Report: State law successfully limited evictions during COVID-19 pandemic

According to a report by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, the vast majority of the mediation sessions that stemmed from the law ended with the tenants remaining in their homes.

Julie Mitchell, executive director of the Kuʻikahi Mediation Center, said both mediation centers on Hawaiʻi Island—Kuʻikahi and West Hawaii Mediation Center—received 285 mediation cases through Act 57, 150 of which actually initiated proceedings. Of those 150, 119 were resolved.

Both Mitchell and the Appleseed report agreed that the existence of pandemic relief programs—particularly rent relief—was a major factor in getting parties to settle.

She said that in many cases, neither party knew about what resources were available to them, and learned about possible assistance through mediation.

Tenants interviewed for the Appleseed report felt more comfortable speaking to their landlord through mediation than directly or in court. Of the 11 tenants interviewed, 10 remained with their landlords with some form of agreement to repay back rent through a payment plan or rental assistance.

The report concluded that additional funding for a free mediation program would likely have significant benefits for tenants and landlords, and estimated that the cost of maintaining a similar program likely would be lower than costs to the Judiciary if such eviction cases go to court.