The City of Independence Missouri has Proposed Changes to the Rental Ready Program.
For the past year, we have been getting reports from Matt Roberds in regards to the Independence Missouri Rental Ready Program. They have been discussing change to be made to the program. Many thanks to Brian and Michelle Winberry for their input at the WinVestors Meeting this week and to Mark Yanda who also attended the Study Session and has been meeting with City Council Members.
Important Dates
City Council Study Session: Held Monday, December 9th (replay)
Potential Additional Date: All Building Codes Passed
- Property Maintenance Code Amendments Draft Ordinance – Article 1
- Plumbing Code Amendments – Article 4
- Building Code Amendments – Article 5
- Mechanical Code Amendments – Article 6
- National Electric Code Amendments – Article 7
- Existing Building Code Amendments – Article 12
- Residential Code Amendments – Article 13
- Fuel Gas Code Amendments – Article 14
- Energy Conservation Code – Article 17
- Fire Code Amendments – Chapter 9
Listening Session #1:
- Announced at the Study Session, We Have Not Found an “Official Announcement
- To Be Held Wednesday, December 18th at 2:00 PM
- Hosted by Councilmember At Large Jared Fears
- Independence City Hall, Conference Room D
- 111 E Maple Ave, Independence, MO 64050
- Click Here to Learn More
Listening Session #2:
- Announced at the Study Session, We Have Not Found an “Official Announcement
- To Be Held Saturday, December 21st, 2024 at 10:00 AM
- Hosted by Councilmember At Large Jared Fears
- Blendwell Cafe
- 10725 E US Hwy 24, Independence, MO 64054
- Click Here to Learn More
First and Second Reading of the Revised Ordinance
Per the City Manager, currently, which must mean this is subject to change. The first reading of the revised Rental Ready Ordinance is set for the City Council Meeting on January 6, 2025. The second reading is set for January 21, 2025.
To Speak at any of these meetings the city has details posted here. Basically, either call the City Clerk at +1-816-325-7010, or get to the meeting a little early (around 5:30 or so) and fill out a one-page paper form. If you are a non-resident, let them know up front. To speak as a non-resident, the council must make a motion and vote to allow you to speak. They generally do this if you ask.
Proposed Updated Version for the First Ready on January 6
What is the Rental Ready Ordinance
Adopted in September 2016 and implemented in June 2017, the ‘Rental Ready’ program was designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents, maintain attractive and desirable neighborhoods, and enforce minimum standards for the interiors of residential buildings. The program’s development involved extensive meetings, discussions, and testimony from housing providers. The photo at the top of this post captures one of the city council meetings, where hundreds of concerned citizens gathered to speak and show their support for those presenting their views.
The current program as it stands can be reviewed on the city website here:
The Proposed Changes to Rental Ready
We understand from Mark Yanda that there have been changes made to the below and they may be taking a few other things out. We will post the most up-to-date proposals as we receive it.
Areas of Concern with the Proposed Changes
We highly recommend you review the above slide deck to see what has been proposed. If you are a member of WinVestors, the changes were discussed at length at their meeting on Wednesday, December 11th. The replay of this discussion posted in their group.
Some notes – please note that MAREI Member Mark Yanda had a meeting with a few people and they have indicated that there are mass changes coming to the below proposals based on many of our concerns.
NOTE: Why are these changes being made – because of proposed 2024 I-Series Codes that are coming in December 2024
CONCERN: Will these building code changes bring building almost to a halt and severely hamper renovation as the building code changes have in Kansas City Missouri?
Proposed Requirement Electrical: Each rental dwelling unit shall have a properly maintained electrical system, which shall be in a safe working condition and capable of performing its intended function. Electrical panels shall have a cover per the manufacturer’s direction, or as directed by the currently adopted National Electrical Code.
CONCERN: The words “buy the currently adopted National Electrical Code” would change as the code changes.
CONCERN: Will this mean that if older boxes that are not current to the National Electrical Code, and are perfectly fine in owner-occupied residential properties need to be updated in rental properties to meet current code. How much would this cost per house or unit?
CONCERN: In order to prove the requirement, is the inspector meant to touch every outlet, switch, light fixture, and permanently-installed appliance in
the house?
Proposed Requirement Sanitary Sewer: All such plumbing fixtures shall be maintained in a sanitary and good working condition and shall be properly connected to the public sewer system or to an approved private system if the public system is not available.
CONCERN: Will this mean that if there is a public sewer system, that older, functioning septic systems must be abandon and the property connected to the public system. How much will this cost per house? Will the city help pay the bill for connecting to the city sewer and repairing roads that must be dug up to facilitate connecting to the system?
Proposed Requirement Hot Water Heaters: Water heating facilities shall be in good working condition, and capable of providing an adequate amount of water to be drawn at every required sink, lavatory, bathtub, and shower at a minimum temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Proper exhaust systems must be attached, sealed to prevent leaks and fully operational
CONCERN: What does adequate amount mean? Any person taking a really long shower could easily drain a hot water heater in any home, does this mean we need to have two.
CONCERN: Would 110 degrees Fahrenheit be too hot? And is there a time frame for water in the faucet to come to temperature? All faucets at once or one at a time? This needs more thought.
