Housing

An empty homes tax could net the City and County of Honolulu nearly $300 million in revenue over the first decade. HPR's Mark Ladao reports on a new feasibility study for a measure known as Bill 46 that would create the new tax.

Advocates were calling on lawmakers to consider a bill that would set baseline protections for tenants displaced by the construction of a new affordable housing development. HPR's Ashley Mizuo reports.

Homes made of recycled surfboards could be one answer to Maui’s housing challenges. HPR’s Catherine Cluett Pactol reports on a Maui company that’s creating locally made building blocks.

The island's newest homestead community in Waikapū will have 91 homes, ranging in size from two to five bedrooms. Construction of Puʻuhona Phase II is slated for completion by February 2026.

State lawmakers are advancing a measure that would not allow county councils to impose conditions or median income restrictions stricter than the ones established by the state — if those conditions will increase the cost of the project. The measure would also not allow counties to reduce fee waivers for these projects.

Maui County is weighing a proposal to phase out transient vacation rentals in Maui County’s apartment zones to increase long-term housing stock on Maui. HPR’s Catherine Cluett Pactol shares new information from a University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization report examining the economic impacts of that proposal.

The Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority wants $1 million for community planning sessions and an infrastructure assessment of Kakaʻako Makai. That includes evaluating residential, hotel and manufacturing development in the area.

Dozens rallied at the Hawai‘i Capitol's rotunda ahead of Prince Kūhiō Day to advocate for House Bill 606, which would give more funding to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

A new UHERO report looks into how construction liability litigation is hampering Hawaiʻi's housing market. The Conversation talked to UHERO housing researcher Trey Gordner about the findings.

The City and County of Honolulu is planning to invest $100 million into mixed-use development — which includes transforming Iwilei Center. But the state law that allows the city to finance that type of development will sunset in 2028, the year Iwilei Center is expected to break ground.