Condominium residents of the Courtyards at Waipouli Apartments on Kaua?i are concerned that they will be displaced once the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands acquires the property.  The Hawaiian Homes Commission held a special meeting back in January to approve a request by DHHL Chair Kali Watson to move forward on purchasing the 82-unit property.  DHHL has plans to offer these condos to the more than 4,000 beneficiaries on the Kaua?i island waitlist as rent-with-option-to-purchase units.    Read the article…………………………….

Seven years ago, Erin Peyton made her home on this small island known for its Hawaiian culture, its broad sandy beaches, and high cliffs.  Despite Moloka?i’s natural beauty and rural charm, Peyton understood that the dry grasses and wild foliage surrounding her townhome complex could also fuel destructive wildfires.   Read the article…………………………….

Gov. Josh Green touts it as a pivotal tool to tackle Hawai‘i’s housing crisis. Opponents say it doesn’t even address the real causes of the housing shortage.  No matter which side you’re on, it’s significant for the state’s short-term rental industry.  Green on Friday signed Senate Bill 2919 into law. The bill is aimed at ensuring the state’s four counties can guide their future development according to their long-term general plans while addressing the issue of illegal short-term rentals.    Read ...

After most of the recently proposed legislative solutions have failed, Puna residents are hoping they can solve their district’s impending housing insurance crisis.  When the last major home insurer announced last year that it would be leaving the Hawaii market by August of this year, homeowners in Lava Zones 1 and 2 discovered that their only other option for coverage, through the state-operated Hawaii Property Insurance Association, would cost several times their current rates.    Read the article…………………………….

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday was poised to make a landmark decision on fines for alleged violations on conservation lands on Oahu’s North Shore.  Violations included the unauthorized decimation of two acres of critical habitat for Hawaii’s endangered yellow-faced bees, plus the unpermitted construction of an iron fence contributing to the death of a female Laysan albatross.   Read the article…………………………….

Housing affordability is getting squeezed by a new pressure — the cost of insurance.  At a recent residential real estate roundtable held by Pacific Business News, industry leaders expressed concerns that soaring insurance costs are pushing home ownership further out of reach for many.  The condo market is getting hit especially hard.   Read the article…………………………….

After receiving approval from the Hawaii Department of Health and the City and County of Honolulu, Kuilei Place, a new condominium development in Diamond Head, Waikiki and Kaimuki, will be the first of its kind in the state with its own onsite greywater treatment recycle and reuse system.   Read the article…………………………….

Sue Savio, president and owner of Insurance Associates and former president of the Hawaii Independent Insurance Agents Association, told Insurance Business America that insurance costs for condominiums have risen by 100 percent to 1,000 percent in certain areas.  Cj Paet, vice president of operations for Cadmus Properties, told local news website KITV 4 Island News that premiums for one condominium in the Piikoi area managed by his company have jumped from $70,000 to $270,000 a year.    Read the article…………………………….

Condo owners may have a new pathway to access benefits from rooftop solar.  The Hawai?i Senate is considering a bill to create a Solar Hui Program, allowing multi-family property owners to pay into a collective investment fund that would go towards energy projects and loans.   Read the article…………………………….

Construction on a luxury vacation condominium project on Kaua?i’s south shore is now on hold.  Last week, a judge ordered a 10-day work stoppage for the Kauanoe O K?loa project, a 279-unit development that has received backlash from members of the Native Hawaiian community.    Read the article…………………………….

Condo owners are facing soaring insurance premiums as companies across the country cancel coverage due to growing risks from climate change. That was the topic of a recent town hall meeting on O?ahu hosted by state lawmakers whose districts largely comprise condo dwellers.   Read the article…………………………….

Hawaii lawmakers are seeking to stabilize Hawaii’s condominium insurance market against sharply rising premiums and a declining availability of hurricane insurance that has sent ripples through Hawaii’s housing market.   Read the article…………………………….

A ripple effect across the country is showing up in the condo fees for nearly 200,000 Hawaii residents, and experts say catastrophes are driving up their insurance rates.  Rising insurance premiums have a direct impact on the fees paid by owners to condo associations.  So far, there’s no easy solution.   Read the article…………………………….

