State agency criticized for plan to lease rental projects

After the five-year cap, rent could potentially rise by as much as 66 percent, or $746 a month, for a two-bedroom unit at Kauhale Kakaʻako, according to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser analysis of current asking rent and the maximum allowable rents listed in marketing materials for the sale. In another example, rent could increase by $841 a month, or 60 percent, for a two-bedroom unit at Kamakeʻe Vista.

Victor Geminiani, co-executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, said the plan raises concerns about the long-term affordability of the units.

“I question seriously this move within the context of the crisis we have with affordable housing in the state and in view of the projections that we need 25,000 units, of which the majority are needed for 60 percent below (area median income), in order to be able to stabilize our rental housing situation,” Geminiani said in an interview.

“We are not producing any rental housing at that level—we’re not even producing any rental housing. There’s basically been almost no rental housing built in Hawaiʻi for 40 years. … Any low-income rental housing is next to nonexistent,” he added.