Proposed Requirement Furnace: Each rental housing unit shall have heating facilities in good working order that can safely maintain a minimum room temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms, measured at a point three feet above the floor and two feet from exterior walls. Cooking appliances and space heaters shall not be used to provide space heating to meet the requirements of this section. Proper exhaust systems must be attached, sealed to prevent leaks and fully operational;
CONCERN: Maintaining 68 degrees at exact spaces and location.
Proposed Requirement AC: If provided by the lessor, the cooling system shall be in good working order that can safely maintain a maximum temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit in all bedrooms, measured at a point three feet above the floor and two feet from exterior walls;
CONCERN: Maintaining 80 degrees at exact spaces and location.
CONCERN: for both AC & Furnace, when will these temps in the house be measured? Will the inspector arrive, turn the heat or AC to the desired temp and give the system time to heat or cool the house to the desired temp as the house may have these items turned down or off for the enjoyment of the renter. If the inspector walks in and immediately checks the room temperature at the start of the inspection, the unit may not pass.
Proposed Requirement Exteriors: Roofs, windows, and exterior doors must be adequate to prevent dampness or deterioration in the walls or interior portions of the rental housing unit. No evidence of mold shall be present on the interior of the unit. The roof and flashing shall be sound, tight and free of defects that admit rain;
CONCERN: that tenant use could affect mold in and around windows. For example, overly humidifying a unit in winter when the temperatures drop below a certain temperature will cause water to condensate on windows, doors, even walls, that could cause mold. Or the lack of use of exahaust when showering in a bathroom could cause condensation on walls and ceiling further causing mold. There is no way for a housing provider to control how their renter manages condensation.
CONCERN: Will the inspector be climbing on the roof to determine it is adequate?
Proposed Requirement Interior: All holes and/or missing drywall/subfloor in interior walls, ceilings and floors shall be sealed as necessary.
CONCERN: units were hole free when leased and tenant damage would cause the landlord the need to fix to pass inspection; And also that if the house was built without drywall, for example a partially finished basement may not have drywall on the ceiling with exposed joists, pipes and wires, will a ceiling be required to be installed?
Proposed Requirement Window Fall Protection: All rental dwelling units where the bottom of an operable window is located less than 36 inches (914 mm) above the finished floor and more than 72 inches (1829 mm) above the finished grade or other surface below on the exterior of the building, shall have
window fall protection installed per the City’s current adopted building code.
CONCERN: what would window fall protection be – bars on windows, windows that only open so far? Would this be a fire hazard. Will all residential properties require this?
CONCERN: Also most code states for windows less than 24 inches, which at least for one investor who went around his own home, every window in his house other than a window over the kitchen sink and the one in the bathroom would need this protection.
Deficient Landlord Concept: Landlord with 3 or more valid tenant complaints in a 12-month period would then need to have ALL their units inspected by the city – periodically – once a month for 6 months.
CONCERN: A landlord with 100 units could very easily have tenant issues in 3 or more units. One would hope that they would not but if that happened, will the city have the staff to inspect 100 units every month for 6 months – that would be 600 extra inspections in a 6 month period – at say 8 a day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month – that’s 120 inspections for 1 inspector – so they would need what 5 inspectors just for this one housing provider.
CONCERN: Who does these inspections city staff or rental ready inspectors. And subjecting a tenant to all these inspections might trigger an inspection of a residence by city staff being seen as a warrantless search of a residence by the government.
Proposed Requirement Business License: Requires a landlord to have a business license prior to customers obtaining utility service.
CONCERN: The current business license process, as it stands, is too unreliable for this to work.
Proposed Requirement: Require the inspector to maintain inspections records for 2 years and must produce the report if requested by City.
CONCERN: What if the inspector stops doing rental ready inspections or goes out of business, what is the process to capture or maintain these inspections. Should the city maintain these records instead, how much will that cost, how could that be facilitated.
Proposed Fee Changes: Inspections to go from $50 to $100 and reinspections go from $30 to $60.
CONCERN: Now this is more profitable for the inspector to come recheck, would this be incentive to them to fail the property for minor issues that they might not have otherwise called out, so they can earn the extra $60?
To Reach Out to the City Council of Independence
We are asking concerned citizens to find the time to attend the Listening Sessions to share their concerns. But if you are unable to attend and you have concerns beyond the above, you can reach the council as follows.
Mayor Rory Rowland
- Mayor of Independence
- rrowland@indepmo.org
- (816) 325-7027
Councilmember John Perkins
- Mayor Pro Tem, 1st District Councilmember
- JPerkins@indepmo.org
- (816) 325-7022
Councilmember Jared Fears
- At-Large Councilmember
- JFears@indepmo.org
- (816) 325-6209
Councilmember Bridget McCandless
- At-Large Councilmember
- bmccandless@indepmo.org
- 816-325-7015
Councilmember Brice Stewart
- 2nd District Councilmember
- BStewart@indepmo.org
- (816) 325-7220
Councilmember Heather Wiley
- 3rd District Councilmember
- hwiley@indepmo.org
- 816-325-2163
Councilmember Jennie Vaught
- 4th District Councilmember
- jvaught@indepmo.org
- 816-325-2165