Regulatory costs account for more than half (58%) of the price of a new condo in Hawai?i and are the major contributing factor to the highest housing costs in the country, according to a new report by the University of Hawai?i Economic Research Organization (UHERO) released on March 4.   Read the article…………………………….

As Hawaii’s Governor wages war on Maui short term rental unit investors, there’s an insurance sting in the tail for condo owners and would-be buyers across the state as it wrestles with property insurance challenges.  Insurance costs for condo complexes have skyrocketed by anything from 100% to 1,000% since the devastating August wildfires,    Read the article…………………………….

In the current legislative session, House Bill 2067 was amended and proposes to “Remove from the standard condominium proxy form the option of giving a proxy vote to the board of directors of a condominium association as a whole or to directors present at the meeting. Requires a disclosure statement on the standard condominium proxy form informing unit owners that an association may direct elections by electronic, machine, or mail voting.”    Read the article…………………………….

The Red Cross today announced the daily feeding program will come to an end on Feb. 10, 2024 for Lahaina wildfire survivors residing in condominiums with kitchens as part of the non-congregate sheltering program.Read the article…………………………….

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is considering purchasing the Courtyards at Waipouli for what would be the first-ever condo purchase on Kauai to help alleviate a nearly 30,000 beneficiary waitlist.Read the article…………………………….

Picture this: You’ve been a model condo owner for almost a decade now, always giving the benefit of the doubt to whatever board members hold the reins, even though you occasionally disagree with their decisions.

Ensuring homeowners associations are being fair to their residents is the goal of a new proposal in the State Legislature that would create a government position as a go-between for HOAs and concerned tenants.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging individuals and entities associated with a Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, condominium complex, including the condominium association, employees of the condominium association, the property management company, an employee of the property management company, the condominium unit’s owners, and the owners’ real estate broker with discriminating against a resident because of disability. Read HUD’s Charge.   Read the article……………………………..

One local insurance agent estimates that the owners associations for as many as 390 buildings have renewed their policies with less than 100% replacement coverage.   Read the article…………………………….

Residents in a section of Hawaii Kai are trying to get the city to take over their private road after the development companies dissolved and left them to cover almost $40,000 in delinquent property taxes.   Read the article…………………………..

The task force report is due at the end of this month, but a draft went nowhere. The auditor could look into critical issues affecting as many as 1 in 4 residents.   Read the article………………………..

There were no sprinklers when a fire broke out Thursday, shooting flames and black smoke from the 14th floor of a condo tower in Ala Moana, but the residents knew what to do.  Recently installed fire alarms and a public address system called on them to evacuate, and so they did.    Read the article………………………….

An insurer cannot seek reimbursement from its insured for the cost of defending a lawsuit after learning that no coverage was owed unless the policy says it can, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled.   Read the article……………………………….

Attorney and President of the Council of Association of Apartment Owners Jane Sugimura joins producer/host Coralie Chun Matayoshi to discuss rights and responsibilities of condominium owners, proxy voting, legal fees charged to owners, maintenance costs and special assessments, and compliance with the City & County of Honolulu’s fire safety ordinance.   Read the Q&A……………………………….

The Real Estate Commission, together with Community Associations Institute Hawai?i Chapter will conduct a free “Condorama XI” event via webinar, on Saturday, November 18, 2023. The event runs from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and will feature four speakers recognized in the condominium community for their expertise in Hawai?i condominium law.   Read the announcement……………………………..

I love living in condominiums, having been a condo dweller for over 40 years. But I’m concerned that the condominium model of housing is collapsing.   Read the article………………………………

Alfy Basurto already lost his businesses — and home — in the Lahaina fires.  And now he’s facing a lawsuit “at a time when all of us need to contribute to the solution,” trying to stop him from building more than a dozen tiny homes in a gated community above Lahaina.   Read the article………………………………

Condo association officials won’t say who might have stolen the money, which appears to have disappeared over time and through phony invoices for work that was never performed.   Read the article……………………………..

