Rent spike scare highlights anxiety over displacement

The rent increase scare highlights a broader anxiety over displacement in Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing complexes. Victor Geminiani is co-executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice. He says privatization of public affordable housing can work, but a culture of inclusion is key.

“Everything ought to be extremely transparent when you’re talking about the availability of limited numbers of affordable housing units in this state,” says Geminiani. “And before you turn them over to anybody, there ought to be explored in a lot of different ways, from a lot of different lenses, from a lot of different perspectives to find out whether this is really the best way of doing it. And if so, make sure you have built-in protections for the tenants.”

He says this issue isn’t limited to Honolulu. Tenants in an affordable housing complex in Lahaina are bracing for displacement following the owner’s decision to institute market rate rents. Another 1,221 tenants on Hawaiʻi, Maui and Oʻahu are in the midst of transitioning from public to private ownership of their affordable housing rentals.