As the saying goes, we cannot choose the family to whom we are related. But courts across the country regularly grapple with choosing whether multiple lawsuits and other insurance claims are indeed related, including most recently the federal District Court of Hawaii in the case of Great American Insurance Company v. Discovery Harbour Community Association, 2025 U.S. Dist., LEXIS 26654 (D. Haw. Feb. 3, 2025).   Read the article…………………………….

The Kula Community Association (KCA) has formally called on Gov. Josh Green and the State of Hawai?i to take urgent action in advance of what is expected to be another challenging wildfire season in Upcountry Maui. In a letter sent on May 12th, Kula Community Association outlined two critical areas of concern: the need for improved wildfire mitigation on thousands of acres of unmanaged state-owned land, and the installation of vital water infrastructure to bolster firefighting capabilities and community resilience.  ...

New bill establishes state insurance and loan programs after years of false starts, allowing the government to serve as the insurer of last resort for condo associations.   Read the article…………………………….

FinCEN has determined that an interim final rule is the appropriate mechanism to exempt domestic reporting companies and United States Persons who are beneficial owners of foreign reporting companies from the BOI reporting requirements pending the receipt of comments and issuance of a final rule.     Read the article…………………………….

Relief for many Hawaii condominium owners paying sky-high insurance premiums may be available soon under a state program.   Administrators of the state’s dormant Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund are preparing to begin offering hurricane insurance policies in June to one or more types of condo association properties.    Read the article…………………………….

The Hawai‘i Real Estate Commission, in partnership with the Community Associations Institute Hawai?i Chapter, will host “Condorama XIV,” a free virtual educational event on condominium ownership and management. The webinar is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2025, from 9 to 11 a.m.   Read the article…………………………….

For the first time since an insurance crisis hit Hawaii condo owners, there is a timeline for state coverage to provide some relief: this June. In recent years, multiple disasters worldwide have pushed up the cost of insurance, and in Hawaii, aging condos also have maintenance and safety issues that made private insurers reluctant to cover them. In many cases, condo associations have chosen to buy less insurance than they need because the owners can’t afford the increased fees, and ...

Mayor Kirk Caldwell held a press conference this morning where he discussed a Memorandum of Agreement that was reached between the West Loch Fairways Community Association and the city regarding a disputed section of a popular 2.5 mile long bike path.  Under the MOA, warning signs that restricted the use of 1,600 feet of the bike path will soon be coming down.   Read the article…………………………….

Condo owners in Hawai?i have been dealing with sky-high insurance bills over the past year. It has led to headaches for condo owners and associations alike. But one local expert said it’s important to know that this is not going to last forever.  Read the article…………………………….

Yesterday, the U. S. Treasury Department issues a press release stating that it will not enforce the BOI Reporting Requirements against U.S. citizens and domestic reporting companies. The press release states, “not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes ...

Today, FinCen posted a news release that it will not issue any fines or other penalties for any entity that does not file a BOI Report until new interim rules are adopted. Before March 21, 2025, FinCen intends to issue interim rules that will extend the deadline for filing BOI Reports.   Read the article…………………………….

Four years ago, when Charles Schmidt and his wife retired to Hawai?i, their monthly homeowners association fee at M?kaha Valley Plantation condominium was $550 a month. Since then, the fee has spiked 60% to $880 per month, largely because of rising insurance rates.   Read the article…………………………….

Kenneth M. Sorenson, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, announced a settlement of $162,500 resolving the United States’ lawsuit under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) against Kailua Village Condominium Association (“Kailua Village”), its Managing Agent, Associa Hawaii, the sellers of a Kailua Village condominium unit, and the sellers’ realtor.   Read the article…………………………….

Dozens of people in aging condominiums are dealing with broken elevators damaged a week ago during the storm.  “With the heavy rain, I noticed there was dripping like inside the elevator from when you opened the doors,” said Haunani Pohaku.  Pohaku is one of them, living in a decades-old building with 12 floors on University Avenue.     Read the article…………………………….

Honolulu firefighters extinguished a blaze that broke out Monday afternoon on the 11th floor of a high-rise condo in Moiliili.  The Honolulu Fire Department received a 911 call at 2:43 p.m. for a building fire at the Kapiolani Royale at 2474 Kapiolani Boulevard. Twelve units with 57 personnel responded, with the first arriving on scene just five minutes later.    Read the article…………………………….

WHEREAS, in Hawai’i, condominium associations are facing the challenge of limited insurance options for hurricane insurance because of the tightening reinsurance market; WHEREAS, only 3 insurers are offering master policies, which insure the common areas of the condominium, to condominium associations in Hawaii, often covering just 20-30% of a building’s hurricane exposure;      Read the article…………………………….

The state is once again on the hook for a decrepit building on Banyan Drive after the previous lessee of the former Country Club Condominium Hotel surrendered its permit for the property.  The Board of Land and Natural Resources in 2022 approved a revocable permit for Banyan Drive Management LLC to temporarily manage the property,    Read the article…………………………….

