’s rent; and
(e) Delinquent
rent, late fees, and utility bills, for a term not exceeding three months.
Section 3. That
the Code of Ordinances is hereby amended by enacting a new chapter, Chapter 35,
“Housing,” to read as follows:
ARTICLE I. IN
GENERAL.
Sec. 35-1. Definitions.
The following
words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a
different meaning:
Department means the department of neighborhoods and housing
services
Director
means director of the neighborhoods and housing services department
Owner
means a person who (1)has legal title to any building or structure with or
without accompanying actual possession thereof; (2)has charge, care or control
of any building or structure or part thereof as agent or personal
representative of the person having legal title to the building or structure of
part thereof; or (3) Is an agent or designee of a person listed in subsections
1 or 2 herein.
Person
means any natural person or legal entity including a partnership, corporation,
limited liability corporation, trust, or like entity.
Tenant means
a tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee, or other who is person entitled to the
possession, occupancy or benefits of a rental unit within a housing
accommodation.
ARTICLE II.
RENTAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE OPERATING UNIT
Sec. 35-10. Duties of the Rental Housing Assistance Unit
The Rental
Housing Assistance Unit shall provide the following services to residents of
Kansas City whose incomes are so low as to prevent them from accessing
affordable rental housing assistance, as determined by the director:
(a) Provide
education and outreach to the community—in an accessible fashion— about laws,
rules, and other policy matters, including but not limited to, the rights of
tenants to safe and quality housing and owners’ and tenants’ rights to organize
and form owner and tenant organizations, and their rights to representation
prior to adversarial processes;
(b) Provide
information about resources that may be available for legal representation and
other assistance regarding rental housing;
(c) Educate the community regarding
the processes and regulations related to residential rental housing, including
the city’s Healthy Homes program, Article XIX of Chapter 34, and housing
discrimination program, Section 38-105.
(d) Operate
a Rental Housing Hotline and Rental Housing Center; and
(e) Publish a tenants bill of rights,
which shall be updated semi-annually, or more frequently as needed when
relevant laws are adopted or amended.
Sec. 35-11. Annual Report
The Rental Housing Assistance
Division shall provide an annual report to the City Council on or
before September 30 of each year setting forth for the prior fiscal year:
(1) each request for assistance; and
(2) an enumeration and analysis of
inquiries made to the Rental Housing Hotline and Rental Housing Center.
Section 4. That
Chapter 38, Code of Ordinances of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, is hereby
amended by repealing Section 38-105 and enacting in lieu thereof a new section
of like number and subject matter, to read as follows:
Sec. 38-105. Housing.
(a) It is the
policy of the city to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair
housing throughout the corporate limits of the city.
(b) Within this
section “protected trait” shall mean actual or perceived race, color, religion,
national origin, sex, mental or physical disability, marital status, familial
status, age sexual orientation or gender identity, gender expression, ethnic
background, or being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
(c) If the director
finds probable cause of a violation of this section, the director shall notify
the director of health of the violation and assist the director of health in
any related investigation, in additional to pursuing any enforcement authorized
by Chapter 213 RSMo.
(d) The
following discriminatory housing practices shall be unlawful:
(1) To refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona fide
offer, or to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of property offered for
sale or rental, or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any person,
because of a protected trait.
(2) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions
or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services
or facilities in connection therewith, because of a protected trait.
(3) To make, print or publish, or cause to be made, printed or
published, any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or
rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference or limitation based on a protected
trait or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or
discrimination.
(4) To represent to any person, because of a protected trait,
that any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale or rental when such
dwelling is in fact so available.
(5) To induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any
dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry into the
neighborhood of persons of a particular protected trait.
(6) For a person in the business of insuring against hazards to
refuse to enter into or discriminate in the terms, conditions or privileges of
a contract of insurance against hazards to a dwelling because of a protected
trait pertaining to persons owning or residing in or near the dwelling.
(7) To discriminate in the sale or rental or to otherwise make
unavailable or deny a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a disability
of:
a. That buyer or renter;
b. A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling
after it is sold, rented or made available; or
c. Any person associated with that buyer or renter.
