Maui Housing Advocates Push For Rent Control Bill To Cap Soaring Prices
A proposal aimed at stabilizing rents got its first hearing before the Housing and Land Use Committee.
Fed up with soaring rents after last year’s devastating wildfires, housing advocates urged Maui lawmakers at a hearing Monday to cap monthly rates.
Maui County Council鈥檚 Housing and Land Use Committee heard from stakeholders on both sides of the issue. The proposal comes as residents continue to struggle despite a state law blocking most evictions and prohibiting price gouging following the Aug. 8, 2023, fire that destroyed much of Lahaina.
鈥淲e need rent stabilization now, not in the near future. Tomorrow is already too late for us,鈥 Desilee Santiago of the Maui Tenant and Workers Association said at a press conference in front of the Maui County Building before the meeting.
Her husband, Jeff Santiago, said their family of three lived in Hailiimaile, away from the Lahaina fires, but had been forced to move because their landlord wanted to jump on the 鈥淔EMA bandwagon鈥 and rent the house for a lot more money. As a result, the Santiagos said they are now paying $4,000 per month for a three-bedroom house in Haiku, two-and-a-half times more than their previous rent.
He was referring to concerns that some property owners and landlords have ousted tenants in a bid to obtain more money by signing up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency or another aid program seeking to house wildfire survivors who had lost their homes. At least 102 people were killed and thousands were uprooted following the blaze.
The association is calling on the County Council to draft new legislation that would establish a base rent, which would only be allowed to increase according to the Consumer Price Index — a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for select goods and services.
The proposal also suggested that all rentals be registered with the county, with fines for noncompliance, although landlords would be allowed to petition for an increase beyond the CPI to cover additional expenses.
Realtor Leil Koch, speaking on behalf of the Realtors Association of Maui, opposed any legislation seeking to control rent prices. Koch said more than 30 states prohibit the practice because it negatively affects the housing market by contributing to gentrification, increasing homeowners’ association fees and adjustable mortgage rates.
鈥淲hat you are actually trying to achieve has the opposite effect,鈥 Koch said, adding many states are suffering rental crises and there are no quick solutions.
Koch suggested the best way to increase the number of affordable rentals is by stimulating the development of more units by increasing rental subsidies, fast-tracking building permits, implementing re-zoning reforms, increasing allowable density and the use of commercial space.
The committee brought Jason Economou, an attorney who has worked for both the Realtors’ association and affordable housing programs, to testify.
He said a rental stabilization program may reduce the available inventory, as Koch said, but only because people tend to stay longer in rental units under such programs.
Economou suggested a program that would allow the transfer of ownership only to people with a proven record of living and working on Maui for a number of years. He said we need to come up with innovative ideas.
Although not clearly saying he was against a rental stabilization program, Economou said it would create a burden in already overworked county employees. It would be an 鈥渦phill battle鈥 just to get such program off the ground, he said.
A string of testifiers followed the stakeholders鈥 presentation, and the most were in support of new legislation to stabilize rental prices. The committee planned to reconvene on the issue on Sept. 25.
Civil Beat鈥檚 coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