Seven years ago, after a deadly condominium fire, the Honolulu City Council moved to mandate sprinklers in every residential high-rise, with the premise that sprinklers save lives.  Then came outcry from condo owners and associations, who said the requirement would be prohibitively expensive. The council acquiesced, and under a compromise, buildings could either install sprinklers or pass a fire safety inspection that looks at things like exit routes and the presence of an alarm system.    Read the article…………………………….

The Real Estate Commission, together with Community Associations Institute Hawaii Chapter will conduct a free “Condorama XIII” event via webinar, on Saturday, November 9, 2024. The event runs from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and will feature speakers highlighting topics relating to the condominium community.   Read the article…………………………….

One of our newer lawmakers recently penned a piece, “Consumer-Centered Property Insurance Can Help Condo Owners” (Civil Beat, Oct. 18), floating the idea that condominium associations should consider self-insurance as one way to deal with the difficulties, costs, and practicalities of getting insurance for condominium common areas.  The author notes that self-insurance entails putting away a large amount of money in reserve for disasters, which is what insurance companies insuring such disasters do. Can’t you just cut out the middleman ...

Soaring condominium fees due to insurance cost hikes are putting owners at risk of foreclosure, and trapping others in properties they can’t sell, according to residents struggling to keep up.  County and state lawmakers, insurance regulators and the governor all acknowledge it’s a huge problem and are working on all sorts of remedies. But people faced with enormous bills tell KHON2 time is running out.  Read the article…………………………….

Hundreds of property owners who have failed to pay Maui County the 3% transient accommodations tax for visitor lodgings have been receiving letters saying they need to pay up, and fast.  In November 2021, Maui County started charging the tax after the state took away the counties’ share of the statewide pot. Each county was allowed to impose its own tax on top of the state’s rate of 10.25%.   Read the article…………………………….

Over the past 20 years property insurance carriers have collected nearly $38 billion in premiums from Hawaii property owners, paid out around $14 billion in claims, and amassed at least $24 billion in net profit.  Why were many of these insurance carriers allowed to skip town with all that profit just when policyholders need them most?    https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/10/consumer-centered-property-insurance-can-help-condo-owners/

Gov. Josh Green stopped by Sunrise with an update on the Maui wildfire recovery progress and possible relief for condo insurance hikes.   Video news report……………………..

A Utah-based developer building luxury residential units near Turtle Bay Resort has paused vertical construction until December 1.  The decision comes one month after the developer hosted a community open house with residents……From traffic to environmental concerns, many Koolauloa and North Shore residents are against new development and have been for years.   Read the article…………………………….

Earlier this year, a mediation center that provides condominium-owner-paid Condominium Education Trust Fund-subsidized mediation services provided an instructional session to mediators by Zoom.  Superficially, there was nothing unusual. However, a few of those mediators reported — independently of each other — that the instructor spoke disparagingly of condo owners, as if to inculcate a prejudice against condo owners.    Read the article…………………………….

Community Associations Institute filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Treasury challenging the Corporate Transparency Act and its application to community associations. The law suit challenges the law on the grounds that community associations are exempt under Section 528 of the Internal Revenue Code and several constitutional grounds.    Read the article…………………………….

Retired Hawaii state senator Rosalyn “Roz” Baker is no longer living in the condo she once owned after it was burned down during the Lahaina wildfires last year.  However, she claims that’s not stopping the state’s Association of Apartment Owners (AOAO) from “demanding” that she continue “paying for maintenance fees.”  Baker said she owned a ground-floor condominium at the Aina Nalu property in historic Lahaina, on the island of Maui, when the wildfires forced her to leave her home last ...

Many condo and townhouse owners are starting to pay up for the increased maintenance fees due to skyrocketing insurance costs. A KHON2 view contacted us through our “Report It” feature to share the “never-ending battle.”   Read the article…………………………….

Several property owners from Lahaina reported to Island News they are still having to pay homeowners association (HOA) fees even though their properties were destroyed in the fire.  “It feels a little unfair. My husband kind of put it that he feels a little scammed because it’s still the same amount of money and it’s like, where’s the money going?   Read the article…………………………….

A legal battle is brewing over an effort to save beachfront condos in West Maui that were built in the ’70s and are now threatened by erosion.  For years, community organizers like Kai Nishiki have been trying to prevent the Kahana Sunset from securing a permit to repair one of its buildings along the shoreline and recently filed a lawsuit to do so.    Read the article…………………………….

A former Maui lawmaker says she is getting demand letters to pay maintenance fees for her condominium that was destroyed in the Lahaina disaster.  “I never expected that something that was not caused by any of the owners would be used to really kind of entrap owners,” said retired State Senator Roz Baker.   Read the article…………………………….

Honolulu’s condominium market is starting to show the effects of skyrocketing insurance rates for homeowners associations: The number of condo sales in June was down nearly 25% from June 2023, even though more units were for sale than at any time in the last three years.  Read the article…………………………….

A group of residents at The Island and Bluffs at Maui Lani recently explored the pill-shaped subdivision on the western edge of Kahului, backyard by backyard….The residents walked with firefighters and staff from the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, looking at fence lines, roofs, gutters, windows and walls. They pondered the preened lawns and foliage. They eyed each home’s characteristics and surroundings.    Read the article…………………………….

