Affordable-home sizes getting squeezed
Affordable housing: Like all Hawaiʻi real estate, it’s gotten more expensive. It’s also getting incredibly smaller.
Rent spike scare highlights anxiety over displacement
The rent increase scare highlights a broader anxiety over displacement in Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing complexes.
The to-do list for the 2018 legislative session
What should be at the top of the to-do list for Hawaiʻi’s legislators this session? From our high cost of living, to affordable housing, to climate change, the breadth of issues could make this one of the most pivotal years for lawmakers—or it could be politics as usual.
Plan for tower’s ‘poor door’ scrapped
Designs for a residential tower near urban Honolulu’s Walmart store no longer feature a front door for market-priced condominium buyers and a side door for moderate-income renters.
Ala Moana high rise developer removes ‘poor door’ from proposal
The plan to create separate entrances for low-income residents was opposed by affordable housing advocates.
Council: Ala Moana developer must answer ‘poor door’ critique
Objections over plans to provide separate entrances for luxury condo owners and the tenants of affordable rentals has delayed approval for an Ala Moana highrise.
Segregation? Tenants in affordable units to get separate entrance
A mixed-use residential high-rise planned for the Ala Moana area is raising some concerns because it has separate entrances for those who purchase market-rate condo units—and those who will live in affordable rentals on the same property.
Hawaiʻi vacation rentals threaten our survival
It’s time local political leaders begin making hard decisions to resolve this growing problem.
Low-income renters fear they’ll be priced out of Lahaina apartments
Some 300 low-income residents at Front Street Apartments effectively face eviction under a loophole that enables the property to be converted to market-priced units after 15 years in service.
Missed deadlines lead the city to lose millions in federal housing funds
Hawaii News Now has learned the city missed deadlines to spend almost $10 million, and the federal government has already taken some of it back.
Revitalizing Mayor Wright Homes could cost $1 billion
The construction timetable and cost estimate are in a draft environmental impact statement published earlier this month by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.
State agency criticized for plan to lease rental projects
Affordable-housing advocates are decrying a state agency’s move to lease its portfolio of six low-cost rental projects, including three high-rises in Kakaʻako, to a private investor at a time when housing is in extremely short supply for low-income families.
Tenants cash in on vacation rentals despite risks
Tenants who sublease their units as vacation rental properties without the owner’s permission face eviction. Those who break city rules also face penalties starting with an initial fine of $1,000 and up to $1,000 a day for continued violations.
Hawaiʻi’s child well-being 17th in latest national rankings
High housing costs remain a significant challenge in our state. When families spend so much of their income on housing, they have fewer resources to meet other basic needs.
Hundreds of low-income Maui residents may face eviction
Their taxpayer-subsidized apartment building was supposed to be affordable for 50 years. But a loophole could end that arrangement far sooner.
Mayor unveiling affordable-housing strategy overhaul
After more than two years of analysis, number-crunching and talks with developers and housing advocates, the details of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s affordable-housing strategy package is expected to go public today.
Opposition to foreign condo sales raises legal questions
Did a City Council member create legal risks by suggesting the council might deny a development permit if the condos were sold to Chinese buyers?
City searches for a way to encourage affordable housing near rail stops
The council considers a bill Wednesday to give developers a break on zoning laws if they sell almost a third of their units as affordable housing.
Affordable-housing rules are tightened
Affordable-housing advocates maintain that a city proposal for interim housing requirements for projects with zoning exemptions in transit-oriented development areas does not go far enough to meet Oʻahu’s housing shortage.
Hawaiʻi's $28B budget a mixed bag on homelessness, housing
While lawmakers committed more money this year to homelessness services and enforcing rules prohibiting living on sidewalks than they did last year, housing advocates say the money set aside for affordable housing development won't go far enough to allay Hawaiʻi's housing and homelessness crisis.