Waiver of portion of administrative citation fines.
Kansas City Code § 56-582
in effectSec. 56-582. - Waiver of portion of administrative citation fines.
The director may waive a portion of the amount of administrative citation fines that have accumulated as a result of non-compliance with this article provided that the owner has properly registered the property and there are no other violations of chapter 56 or chapter 48 remaining on the property in question. In determining the amount to be waived, the director shall follow these guidelines:
(1) Waiving an amount equal to documented expenditures by the owner for repairs to the building, or for demolition.
(2) Waiving all but the amount required for demolition if the building is determined to be not feasible to repair and the owner chooses to have the city demolish it.
(3) Waiving all fines charged to an owner who vacated the property after receiving a notice of foreclosure.
(4) Waiving all fines if the property is donated to a local community development corporation, non-profit corporation, the Land Bank of Kansas City, Missouri or the Homesteading Authority of Kansas City, Missouri, that is willing to accept the property and submits written plans to correct existing code violations with a schedule acceptable to the director.
(5) Waiving all or a portion of administrative citation fines upon a finding of financial hardship. An owner may submit a written hardship application to the director on a form established by the director. The director shall waive administrative citation fines under this article upon a finding that:
a. The owner has reasonably demonstrated that there is no feasible alternative use for the property that could yield a reasonable economic return, and that such fines could not have been reasonably avoided by sale or lease of the property; and
b. The owner meets any one of the following criteria:
i. The owner, or an immediate family member residing at the property, has experienced death, serious illness, or a disabling injury within the preceding 12 months;
ii. The owner's household income is at or below 80 percent of the area median income, as established annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Kansas City metropolitan area;
iii. The owner is a current recipient of a public program, including Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher, or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
iv. The owner personally owned and lived in the property as their primary home, does not own any other residential property, and had to leave because the property became unsafe or uninhabitable due to the same conditions the city is now citing; or
v. The owner has no prior delinquencies on any city fee, fine, tax, or special assessment within the preceding three years, and the violation giving rise to the fine was a first offense.
Upon a finding of financial hardship under this paragraph, the director shall notify the owner in writing of the waiver and shall provide the owner with written information about city programs and resources that may assist with property maintenance, rehabilitation or disposition. Participation in any such program shall not be required as a condition of the waiver. A hardship finding shall neither excuse the underlying code violations nor suspend the city's authority to abate conditions on the property.
(6) Except for paragraphs (3) and (5) of this section, no fines can be waived if there are unpaid special assessments pending against the property.
(7) Waiving all but $500 if the only infraction is failure to register the vacant property, and the property has now been registered.
(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_S56-582WAPOADCIFIFetched: 10/28/2026