(8) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions
or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services
or facilities in connection with such dwelling, because of a disability of:
a. That person;
b. A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling
after it is so sold, rented or made available; or
c. Any person associated with that person.
(9) To sexually harass a property owner or tenant;
(10) To refuse to
rent or to make any distinction or restriction for the rental of a dwelling
unit soley because of the type of reasonably verifiable and lawful source of
income. As used in this section, lawful source of income shall mean the lawful
manner by which an individual supports themselves or their dependents,
including but not limited to pay, child support payments, and rental assistance
from a federal, state, local or nonprofit-administered benefit or subsidy
program. In no event shall an owner be compelled to participate in an
otherwise volountary benefit or subsidy program.
(e) While a
person may examine a criminal background check or rental history in reviewing
an application for rental housing, the person shall review additional
information provided by the rental applicant, including, but not limited to,
personal references, recency and severity of any convictions, recency and
status of any evictions, and any actions taken by the rental applicant to
resolve past evictions.
(f) For purposes
of this section, the term "discrimination" includes:
(1) A refusal to permit at the expense of the disabled person
reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by
such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full
enjoyment of the premises; except that, in the case of a rental, the landlord
may, where it is reasonable to do so, condition permission for a modification
on the renter's agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the
condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear
excepted;
(2) A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules,
policies, practices or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to
afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; or
(3) In connection with the design and construction of covered
multifamily dwellings for first occupancy, a failure to design and construct
those dwellings in a manner that:
a. The public and common use portions of such dwellings are
readily accessible to and usable by disabled persons. This shall include at
least one building entrance on an accessible route unless it is impracticable
to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site;
b. All doors designed to allow passage into and within all
premises within such dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage by
disabled persons in wheelchairs; and
c. All premises within such dwellings contain the following
features of adaptive design:
1. An accessible route into and through the dwelling;
2. Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other
environmental controls in accessible locations;
3. Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation
of grab bars; and
4. Usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual in a
wheelchair can maneuver about the space.
Compliance with
the appropriate requirements of the American National Standard for buildings
and facilities providing accessibility and usability for physically disabled
persons, commonly cited as ANSI Al 17.1, suffices to satisfy that the
requirements of subsection (b)(3)a of this section are met.
(4) For purposes of subsections (a)(7) and (8) of this section,
discrimination includes any act that would be discrimination under 42 USC
3604(f)(3) through (9).
(g) Nothing in
this section shall apply to rooms or units in dwellings containing living
quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four families
living independently of each other if the owner actually maintains or occupies
one of such living quarters as the owner’s residence, and if the dwelling
contains any rooms, except hallways, which are shared by the families or the
owner.
(h) Nothing in
this section shall prohibit a religious organization, association or society,
or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled
by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society,
from discriminating in the sale, rental or occupancy of dwellings which it owns
or operates for other than a commercial purpose on the basis of religion,
sexual orientation or gender identity, or from giving preference to persons on
those bases.
Section 5. That
Chapter 78, Code of Ordinances of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, is hereby
amended by repealing Section 78-12, Bills for metered water service, and
enacting in lieu thereof a new section of like number and subject matter to
read as follows:
Sec. 78-12.
Bills for metered water service.
(a) Bills for
metered water service shall be mailed to the service address or upon request by
the accountholder to another location. The bill shall include:
(1)
The
meter readings showing the amount of water used and its cost;
(2)
The
last meter reading date and days of service;
(3)
All
bills are due and payable on the billing date; and
(4)
The
delinquent date, which shall be not less than ten days after the billing date.
(b) In
accordance with the Sections 610.010- 610.225 RSMo., upon request of an owner
occupant, prospective owner or tenant, of a residential property connected to
the city’s water or sanitary system, the water services department shall
provide a report showing the amounts billed for water and sanitary sewer
service for the preceding 12 months.
Section 6. This
ordinance shall become effective June 1, 2020.
Section 7. If any provision of this ordinance shall be determined to
be unenforceable, invalid, or illegal under the law, it shall be regarded as
stricken while the remainder of this ordinance shall continue to be in full
effect.
_____________________________________________
Approved
as to form and legality:
___________________________________
Emalea
Black
Assistant
City Attorney