Bill Text: HI HB2731 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Housing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-08 - The committee(s) on HSG recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB2731 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-HB2731-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2731 |
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TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO HOUSING.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The cost of housing in Hawaii is one of the highest in the nation and affordable housing is in short supply. Every month, renters in Hawaii must weigh the need for shelter against other necessities such as food and clothing, and many are forced to use the bulk of their paycheck for housing costs.
The gap between income and the cost of housing is almost too large for some residents to span. For example, according to a 2017 report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a person working at minimum wage must work one hundred sixteen hours each week to afford the rent on a modest one-bedroom rental home at fair market value in Hawaii. For a two-bedroom rental home at fair market value, the number of hours that same person must work jumps to one hundred fifty-two hours per week. For the average two-bedroom apartment to be considered affordable, a renter must earn $35.20 per hour, which is significantly higher than the current minimum wage rate in Hawaii.
Not surprisingly, more than half of Hawaii's residents meet the federal definition of cost-burdened. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development defines a cost-burdened household as one that pays more than thirty per cent of its total income on housing. A household has a severe cost burden if it expends more than fifty per cent of its total income on housing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, fifty-five per cent of Hawaii renters statewide were cost burdened and twenty-eight per cent had a severe cost burden.
To cope with the lack of affordable housing, Hawaii renters are forced to adopt strategies such as overcrowding, working multiple jobs, and living in remote areas. In some cases, residents who are unable to obtain or maintain housing become homeless. The December 2016 Hawaii Housing Planning Study, prepared for the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation, acknowledged that "homelessness is affected first by our high-priced, volatile, housing market" and posited that housing is the "primary driver of homelessness."
Recently, some neighborhoods have seen an increase in the construction of structures colloquially called "monster homes," large-scale homes that are designed to house several families but are situated on property zoned for residential use. Some owners and supporters of monster homes claim that these homes mitigate the financial hardship for renters in Hawaii's high-priced markets.
However, residents in neighborhoods in which these monster homes are built, have highlighted several concerns. First, it is questionable whether any new rental units will be affordable. Second, some monster homes are in violation of its certificate of occupancy because the owners have modified the structures to create illegal units. Third, increased noise and traffic erode the neighborhoods' character. Fourth, an increase in the number of residents and visitors exacerbate problems like scarce public parking. Fifth, an abrupt increase in population density strains neighborhoods' aging infrastructure. Sixth, the monetary incentive for monster home owners to rent at least part of the property as vacation rental units will transform family-oriented neighborhoods into places of commercial activity.
The legislature acknowledges the concerns of residents in neighborhoods where property owners seek to construct these large-scale homes, and takes note that counties have zoning power under Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
However, the legislature finds that there is an emergency arising from an affordable housing shortage. The legislature further finds that if large-scale homes with multiple rental dwelling units in residential areas are deemed permissible under city ordinances, then such homes may benefit the community by increasing the stock of affordable housing for extremely low-income families.
The purpose of this Act is to address the emergency arising from an affordable housing shortage by requiring a landlord or owner of a multi-family residential structure to rent a certain percentage of dwelling units to extremely low-income families if more than five dwelling units in the multi-family residential structure are rented to tenants. The Act exempts adult residential care homes, special treatment facilities, and other facilities monitored or licensed by the State of Hawaii from this requirement.
SECTION 2. Section 521-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By adding five new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read:
""Area
median income" means the most current median family income for an area as
estimated and adjusted for family size by the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
"Extremely low-income family" means a family whose income is at or below thirty per cent of the area median income.
"Family"
includes a family of one person.
"Multi-family
residential structure" means a structure that is located in a residential
zoning district, and is divided into five or more dwelling units.
"Residential zoning district" means an area established by a county's zoning maps and land use ordinances for the utilization of land for the development of one- and two-family detached dwelling units."
2. By amending the definition of "apartment building" to read:
""Apartment building" means a structure containing one or more dwelling units, except:
(1) A [single-family] single family residence[,
or];
(2) A multi-family residential structure; or
[(2)] (3) A structure in which all tenants are roomers
or boarders."
SECTION 3. Chapter 521, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§521- Multi-family residential structures. (a)
A landlord of a multi-family residential structure shall rent a minimum
of twenty-five per cent of the dwelling units in the structure to extremely
low-income families as tenants if the landlord rents more than five dwelling
units in the structure to tenants, who are not related to the owner by blood, marriage,
or adoption.
(b) The amount of rent charged to an extremely
low-income family that rents a dwelling unit as provided in subsection (a)
shall not exceed per cent of the family's
combined gross income. The extremely
low-income family's gross income shall be recalculated at intervals of
months, or at shorter intervals, for the purpose of
adjusting rental charges.
(c) If a landlord of a multi-family residential
structure rents five or fewer dwelling units to tenants, the landlord shall not
be required to rent twenty-five per cent of the dwelling units in the structure
to extremely low-income families; provided that a landlord shall not terminate
the rental agreement of an extremely low-income family when the sole reason for
the termination is that the number of dwelling units in the multi-family residential
structure rented to tenants has decreased to five or fewer dwelling units.
(d) A landlord of a multi-family residential
structure may exercise a right to terminate a rental agreement with an
extremely low-income family if the landlord simultaneously terminates the rental
agreements with all other tenants in the structure.
When a landlord
of a multi-family residential structure simultaneously terminates the rental
agreements with all tenants, the landlord shall not rent any dwelling units in
the structure to tenants who are not related to the landlord by blood, marriage,
or adoption, for months following the termination of the
rental agreements.
(e) An extremely low-income family that enters
into a rental agreement as provided in subsection (a), shall not sublet the
dwelling unit or assign the rental agreement.
(f) Except as provided in this section, this section
shall not limit the rights, obligations, remedies, and penalties provided in this
chapter.
(g) This section shall not apply to:
(1)
An adult residential care home as defined in section 321-15.1;
(2)
An expanded adult residential care home as defined in section
321-15.1;
(3)
A hospice home as defined in section 321-15.1;
(4)
A special treatment facility as defined in section 334-1; or
(5)
Any similar institution that is monitored or licensed by the State,
and provides medical, geriatric, educational, religious, or similar services."
SECTION 4. Section 521-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) [The] Except as otherwise provided
in subsection (b) of section 521- , the landlord and tenant may
agree to any consideration, not otherwise prohibited by law, as rent. In the absence of such agreement, and subject
to section 521-71(e) in the case of holdover tenants, the tenant shall pay to
the landlord the fair rental value for the dwelling unit."
SECTION 5. Section 521-37, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§521-37 Subleases and assignments. (a) Unless otherwise agreed to in a written rental agreement and except as otherwise provided in this section, the tenant may sublet the tenant's dwelling unit or assign the rental agreement to another without the landlord's consent.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a tenant of a dwelling unit administered, owned, or subsidized by the United States, the State, a county, or any agency thereof.
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an extremely low-income
family that is a tenant of a dwelling unit in a multi-family residential
structure as provided in section 521- .
[(c)] (d) A written rental agreement may provide that
the tenant's right to sublet the tenant's dwelling unit or assign the rental
agreement is subject to the consent of the landlord."
SECTION 6. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Housing; Multi-Family Residence; Extremely Low-Income Families
Description:
Requires landlords, who rent more than five dwelling units in a multi-family residential structure to unrelated families, to rent a minimum of twenty-five per cent of the dwelling units to extremely low-income families. Provides for exceptions.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
