An Oʻahu teacher’s futile apartment hunt shows how bad the rental market is
Housing policy advocates say Helen Lau's story is all too common amid Honolulu's housing crisis.
Leeward Planning panel to consider three STVR bills
The Leeward Planning Commission on Thursday will take up three highly controversial bills initiated by the Hawaiʻi County Council related to short-term vacation rentals.
Tenants facing eviction hope state will convert Kauaʻi’s Waipouli apartments to affordable housing
Affordable housing advocates are pressuring the State of Hawai‘i to purchase the apartment building and transform all 82 units into affordable housing.
In Hawaiʻi’s housing crunch, tenants are vulnerable to rent hikes and evictions
Advocates say the code lacks key policies needed in Hawaiʻi’s tight housing market, such as longer notice periods before someone can be evicted, caps on yearly rent increases and limits on the reasons landlords can evict tenants.
Mediating rent disputes
The mediation program’s principles are sound. Lawmakers now have many months to refine this bill and get right its final form and funding amounts; they cannot let a worthwhile program die because they can’t get their act together.
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.
Hawaiʻi taxpayers are paying a high cost for evictions
Every year there are about 2,500 evictions in the islands. And many fear more people will be out on the streets because of the high cost of housing.
Report: State law successfully limited evictions during COVID-19 pandemic
A state-mandated free mediation program was a resounding success in preventing evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report.
Report: Mandatory mediation saved hundreds of tenants from eviction
While the Act 57 program ended in August 2022, Hawaiʻi Appleseed will be advocating for a permanent rental relief program that includes mediation to stabilize affordable housing.
Off the News: Keeping renters in their homes
Act 57 diverted as many as 1,201 eviction cases in 2021, benefiting tenants and landlords, according to a Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice study.
Planning averts spike in COVID-era homelessness in Hawaiʻi
Hawaiʻi Appleseed last week released the results of a study showing “a pre-litigation mediation program” known as Act 57 helped renters and landlords and reduced both court costs and a strain on the Judicial system.
Eviction mediation study: KITV4 talks with Kenna StormoGipson with Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
Local nonprofit Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice just released the results of its study that look at whether Hawaiʻi’s Act 57 mediation program worked.
Why rent relief in Hawaiʻi became a national model
The government program helped over 13,000 households. One reason it succeeded may have been that people who had experienced housing instability had a seat at the decision-making table.
Rental assistance fell victim to politics, bureaucracy
Nationwide, state leaders set aside $2.6 billion to prop up struggling renters, but a year later more than 16 percent hasn’t made it to tenants or landlords.
Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center stresses importance of city’s rent relief program
After just four hours, the city's new rent relief program was suspended because so many people applied. The $114 million in federal money is for back and future rent and utilities.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers mull mediation to prevent mass evictions after moratorium lifted
A bill would require landlords to enter mediation upon a tenant’s request, but some advocates say the measure doesn’t do enough to protect renters at risk of eviction.
Gaps in Hawaiʻi eviction moratorium leave some renters scrambling for housing
The state eviction moratorium doesn’t protect every renter. And being kicked out when you’re unemployed makes finding housing much harder.
Don’t give me back rent, I want to continue hiding from tax
Some landlords are refusing federal relief money, which makes one wonder about what is going to happen to the tenant once the state’s moratorium on evictions expires at the end of the year.
Hawaiʻi landlords rejecting $8M in overdue rent
Some island landlords have rejected about $8 million in direct payments to cover the rents they’re owed because they do not have general excise tax licenses and are not paying taxes on their rental income.
The Conversation: Keeping an eye on housing evictions
The threat of eviction continues to loom over thousands of island residents as the state moratorium runs out at the end of the month.