Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom
A group of Kansas City residents filed suit today against FirstKey Homes, a private-equity backed corporate landlord operating single-family rental homes across the Kansas City area, alleging that the company allowed their homes to deteriorate into dangerous conditions while continuing to collect rent and without making legally required repairs. The residents allege that they lived in several properties across Kansas City and faced severe and pervasive habitability issues in their homes, including structural and plumbing leaks that caused mold issues, electrical issues that caused fire hazards, and HVAC issues.
The Plaintiffs further allege that the company repeatedly failed to respond to requests for repairs or only made superficial repairs that left families to live with structural damage, inadequate facilities, and documented risks to their health and safety.
“We asked FirstKey before we signed the lease whether the basement had water problems. They told us no. Three years later we learned the basement and the air ducts are unsafe with mold and we had to leave immediately. We had spent years asking them to fix the water, the heat, the plumbing, and the electrical problems. But FirstKey did not care about that.”
FirstKey is backed by Cerberus Capital Management, which the petition alleges has utilized shell companies and LLCs to acquire thousands of single-family rental homes across the Midwest as institutional investment in residential real estate has surged. Critics and housing researchers say the private equity business model creates structural incentives to defer maintenance and minimize operating costs — incentives that directly impact the lives of tenants in Kansas City.
The nonprofit Better Business Bureau in Kansas City reportedly received 1,421 complaints against FirstKey Homes LLC in the last three years. Publicly available complaints include, but are not limited to: mold, water intrusion, water damage, gas leaks, pest infestations, electrical issues and fire hazards, inadequate heat, plumbing and sewage issues, nonfunctioning essential appliances, delayed response to and ignored maintenance requests, improper withholding of security deposits, unwarranted move-out charges, and failure to deliver possession of the premise.
The suit alleges breach of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, implied warranty of habitability, negligence, and violations of Missouri landlord-tenant law, among other claims. Plaintiffs seek compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees.
Our clients paid their rent, reported the problems, and waited for FirstKey to do its job. Instead, families lived with mold, water intrusion, electrical failures, and other dangerous conditions while their request for meaningful repairs went unanswered. No family should have to accept unsafe housing simply because they cannot afford to move. This lawsuit is about basic accountability for a company that chose profits over the health and safety of Kansas City families.
The Complaint alleges that Kansas City has seen a significant increase in corporate ownership of residential properties over the past five years. Additionally, this case reflects a national pattern in which corporate ownership of single-family homes has driven up rents while reducing accountability for basic habitability.
Legal counsel is available for interviews upon request.
About the legal team
Legal support is by the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom, a nonprofit organization in Kansas City, Missouri that enforces the rights of low-wage workers and tenants, and local Kansas City Plaintiffs’-side law firm Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish LLC
Media contact
Press Contact: L Hudson, lhudson@jobsandfreedom.org, 816-541-6791