State funds for late rent, mediation to be revisited

Key state lawmakers are vowing to revisit a bill that died in the final days of the legislative session that would have required mediation between landlords and tenants before filing for eviction, while providing landlords millions in emergency rent relief.

The latest version of House Bill 1439 would have funded $12 million in overdue rent to landlords and an additional $1.5 million in “pre-litigation mediation” as federal COVID-era rental assistance is set to expire, said state Rep. Troy Hashi­moto (D, Wailuku-Waikapu), who chairs the House Housing Committee and introduced the measure.

“Mediation has proven that it works,” Hashimoto said. “Mediation in itself is helpful. When you pair it with rental relief, it becomes very potent. … We’re going to continue to work on it as the federal benefits dry up. We want to make sure people in the community are helped.”

In October, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice released a study showing that the “pre-litigation mediation program,” known as Act 57, in 2021 helped both renters and landlords and reduced court costs and strains on the judicial system.

“The Act 57 program diverted from the court system as many as 1,201 eviction cases,” Hawaiʻi Appleseed said.

The study, done in partnership with the Housing Crisis Research Collaborative, suggested that continuing short-term rental subsidies, along with an emphasis on tenant-landlord mediation, might be additional tools to increase “housing stability.”

“For the landlords, the agreements reached often meant they were able to recover back rent and avoid the costly processes of litigating an eviction action and finding new tenants,” Hawaiʻi Appleseed wrote at the time.

“For families who were able to remain in their homes as a result of Act 57 and the availability of rent relief, they avoided forced moves that often result in the loss of security deposits and belongings, a change in schools, a longer commute to work, a negative mark on their rental history, and for some, homelessness.”