Thursday marked the start of a statewide pre-eviction mediation program for landlords and tenants. It’s a two-year pilot requiring participation in a mediation process before eviction for non-payment of rent.
This initiative builds on the success of similar past programs during the COVID pandemic and in the wake of the Maui wildfires, which showed 80% to 90% agreement rates.
Tracey Wiltgen, the Mediation Center of the Pacific’s executive director, will manage the state’s contract with the statewide umbrella organization Mediation Centers of Hawaiʻi to provide the services. Mediation is free of charge.
"Act 278 was passed by the Legislature last year, and the goal is to bring landlords and tenants together early to talk, to negotiate agreements so that they don't end up in court and there isn't an eviction process," she said.
Wiltgen said an impartial mediator asks both parties questions to help them better understand each other’s situation.
“So what does that mean for landlords and tenants? For landlords, it means if a tenant is late on their rental payment, they have to provide 10-day notice to the tenant,” she explained.
"They have specific language in the notice that they have to provide to the tenant, including telling the tenant that the tenant has the right to request mediation. The tenant has 10 days from the date of receiving the notice to contact the mediation center in the area where the rental property is located to request mediation.”
It is processed by a centralized website, and all parties receive the notice. If tenants don’t choose to participate in mediation, landlords can move forward with eviction filings.
“We are taking the lessons learned during COVID and testing a professionalized, pre-eviction framework through this pilot program,” said state Sen. Troy Hashimoto in a press release.
“Instead of relying on limited resources in the courts, this data-driven approach encourages early dialogue and allows us to measure how effectively professional mediation can reduce court backlog and resolve disputes.”
The pilot will track outcomes through annual reports to the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, which will provide data to inform future eviction prevention strategies.
