Senate committees adopt tenant-rights language for redevelopment projects after extended testimony from Kalihi tenants and advocates

The Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection and the Housing Committee heard extended testimony on House Bill 1325, House Draft 3, a bill that would require developers of affordable housing projects using Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) financing and similar programs to provide displaced tenants with relocation assistance and a right of first refusal to return to a comparable unit in the replacement project, and to establish procedures and enforcement for developer noncompliance.

Community organizations — including the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaii, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, Kokua Kalihi Valley (KKV), Hawaii Workers Center, and tenant speakers from Kuhio Park Terrace (KPT) — provided detailed testimony describing past relocation failures, accessibility problems for tenants with disabilities, and the stress and displacement experienced by families during redevelopment. Medical-Legal Partnership emphasized the bill’s role in “plugging” enforcement gaps where layered financing (federal demolition, low-income housing tax credits, HHFDC) left tenants without clear state-level enforcement. KKV and other community witnesses pressed for the maximum protections, including both relocation assistance and a right to return.

HHFDC testified in support of the bill and proposed an amendment the committees accepted in part: require both relocation assistance and a right of first refusal for returning tenants in the new project, but without requiring the returning tenant’s rent to be the same dollar amount as the prior unit. The committees also adopted technical, non-substantive amendments and agreed to incorporate language recommended by HHFDC and some elements supported by CGAPS and other stakeholders.

Tenants from KPT described being offered units they said were inaccessible, small, or located far from schools and medical providers; one tenant said moves caused family members to travel long distances and lose a sense of community. HPHA and project representatives discussed the complexity of layered financing, tenant protection vouchers, and the intention to return tenants to renovated units, while tenant advocates and residents urged stronger state enforcement to ensure right-to-return promises are honored.

Committee chairs recorded that the committees would adopt amendments to require both relocation assistance and a right of first refusal (with the caveat that the returning unit’s rent need not be identical to the prior rate). CPN members recorded votes in favor and the measure was adopted with amendments. The committees noted concerns from NAIOS (a developer/industry group) and included those concerns in the committee report. Several tenants said they supported the bill; community groups urged the legislature to preserve rights to return and add enforcement mechanisms.

The hearing record includes requests to consider how layered financing rules intersect with state law and notes that federal programs may not by themselves require a right to return; the bill is intended to create state-level enforcement where federal financing rules fall short.