North Lawn Apartments residents return after months of displacement

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.

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Nearly three months after Kansas City, Missouri, posted vacate notices at North Lawn Apartments, the North Lawn Tenant Union celebrated six families signing newly bargained leases and returning home to repaired units on Saturday.

The tenant union, based in Kansas City's northeast neighborhood, was at the center of Kansas City Tenants' advocacy for renter rights this summer.

The tenant union, which was organized in 2023, was on a rent strike this summer as residents navigated the sale of the property.

Residents said they were dealing with electricity and sewage issues in addition to a lack of air conditioning and other safety concerns amid the sale.

“Tenants — unprecedented — got the city to pass an ordinance allocating $500,000 for life-threatening emergency repairs," said Mary Allison Joseph, an organizer with KC Tenants.

After weeks of the union advocating for repairs, the city amended an ordinance on Aug. 13 that appropriated up to $500,000 to address code violations at the apartments. The amended ordinance also allowed the city to provide relocation relief to impacted residents.

In a notice dated Aug. 20, the city cited dangerous living conditions and ordered the owner, Shawn Johnson of Vital20 LLC, to take action.

Lily O'Shea Becker/KSHB

The union said the city gave 10 units vacate orders without notice.

On Aug. 28, the city and tenant union announced an agreement that earmarked $40,000 of the $500,000 that was appropriated from the city's Housing Trust Fund to support displaced residents for three months.

Joseph said part of that funding went toward hotel stays.

“There was immense pressure from the tenant union for repairs to happen quickly," Joseph said.

The union said through collective bargaining with the landlord, six families were able to move back into North Lawn Apartments on Nov. 1.

The union said it won displaced residents the right to return home.

Camille Lamb said she and her two daughters were displaced in June when the electricity in her unit stopped working. She returned to a different unit at North Lawn on Nov. 1 that she said is "livable."

Lily O'Shea Becker/KSHB

“There will be no more convincing my kids we are indoor camping because the electricity is out," she said.

The union said the agreement with the landlord includes new leases with tenant protections and affordable rental rates for the next year.

Residents will pay $400 a month for one-bedroom apartments and $700 for two-bedroom apartments, according to the union.

For residents returning to North Lawn, the city agreed to pay their first month's rent, according to KC Tenants. That funding comes from the $40,000 that was allocated to help displaced tenants.

On Saturday, windows at North Lawn remained boarded up and the union said two families are still waiting to return home.

When asked why they want to return to North Lawn amid ongoing issues, residents like Joseph T. Wheeler Jr. said his neighbors have become his family.

“If we didn’t have our union, we would have gotten nothing at all," Wheeler, who helped lead negotiations at North Lawn, said.

The union said the fight isn't over.

“Coming back is part of the victory, you know? It’s part of helping, it’s part of making the change through the rest of the city in a way," Lamb said.

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