Tenants at Quality Hill Towers and Independence Towers have been withholding rent payments for 18 days as of Friday, marking what organizers say is the longest rent strike in Kansas City history.
Across both buildings, tenants have withheld more than $60,000 in rent total , according to housing justice nonprofit KC Tenants. Residents at both complexes have formed unions with KC Tenants, with Independence Towers residents unionizing in May and Quality Hill tenants following suit in September.
The rent strike began Oct. 1. About 35 tenants at both buildings united Friday for consecutive strike rallies at the two troubled properties, calling building management and federal home financing company Fannie Mae to begin bargaining with tenants by the end of the following week.
Residents at both buildings have long been plagued by faulty plumbing and HVAC systems, nonfunctional heat and cooling, flooding, mold , holes in walls and ceilings and infestations of various pests. Most recently, some Independence Towers residents received water shutoff notices after building management company Trigild Inc. allegedly failed to pay the building’s water bill.