The state is investigating one of the largest hotel-condominiums in West Maui after some owners alleged they were being forced to evict wildfire evacuees.  The conflict comes as the area prepares to welcome visitors back starting Sunday.    Read the article……………………………..

At least one condo project burned to the ground in the Lahaina fire. There are likely others damaged or destroyed, but although I’ve seen references to condos, I haven’t found a list identifying those with significant damage.  Rebuilding of condominiums is a trickier affair than rebuilding a single family residence.   Read the article………………………..

Hawaii has long been a low-risk and profitable market for insurers, but the Maui disaster could change that, and even have a global ripple effect.   Read the article………………………..

The cause of a fire at a condominium high-rise in Waikiki Tuesday was a lithium-ion battery being charged in a unit’s living room, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.   Read the article………………………..

At a Tuesday meeting of the council’s Policy Committee on Health, Safety and Well-being, Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder proposed a measure that would allow the county to perform maintenance on certain qualifying “private, nondedicated and nonsurrendered roads” in order to ensure continued access to parts of the island in the event of an emergency.   Read the article………………………..

As roving herds of feral pigs get bigger and more intimidating, grunting and rooting in backyards island-wide, many people living in Oahu’s forested valleys are starting to feel the menace.  Read the article………………………..

Condominium associations are lobbying Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters to repeal a law that requires high-rise condos to install costly fire sprinkler systems, prompting Waters to seek input from the Waikiki Neighborhood Board.   Read the article………………………..

Roughly 1,500 polices will be affected by Universal Property & Casualty’s departure from the homeowners, condominium and renters insurance market in Hawaii, according to a state news release Thursday.    Read the article………………………..

Civil Beat’s continuing coverage of condominium governance issues is important, but I’m afraid the latest story gives far too much credence to a conspiratorial view of property management companies and condo boards (“Oahu Condo Board Members Feel ‘Muzzled’ By Management Companies“).   Read the article………………………..

Hired to manage properties, the companies frequently tell board members to not talk to contractors or others outside board meetings   Read the article………………………..

A high seawall is all that separates the ocean from the Kahana Sunset’s beachfront condominium complex in Hawaii. Located in West Maui, the popular vacation rental resort has been battling erosion and sea level rise for decades, and some residents think it’s time for the condo association to stop fighting it.   Read the article………………………..

A Nanakuli resident is facing a $50 fine for drawing with chalk due to the house rules of her homeowner’s association.  Heather Bedley said her children made a chalk drawing on a fence on Monday, July 3 and left it up until Tuesday, July 11 when she received a violation.   Read the article………………………..

The directors of a landmark Honolulu condominium have agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a fellow director who alleged he faced retaliation for raising concerns about the condo board.  Read the article………………………..

After the deadly Marco Polo fire of 2017, older Honolulu high rises were required to install sprinkler systems or pass a safety evaluation, but compliance is slow going. Now state legislation asks them to add the costly systems to their reserve studies.   Read the article………………………..

A group of West Maui condo owners is asking the county for permission to raise their property taxes as a way to funnel up to $40 million into rebuilding the beach in front of their buildings.   Read the article………………………..

A man in his 70s was killed Wednesday and six people were left homeless after a fast-moving blaze ripped through the Konane Kai condo building in Waialua on Oahu’s North Shore.   Read the article………………………..

The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs billed its “Condorama,” held in late April, as an educational program for the public.  “Brought to you by the DCCA Real Estate Commission to empower owners about your rights,” a flyer mailed to residents said.  But critics say a basic aspect of Condorama runs counter to the idea that the department and Real Estate Commission are committed to empowering condo owners. The department chose a real estate trade group to run the ...

To supporters of House Bill 176, it seemed like a no-brainer: eliminate a complicated proxy system and make condominium board elections more like state and federal elections by letting condo owners who can’t attend the annual meeting submit write-in ballots.   Read the article………………………..

Senate Bill 921 is short but technical. Basically, current law gives condominium associations a limited period of time – two years – to sue developers if they catch or should have caught construction defects.   Read the article………………………..