Authored by Community Development and Administrative Director Denise Obrero of City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization
Act 57 became a national model to keep renters housed in Hawaii during the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill (PDF) established a temporary landlord-tenant mediation program in order to prevent evictions, with four key features:
- Mandatory Mediation
- Increased Notice Periods
- Rental Assistance Funds
- Focus on Housing Stability.
Consequently, Act 57 provided high rates of success in preventing evictions and resolving disputes. Approximately 1,379 mediations were conducted by The Mediation Center of the Pacific (MCP) between June 2021 to August 2022, and of those, 87 percent reached an agreement (PDF), allowing residents to remain in their homes. Of the 41 settlement agreements, 90 percent of tenants remained in their homes.
The Act 57 program diverted from the court system as many as 1,201 eviction cases before the funding came to an end and protection expired in August 2022.
Mandatory Mediation
The Early Eviction Mediation (EEM) program was launched to address the end of Hawaii’s eviction moratorium. The initial target population was tenants in arrears on the island of Oahu where Honolulu is located. The first year’s data showed that holding mediation prior to litigation, rather than during, was likely to help mediation participants avoid an eviction filing and stay housed.
A key factor to the success of the mediation program was contracting paid mediators and providing adequate time to mediate. Mediation via video conferencing was a significant contributing factor as well. Tenants felt more comfortable meeting virtually versus meeting in person.
In mid-2023, new funding was awarded to revitalize the EEM program. According to MCP, with the help of dedicated partners, 68 cases were initiated, and of those, 34 mediations were completed in approximately two months. Additionally, because Oahu renters have language access barriers, flyers (PDF) are translated in Tagalog, Ilocano, Korean, Mandarin and English, and renters may request a translator during their sessions.
Rental Assistance Funds
In Hawaii, approximately 38 percent of households rent their homes. Honolulu rent is about 5 percent higher than the national average. Honolulu renters tend to be lower on the income scale, often work multiple jobs and are vulnerable to rent hikes and evictions. Nearly 25 percent of households above the federal poverty line in Hawaii are worried about being forced to move.
To respond to the growing housing instability on the island of Oahu, tight collaboration between government and groups of local nonprofits was necessary to make the distribution of the rental assistance program successful. Early collaborations among government leaders and nonprofits and the inclusion of feedback and input from residents who have experienced housing instability were impactful.
Simultaneously, during the rental assistance program’s implementation, there was consistent communication between the City and County of Honolulu, the leaders of Catholic Charities of Hawaii and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. For three years this group met bi-weekly, to discuss how they could streamline the application workflow and strategize about reaching different populations. Essential to the implementation was building a culture of trust amongst the group to address programmatic issues or concerns.
To date, Honolulu’s rental assistance program has distributed $252M in rental assistance and helped over 22,500 households stay housed. Honolulu’s program is considered one of the most successful emergency rental assistance programs in the country due to the amount of funding distributed per capita, the speed at which funds were disbursed and the flexibility to meet residents’ needs. In addition, the success of the disbursement of rental assistance funding was due to community outreach done by grassroot people and a team of fourteen navigators. Also worth noting is Ko’olau Housing Hui, a public-private partnership model that utilizes community navigators to provide outreach and application assistance to households in need of rental and utility assistance. This model assisted 1,600 households.
Positive Momentum Ahead for Honolulu
Mandatory Mediation Before Eviction (Act 202 (PDF)): Beginning on Feb. 5, 2025, Act 202 requires landlords to offer tenants the opportunity for mediation before initiating eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent. If a tenant requests mediation within 15 days of receiving an eviction notice, the landlord must participate in the mediation process. This bill stems from Act 57’s (2021) positive impact and it is meant to provide a platform for landlords and tenants to resolve disputes amicably and potentially avoid court proceedings.
What’s Next?
Honolulu’s on a clearer path after participating in National League of Cities’ 2024 – 2025 Eviction Prevention Learning Lab. Now, Honolulu is intentionally putting our compassionate shoulders to the wheel and we are ready to be innovative and collaborative. The next step is for more opportunities to uplift the statewide efforts advancing housing stability through early intervention and cross-sector collaboration.
The EEM team plans to work with universities, foundations and nonprofits to gather data on evictions to continue to develop effective eviction prevention strategies. EEM will also be designing and implementing a Tenant Education and Advocacy community action plan to educate tenants about their rights and advocate for policies that protect tenants. Finally, EEM’s advocacy partners, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, are championing eviction record sealing policies since court record data is consistently inaccurate and misleading.
Local Eviction Prevention Policies & Programs
NLC’s Local Eviction Prevention Policy & Program Tool — a searchable resource of policies and programs local leaders can use to keep people housed — has been updated. Use this resource to discover eviction prevention solutions in your community and beyond.
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