By Kathy Feist
A judge has placed a temporary hold on a Kansas City ordinance that would ban landlords from discriminating against tenants based on source of income. The judgment made January 28th was found to violate the 4th Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, in this case a landlords’ business records.
For decades landlords have been able to choose tenants based on background checks for income, eviction and prison records.
But in August, 2024, Kansas City landlords were banned from refusing to rent to tenants based on source of income, specifically Section 8 housing vouchers.
Two local realtors, Kennedy Jones and Stephen Vogel, filed for a preliminary injunction with the US Courts, Western Missouri Division in October. They argued that the ordinance was unconstitutional under the 4th Amendment and should not be enforced.
At issue is the landlord’s right to privacy.
When landlords participate in Section 8 housing, they agree to inspections by the Housing Authority, which includes searching business records.
So far, this is lawful.
It’s when an individual feels coerced to comply with a program that the law begins to look fuzzy.
In this case, Kansas City’s ordinance threatens the landlord with a $1000 fine or 180 days imprisonment. And the rental property cannot be leased until the landlord has completed compliance classes.
Judge Roseann Ketchmark, a President Barack Obama appointee, found that under the ordinance landlords are coerced to accept Section 8 housing vouchers or be penalized.
If the landlord is coerced to participate in Section 8 housing, then he is also coerced into consenting to a loss of privacy due to the Housing Authorities’ inspections. The landlord therefore loses “a reasonable expectation of privacy” regarding his business records.
“When consent is the product of coercion or duress, such as when a person faces penalties if he refuses to consent to the search, the consent is invalid, and the search violates the Fourth Amendment,” reads the ruling.
Judge Ketchmark acknowledges that “for low-income tenants in the City, the Ordinance may increase the availability of affordable housing to their benefit.”
However, she ruled that the public was served “by the preservation of constitutional rights.”
Participating in Section 8 housing is generally a volunteer program. However, last year the City chose to create enforcements to comply. “The goal is not to penalize landlords,” said 6th District City Councilman Johnathan Duncan in an interview with the Telegraph in 2024. “But we understand without strong enforcement measures, there are no additional incentives to comply.”
In response to the ruling, Duncan, who is associated with KC Tenants, says he intends to fight the injunction.
“I signed up to fight for better housing conditions for our residents and that’s exactly what I’m doing both in the courts and in Jefferson City,” says Duncan. “My office is working with the City’s legal team as they continue to fight the lawsuit in federal court.”