KANSAS CITY, Mo. — About two dozen Kansas City residents gathered Wednesday night to learn about tenant-landlord relationships and rights at the Black Archives of Mid-America.
The Jackson County Bar Association provided the free law course, which included an opportunity for attendees to ask questions of a Jackson County Circuit Judge and two attorneys with Legal Aid of Western Missouri.
"Because rents are rising all over the city, especially in the inner city where they have normally been low, it's really hard for people to find housing of lower income," Legal Aid of Western Missouri attorney Jane Worley said.
According to data collected by the KCMO, 46 percent of residents rent, but there is "an under-supply of housing at the low-income end of the rent market," Worley said.
That creates uninhabitable living conditions for those on a limited budget.
"People continue to live in a unit that is not inhabitable," Worley said. "If there are terrible conditions in the unit, and a lot of times there are, then (tenants) can raise that as a defense to why they are not paying rent."
The Jackson County Bar Association provides free 90-minute courses every month with each focused on a different subject beginning at 6 p.m. at the Black Archives of Mid-America, 1722 E. 17th Terrace.
Upcoming topics includes Business Law and Nonprofits (June 12), Traffic and Municipal Law (July 10), the Jury Selection Process (August 14), Education Law (Sept. 11), Family Law (Oct. 9), Criminal Law (Nov. 13), and Conceal and Carry Law (Dec. 11).
