The cost of living in Hawaiʻi continues to climb, and that includes rent.
"Rents here in Hawaiʻi have been increasing pretty consistently since 2019," said Will White, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Budget and Policy Center.
He explained how in urban Honolulu, rent has increased by 11.1%. On Maui, the Kahului metro area increased by 15.1%.
White said increasing costs of housing and basic necessities after the pandemic put renters more at risk of eviction and homelessness.
The local nonprofit released a new report estimating the cost of evictions and homelessness in the state.
"There's increased costs on our health care system, our juvenile justice system at times, definitely increased costs on our homeless shelter system," said White.
The report estimates the state will spend $30 million annually to support a potential surge in evictions or homelessness.
According to White, the state could avoid these costs by keeping individuals and families housed and investing in several successful pandemic-era programs and protections.
That includes a permanent rent relief program coupled with mediation services. They also want to replicate the state’s Act 57 pilot program, which required pre-litigation mediation.
"We found that those mediation services were actually highly, highly effective in keeping people in their homes so that they can reach some sort of rental agreement with their landlord," he said.
"Only about 23% of the cases that went to mediation prior to the COVID-19 interventions wounded up in reaching a rental agreement. Whereas after the requirements that were put in place by Act 57, that number jumped up to 85% of them reaching some sort of an agreement."
A proposal at the Legislature, House Bill 1439, would establish a rent relief and mediation pilot program within the state's public housing authority. That measure passed its first reading in the state Senate on Tuesday.
White warned there are broader impacts to evictions other than the potential surge in homelessness — particularly among women and children.
He said that single mothers working to raise families who have experienced eviction are more likely to report being either in poor health or experiencing mental health issues like depression.
"We've also found that children who live in families that have experienced eviction and have to relocate due to that eviction, are experiencing some pretty significant learning loss, as they are forced to move to different schools and navigate new social situations," White said.
The report also recommends the state close a loophole in the landlord-tenant code. Specifically, it would allow landlords to terminate an agreement for renters who are on a month-to-month lease, as long as the landlords give a 45-day notice to vacate.
While this doesn't constitute an eviction, advocates say it has the same impact — giving only a month and a half for renters to find new living accommodations.
"What you see in rental markets, where costs are rising rapidly, it could create an incentive for landlords to invoke that 45-day notice in an attempt to really recruit higher income folks that could pay a premium for that property," said White.
White added that if it's possible to avert that in any way, he thinks the state should be looking at all options to do so.
