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New law aims to speed up local housing construction

FILE - A new housing tower is seen under construction in Honolulu on March 27, 2023.
Audrey McAvoy
/
AP
FILE - A new housing tower is seen under construction in Honolulu on March 27, 2023.

A new state law aims to speed up local housing projects that may be delayed because of construction defects.

In a bill-signing ceremony Wednesday, Gov. Josh Green enacted a reform to the state's Contractor Repair Act, which gives contractors and property owners the option to fix building issues without lawsuits.

The new law creates set timelines under the act, which could allow contractors to make repairs more efficiently. It aims to address a loophole lawmakers say was used by some attorneys to delay housing construction and make it more expensive.

"It's backfiring, sort of, predatory attorneys who were sometimes taking advantage of that loophole and using cookie-cutter lawsuits across the board with no actual information about any existing defects and driving up the costs, which could delay projects and ironically, actually delay repairs that were sometimes desperately needed by the homeowners," said state Rep. Lisa Marten, who represents areas of Waimānalo and Kailua.

"Also, it made it more difficult for homeowners to secure loans if there was pending litigation."

Supporters say the lawsuits especially impact first-time homeowners by hurting access to government-backed housing loans.

Mark Ladao is a news producer for Hawai'i Public Radio. Contact him at mladao@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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