North Lawn tenant union reaches relocation agreement with Kansas City after vacate notices

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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The North Lawn Apartments Tenant Union announced Friday it has made a relocation agreement with Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas and city staff.

In addition to three months of rent support, the agreement ensures displaced residents help with storage units, moving, groceries and security deposits.

For weeks, the union has advocated for repairs at buildings within the complex. Residents say some units lack air conditioning and electricity and there are sewage and safety concerns.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

In July, the city council approved $500,000 to address issues at the apartment buildings.

On Aug. 21, the city gave 10 units vacate notices citing uninhabitable conditions requiring immediate repairs. Residents say were "forcibly" removed from their homes, and Kansas City Tenants said there was no prior notice given to tenants.

“I hope I get to move back to North Lawn, especially after all the work I put in through the beginning and then all this," Joseph Thomas Wheeler Jr. said. "I would be a fool not to want to.”

Wheeler said he moved into North Lawn Apartments three to five months ago. He said his neighbors nominated him to lead negotiations for the union.

“I feel more empowered with the union than I did being by myself," he said.

On Sunday, Wheeler and the union met with Lucas following the city-ordered vacate notices. On Thursday, the parties reconvened and came to a relocation agreement.

Lucas told KSHB 41 reporter Lily O'Shea Becker the tenant union is a "big part" of the reason the relocation agreement was made.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

“This is different, probably, than some of the pure policy steps we’ve taken prior with our work with KC Tenants," Lucas said.

Lucas said local government intervention is limited and that landlords and land owners are better suited to handle issues taking place at apartments in disrepair.

“I do have some thought that this could create some sort of precedent long term for how we address these issues," Lucas said about the relocation agreement.

Lucas said he likes the "early indications" Johnson is giving the city in regards to his plans for improving unit conditions.

“Fundamental for us (the city) was making sure we could have people off the streets, that we could get people into stable housing," Lucas said.

That's exactly what Wheeler says he and his neighbors deserve.

On Wednesday, Wheeler said he met with landlord Shawn Johnson of Vital20 LLC and Rubicon Realty LLC for their first formal bargaining session. The two parties signed an agreement regarding leases, the future sale of the property and a timeline for repairs.

“He seems positive about getting the work done and getting us back in there," Wheeler said.

KSHB 41 News reporter met Wheeler outside a duplex in Kansas City, Kansas, on Friday. Wheeler said Johnson is providing housing for him there in the meantime. Although, he said the duplex itself has had issues with utilities.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

For Wheeler, he wants the issues at North Lawn Apartments to be resolved so he can return to not only his home but his community there.

“That’s like family to me now, you know what I mean? ‘Cause, I don’t really got no other family," Wheeler said.

North Lawn Apartments Tenant Union — a chapter of KC Tenants — formed in February 2023 when the heat went out, director of the Tenant Union Federation Tara Raghuveer said.

Raghuveer founded KC Tenants in 2019 and lives down the street from North Lawn Apartments in Kansas City's northeast neighborhood. She said she helped organize the apartment union.

“There’s a couple reasons this story is important," Raghuveer said. "One is that it is one of the first sites in the city where the tenant union and city government have worked together in harmony for the last few years to hold an out-of-state landlord accountable.”

Chris Morrison/KSHB

Raghuveer said the victories seen at North Lawn Apartments is because of the tenant union.

When the union was formed in 2023, Raghuveer said it worked out a deal to have the city pay more than half of each resident's rent — $450 — for two years. She said the union earned an six-month extension that expired earlier this year.

“Because there was city money involved, we got a bunch of conditions in there that held the landlord to a higher standard of operating the property,” Raghuveer said.

Raghuveer said the nature of the vacate notices delivered on Aug. 21 were an "unfortunate departure from the role the city has played at the property for years."

“I do think the relocation agreement is really strong," she said." It again shows evidence of what is possible when the city tries to take proactive action."

Johnson said he was unavailable for an interview Friday, but provided KSHB 41 News with a statement. 

Johnson said Vital20 acquired North Lawn this month with the intention of making repairs to the property. 

"Since the City required certain buildings to be vacated, our immediate focus has been ensuring displaced occupants have a housing plan, arranging supervised access for people to retrieve their belongings, and moving the repair work forward so units can be returned to safe occupancy," Johnson said in part in the statement. 

Johnson said on Friday, Vital20 provided KC Tenants with a written stabilization proposal.  

Johnson said the Wednesday meeting with the North Lawn Tenant Union was productive and Vital20 has since continued working through the remaining issues.

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