House backs request for judiciary working group to review landlord-tenant code with calls for balanced membership

The Hawaii House of Representatives agreed to consider a resolution requesting the judiciary to convene a working group to review the residential landlord-tenant code and recommend any needed amendments.

Representative Iwamoto spoke in support “with 1 reservation,” urging that working groups on tenant issues include equal representation from landlords, real estate agents and property managers as well as tenants, tenant organizations and legal-aid representatives. He said tenants are often underrepresented, frequently appearing in court unrepresented or minimally represented, and urged the committee creating the working group to account for that imbalance.

The motion to consider the measure was adopted by voice vote. No formal amendments or final legislative text were adopted on the floor during this session; the resolution was referred for further consideration per committee procedures.

Members who voiced reservations or support repeatedly emphasized that any task force must include community members, and specifically tenants, to ensure balanced deliberation. Representative Iwamoto and others said that tenant-focused perspectives—such as those from Legal Aid or Volunteer Legal Services Hawai‘i—should be explicitly represented on a working group addressing landlord-tenant interactions.

The floor action moved the item along the House process; the resolution's eventual membership, scope and specific deliverables remain to be determined by the committee or judiciary body that convenes the working group.