Topeka committee reviews renter safety net: counseling, legal aid and a new community navigator

The Topeka City Council Public Health and Safety Committee on Wednesday reviewed a suite of renter-support efforts that city staff said are intended to reduce eviction, increase tenant education and connect residents to relocation aid when properties lose subsidy.

Committee Chair Karen Hiller said the panel would “focus on changing our culture of property maintenance today,” and framed the session around the committee’s December 2021 initiative and seven objectives tied to a renter safety net. The meeting centered on counseling and legal help, outreach and a planned city community navigator position.

Housing services division director Carrie Higgins reported that Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. (HCCI) logged counseling and outreach last year that staff consider part of the safety net. Higgins said HCCI recorded “242 calls, were regarding landlord issues” including mold, maintenance, fair-housing and bed bugs; “49 calls, regarding late rent, but there was no eviction filed just yet”; “29 calls with clients that have a court date for an eviction due to late rent”; and “a total of 10 calls, that were in regarding, retaliatory eviction.” She added HCCI held 56 workshops and education classes in Topeka in 2024.

Higgins and staff discussed outreach methods. Dan Garrett, director of communications, said the city recently “announced the, yard of the month program so people can start nominating yards,” and that communications teams push event notices via social media and partner distributions. Higgins said staff will coordinate with HCCI to improve joint marketing while noting the programs are run by HCCI and other partners, not the city.

On legal services, Higgins summarized a supplemental report Kansas Legal Services provided to the governing body. She said in the year before the city contract (May 1, 2023–April 30, 2024) the organization advised 52 clients, provided limited-scope representation to one client and provided no full representation. With a city contract (roughly May 1, 2024–April 30, 2025) Higgins said Kansas Legal Services “were able to advise 92 clients. They were able to provide limited scope representation to 17 clients, and they were able to provide full representation to 10 clients.” Committee members said the goal is to provide earlier education so fewer cases reach court.

Committee members and staff also discussed a HUD-funded relocation effort for Timberly, one of several apartment complexes under recent scrutiny. Planning and development director Rhiannon Friedman and Higgins said HUD assigned a relocation management company to help residents find housing and cover relocation costs. Higgins said the relocation contractor “is working with HUD” on relocation payments and moving expenses; she did not provide an exact tenant count but said staff could follow up with Topeka Housing Authority for numbers.

City Manager Robert Perez described the pending “community navigator” role: “the vision, is to serve in that housing navigator capacity, but then also, the ombudsman role as well.” Perez said the position is moving from property maintenance into the Office of Inclusive Communities and is under review at human resources; the role is intended to help residents who are reluctant to engage with individual departments and to coordinate cross-department follow-up.

Why it matters: committee members described these pieces—counseling, legal aid, outreach and a navigator—as complementary steps to prevent tenant crises, reduce risk to residents and limit the number of cases that must be resolved through municipal court.

Committee directions and next steps included staff providing the full requested datasets and an updated interdepartmental team roster “within the next 2 weeks” and circulating them at least two weeks before the June meeting on June 18.

Ending: Committee members asked staff to continue outreach coordination and to return with follow-up data and status reports at the June meeting.