It may also be said that attorney fees may be the tail that wags the dog in rising insurance costs. Natural catastrophic events are not the only causes of increased insurance costs.  The American Property Casualty Insurance Association and Reinsurance Association of American reported in their joint study of the origins and causes of increasing instability in the insurance markets that the “crisis in property insurance markets today frequently have little to do with Mother Nature.   Read the article…………………………….

Closings of condominium sales have dropped by double-digit percentages in the three months since Mayor Richard Bissen announced a proposal to phase out thousands of short-term rentals in apartment-zoned districts, according to monthly statistics from the Realtors Association of Maui.   Read the article…………………………….

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., signed an emergency proclamation on Wednesday aimed at stabilizing Hawai‘i’s volatile condominium insurance market, which he said has seen unprecedented rate increases due to a hardening global insurance industry and recent increase of catastrophic events around the world.  Hawai‘i’s property insurance market faces significant challenges due to its small size, high real estate costs and unique risk profile, according to the governor’s announcement.   Read the article…………………………….

Insurance premiums are skyrocketing for condo owners with no relief in sight. Now the state is taking some action. But will it be enough?   “We are doing everything we can to help stabilize the market,” State Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito said.  He said insurance premiums for homeowners have spiked in large part due to increased costs of repairing and replacing losses linked to natural disasters including the Lahaina wildfires.   Read the article…………………………….

Automatic fire sprinklers are great — but not, some condominium unit owners say, when installing them means uprooting their entire lives and spending thousands of dollars.  At Kahala Towers, a high-rise residential building in Honolulu, the condo’s board of directors is pushing ahead with the installation, saying it’s needed to mitigate soaring insurance costs. Owners, many of whom are elderly, say that the sprinklers are unnecessary and that the installation means big bills that the retiree residents can’t afford — ...

I am well versed at sending emails and hosting meetings telling managers and board members that their insurance has been non-renewed and / or premiums are going up 200%+. Well recently, I was on the receiving end of that email. I can now quite literally say that I feel your pain.  Some of you know that I sit on a board of directors for a common interest development in Hawaii.   Read the article…………………………….

A fire burned through a Maui condo over the weekend, causing extensive damage.  Maui fire officials said the flames began sometime just before 3:20 a.m. Sunday. Multiple engines and units were dispatched to the scene at the Harbor Lights Condominiums in Kahului.  Residents were evacuated as crews quickly got to work battling the flames.    Read the article…………………………….

In the year since the Lahaina wildfire disaster, the head of Hawaii County’s Civil Defense Agency says he’s implemented additional training for emergency management staff with a focus on messaging and the use of the public alert warning system.   Read the article…………………………….

Jillian Anderson was planning to make fighting crime in Waikiki the top issue in her campaign for a seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives. Then came the letter from her condo association announcing a 300% increase in insurance premiums, which would be passed on to owners through an assessment.   Read the article…………………………….

John Saunders fondly remembers family gatherings at his condo along Napili coast in West Maui. He loved to watch his kids learning to swim and snorkel with sea turtles in Keonenui Bay, a crescent-shaped cove just a short walk from the 1970s-era Kahana Sunset complex.  The Orange County, California, coin collector and real estate investor hoped his three grandkids would also enjoy the pool and ocean there. But the Saunders’ family condo is off-limits.  An engineer hired by the condo ...

A luxury apartment-hotel, a $4 million beach house and condominiums at a resort golf course don’t typically constitute workforce housing in Hawaii, but they are targets of a plan on Maui aimed at converting short-term vacation rental properties to long-term housing for residents.   Read the article…………………………….

It’s been a bad year for Hawai‘i Condominium Associations, with many seeing the price of their master insurance policies increasing 300% or more in one year. A few buildings saw those premiums increase by an extraordinary 900% to 1,300%.  It’s unlikely to get better any time soon.    Read the article…………………………….

When the Peninsula at Hawaii Kai condo community got news of its insurance bill for 2024, the condo owners were in for an unpleasant surprise. The association’s premium was going up almost tenfold, to $3.3 million from less than $400,000, said Kris Hanselman, an owner in the community.   Read the article…………………………….

Some 400,000 of us here in the islands live in condos, governed by quasi-governmental agencies.  Sometimes residents can face legal fees in the thousands over fairly minor disputes, as Stewart Yerton has reported. And for some, insurance costs have skyrocketed lately.    Watch the video………………………….

Governor Green has signed several bills into law aimed at alleviating challenges faced by condominium owners.  The new legislation opens avenues for condo associations to secure financing for various building improvements, spanning from plumbing upgrades to the installation of fire sprinklers.     Read the article…………………………….

We explored the often polarizing issues surrounding condominium association governance and management, and the impacts they have on owners at our Civil Cafe: Condo Issues panel discussion on Friday, May 24, 2024.  Panelists included condo resident and advocate Lila Mower, broker Richard Emery, and attorneys Jane Sugimura and Terry Revere. The event was moderated by senior business reporter Stewart Yerton.   Watch the video………………………….