STAND. COM. REP. NO. 213

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 466

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 466 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EVICTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit landlords from terminating certain tenancies without cause;

(2) Establish criteria under which landlords can undertake a no-fault eviction; and

(3) Require landlords, when proceeding with a no-fault eviction, to offer relocation assistance to the tenant or waive the final month's rent.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Maui Housing Hui; Hawaiʻi YIMBY; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; Hawaii Guerrilla Video Hui; Hawaiʻi Workers Center; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's high cost of housing has created a large population of long-term renters, yet existing laws allow landlords to terminate leases without cause, even when tenants have followed all terms of their rental agreements. This lack of protection leaves tenants vulnerable to sudden displacement, contributing to financial instability, housing insecurity, and, in some cases, homelessness. The fear of arbitrary evictions can also prevent tenants from reporting habitability issues, further compromising their living conditions. This measure seeks to address these concerns by prohibiting no-cause evictions, establishing clear criteria for when a landlord may lawfully terminate a tenancy, and requiring relocation assistance or a rent waiver in cases of no-fault evictions.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language throughout the measure that would have authorized a landlord to initiate a no-fault eviction at the end of the term of a rental agreement;

(2) Reducing the amount of time a landlord is required to give a tenant to vacate the dwelling unit upon initiation of a no-fault eviction from ninety days to sixty days and reducing the amount of time the landlord must wait to list the dwelling unit as a transient vacation rental from ninety days to sixty days after a tenant vacates;

(3) Deleting language that would have authorized a landlord to initiate a no-fault eviction if a tenant refuses to sign a new rental agreement with reasonable terms, under certain circumstances;

(4) Deleting language that would have authorized a landlord to initiate a no-fault eviction at the end of the term of a rental agreement if a tenant submits late rent payments, under certain circumstances;

(5) Clarifying that rental assistance is an amount equal to one month's rent;

(6) Specifying that nothing under the measure shall be applied so as to impair any contract in a manner violative of the Hawaii State Constitution or Article I, Section 10, of the United States Constitution;

(7) Inserting a severability clause;

(8) Changing the effective date to January 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(9) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 466, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 466, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

____________________________

LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair