Affordable Housing
There is growing consensus that we need bold new approaches to address our lack of affordable housing, and the inhumane reality that thousands of Hawaiʻi residents currently live unsheltered. More lawmakers are embracing the concept that our housing policy should better reflect the values of Hawaiʻi. That means everyone deserves to have safe and affordable housing, regardless of their life circumstances or income. That means that access to housing should be considered a basic human right similar to healthcare, clean water and quality education.
This is an important and much needed mindset shift, because if our housing shortage is ever going to be successfully addressed, it will require significant investment of public resources. That means investment in infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity, as well as in the construction of new affordable housing and in the preservation of existing stock. But it also means investment in rent assistance for lower-income residents, and in social workers and other staff to offer supportive services for those who need it.
-
The conveyance tax is a one-time sales tax on the transfer of property from one entity to another. Hawaiʻi’s conveyance tax has two dedicated funding pots in which its revenue is deposited: the Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RHRF) and Land Conservation Fund (LCF). As currently written in statute, Hawaiʻi’s conveyance tax allocates $38 million or 50 percent of its revenue (whichever is less) to the RHRF—which is the primary financing source for affordable rental housing in Hawaiʻi.
Raising the conveyance tax rates on high value homes and non-owner occupied investment properties represents an opportunity for the state to raise significantly more revenue to fund the creation of the affordable housing Hawaiʻi’s residents need. Done in combination with removal of the caps on the RHRF and LCF, these enhanced rates on the sale of luxury property could bring in up to 300 percent more revenue for both special funds.
-
Our proposal to provide a combination of rent relief with a properly-funded mediation program for struggling tenants at-risk of eviction is modeled after Act 57 (2021), which required landlords-tenant mediation before eviction filing and tied rent relief to the mediation services. This program helped to stabilize renters in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and allowed for renters and landlords to meet on a fair negotiating field. Act 57 has been recognized as a national success in securing renters and distributing relief payments.
In researching the impacts of Act 57, Hawaiʻi Appleseed determined that a big reason for the success of its landlord-tenant mediation program was that parties could count on rental relief payments as part of the mediation process. With the expiration of Act 57 in 2022, there is currently no protection for tenants to keep them out of the harmful eviction process, and no source of funds to make landlords whole. Appleseed wants to see a permanent rent relief and mediation program established in the state.
For the sake of community buy-in, and because this will impose changes statewide, it’s best to table the bill until counties have more opportunity to consider its value and collaborate with the state on shaping its requirements, argues the Star-Advertiser.