In Hawaiʻi’s housing crunch, tenants are vulnerable to rent hikes and evictions

Lawmakers this past session discussed House Bill 1439, which died but would have created two-year emergency rent relief and pre-litigation mediation pilot programs. It also would have extended the period for a notice of termination of the rental agreement from five business days to 10 calendar days.

According to an emailed statement from the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, as it works now presiding judges assess the circumstances of each case and determine whether mediation is appropriate.

“Judges statewide have consistently expressed support for mandating mediation before a rent-related case is filed in court, particularly when complemented by funding for pre-filing mediation services and rent relief,” the Judiciary wrote, adding that it is supportive of legislation that would create a similar program to the now-expired Act 57.

An October 2022 report by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice compared the impacts of Act 57 mediation to the pre-Covid mediation that occurred after an eviction was filed in court. It found that, while Act 57 mediation resulted in 85 percent of tenants being able to stay in their homes, only 11 percent of pre-Covid mediations ended that way.

Yanagi, the attorney who represents landlords and property managers, says landlords don’t want to kick out tenants because they lose revenue until they find another renter. But he adds that proposals to create mediation and rent relief programs aren’t enough to address the underlying issue of people’s wages being too low to pay rent, which is exacerbated by the rising cost of living and the state’s housing shortage. He says these are issues that legislators and other government leaders need to address.