Definitions.
Kansas City Code § 56-572
in effectSec. 56-572. - Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning, and any words not defined here but defined elsewhere in this chapter shall have the meaning ascribed to them previously:
Agricultural means cultivated for food production.
Beneficiary means a lender under a note secured by a deed of trust.
Chronically vacant nuisance property means any real property that has been vacant for at least six months, has two or more pending violations of this code within the preceding 12 months and is improved by a residential building type identified in section 88-110-04 of this code.
City means the City of Kansas City, Missouri.
Commercial property means any real property improved by a building or structure that is not identified as a residential building type in section 88-110-04 of this code.
Days means consecutive calendar days.
Deed of trust means an instrument by which title to real estate is transferred to a third-party trustee as security for a real estate loan. This definition includes any subsequent deeds of trust.
Default means the failure to fulfill a contractual obligation, monetary or conditional.
Department means the neighborhood services department of the city.
Director means the director of the neighborhood services department of the city or their authorized designee.
Director of finance means the director of the finance department of the city or their authorized designee.
Dwelling unit means one or more rooms arranged, designed or used as independent living quarters for a single household. Buildings with more than one kitchen or more than one set of cooking facilities are deemed to contain multiple dwelling units unless the additional cooking facilities are clearly accessory and not intended to serve additional households.
Environmentally beneficial means benefiting the natural environment, improving stormwater retention, increasing water quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, using fewer potentially harmful or costly inputs, increasing biodiversity or providing habitats for wildlife.
Evidence of vacancy means any condition that, on its own or combined with other conditions present, would lead a reasonable person to believe that the property is vacant. Such conditions include but are not limited to: overgrown and/or dead vegetation; accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers and/or mail; past due utility notices and/or disconnected utilities; accumulation of trash, junk and/or debris; broken or boarded windows; abandoned vehicles and/or auto parts or materials; the absence of window coverings such as curtains, blinds and/or shutters; the absence of furnishings and/or personal items consistent with habitation; the percentage of overall square footage of any building that is unoccupied; the condition and value of any items in the property; the presence of rental or for sale signs on the property and/or statements by neighbors, passersby, delivery agents, or government employees that the property is vacant.
Foreclosing and foreclosure have the same meaning, that being the process by which a property, placed as security for a real estate loan, is prepared for sale to satisfy the debt if the borrower (trustor) under a deed of trust defaults.
Improved property means any parcel of real property located within the City that is improved by any building, structure, or dwelling unit;
Initiation of the foreclosure process means taking any of the following actions:
(1) Publication of a notice of sale; or
(2) Commencing a foreclosure action on a property in a court of law.
Local means within 50 road/driving miles distance of the city.
Mortgagee means the creditor, including but not limited to, service companies, lenders in a mortgage agreement and any agent, servant, or employee of the mortgagee, or any successor in interest and/or assignee of the mortgagee's rights, interests or obligations under the mortgage agreement.
Notice of default means a notice, issued pursuant to the applicable real estate security document or RSMo § 408.554, that a default has occurred under a deed of trust.
Owner means any person, mortgagee, or property trust trustee who alone or jointly or severally with others, with or without the right of possession, is entitled under any agreement to the control or direction of the management or disposition of the building or property or of any part of the building or property. Unless otherwise specifically provided, the owner, their agent for the purpose of managing, controlling or collecting rents and any other person managing or controlling a building or property in any part of which there is a violation of the provisions of this ordinance, shall be liable for any violation therein, existing or occurring, or which may have existed or occurred, at or during any time when such person is or was the person owning or managing, controlling, or acting as agent in regard to said buildings or property and is subject to injunctions, abatement orders or other remedial orders. The liabilities and obligations imposed on an owner shall attach to:
(1) Any mortgage company or any other person with or without an interest in the building or property who knowingly takes any action in any judicial or administrative proceeding that is intended to delay issuance or enforcement of any remedy for any violation of the property maintenance code then in existence; provided that with respect to fines such person shall be liable only for fines which accrue on or after the date of such action; and further provided that no liability shall be imposed under this ordinance for any action taken in any proceeding, including a proceeding to foreclose on a lien, that does not delay or prevent the prosecution of any action brought by the city to enforce the city's property maintenance code.
(2) A property trust trustee under a property trust, unless said trustee in a proceeding under said provisions of this ordinance discloses in a verified pleading or in an affidavit filed with the court, the name and last known address of each person who was a beneficiary of the trust at the time of the alleged violation and of each person, if any, who was then acting as agent for the purpose of managing, controlling or collecting rents, as the same may appear on the records of the trust.
Property means any real property, or portion thereof, located in the city, including improved and unimproved property.
Property trust trustee means one who holds title to a building, structure or property under a property trust with or without the right of possession, management or control.
Public property means property owned by federal, state or local government, or some political division or subordinate public corporation thereof, including but not limited to the Land Bank of Kansas City, Missouri or Kansas City, Missouri Homesteading Authority, and title to which is vested directly in the federal, state or local government, or some political division or subordinate public corporation thereof, or in some person holding exclusively for the benefit of the same.
Public purpose means used for the health, comfort and welfare of the public and not simply a particular group.
Registration period means June 1 of each year through May 31 of the subsequent year.
Securing means measures that assist in making the property inaccessible to unauthorized persons, including but not limited to the repairing of fences and walls, chaining/pad locking of gates, the repair or boarding of door, window or other openings.
Semiannual means occurring at a frequency once every six months or twice a year.
Trustee means the person, firm or corporation holding a deed of trust on a property as security for the payment of a debt.
Trustor means a borrower under a deed of trust, who deeds property to a trustee as security for the payment of a debt.
Unimproved property means any real property that is not improved by any building, structure, or dwelling unit.
Vacant means a property, other than public property or property used primarily for agricultural, environmentally beneficial or public purpose, that is lacking habitual presence of human beings who have a legal right to be on the property, or at which substantially all lawful business operations or residential occupancy has ceased. In determining whether a property is vacant, the director shall consider conditions that show evidence of vacancy, as defined in this article, and the percentage of the property on which those conditions exist; provided that multi-family residential property containing five or more dwelling units shall be considered vacant when the majority of all of the dwelling units become unoccupied and a majority remain unoccupied.
(Ord. No. 260401, § 1, 7-30-26)
Source: City of Kansas City, Missouri, Code of Ordinances, Charter and Zoning and Development Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/mo/kansas_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COORKAMIVOII_CH56PRMACO_ARTVIREVAPRFOPR_S56-572DEFetched: 10/28/2026