Kansas City COVID-19 EVICTIONS and UTILITIES CUT-OFFS What You Need to Know
EVICTIONS: Jackson County has placed a ban on executing eviction judgments through May 18, 2020. Click here for the order.
Some things to note: • For those with vouchers through the housing authority (Section 8) or those in public housing, the CARES Act prohibits evictions for non-payment of rent until July25, 2020. Landlords covered by the CARES Act may not charge late fees for unpaid rent during this time either. Even after July 25, the CARES Act requires landlords to give tenants a 30 day Notice to Vacate, so August24 is the earliest that a covered tenant would have to leave the residence. • If possible, tenants covered by the act should continue to pay rent during this time. • The CARES Act does not provide this cushion for cases outside of non-payment of rent (i.e. other breach issues, illegal activity on premises, etc.). • For those not covered by the CARES Act (standard Landlord/tenant agreements), landlords can still file evictions-but the tenant cannot be evicted until after the court date and after the sheriff’s department begins carrying out evictions again. • Self-help evictions are illegal. “Self-help” refers to when a landlord tries to force a tenant out, change the locks, etc. without a court order. (Landlords may try to do this during the time the courts are closed.)
Evergy: Through May 1, 2020, Evergy has implemented the following: • Late payment fees have been suspended • Disconnections related to nonpayment have been suspended • Reconnecting service payments have been reduced to 1/12th of the balance due with no security deposit
Spire: Through May 1, 2020, Spire has implemented the following: • Disconnections have been suspended • Late fees have been suspended
KC Water: KC Water has implemented the following, but has not specified for how long: • Water shut-offs due to nonpayment have been temporarily halted
ALSO: The State has extended the EA (Energy Assistance) season until May 31. This means if people have not already applied for and received LIHEAP assistance this year, they may still be eligible through May 31. Reminder, households do not need a disconnect notice to receive EA.
LIHEAP applications need to be filled out in their entirety, with SSNs for all Household members, write in both gas and electric account numbers, date and sign, etc. These are all fields that need to be completed or LIHEAP folks have to send it back to the applicant to complete. If the Household members are on an active Food Stamp case they will not need to submit copies of Social Security cards or paycheck stubs/employment verification.
