Gov. Josh Green threatens to bring down ‘hammer’ on landlords in fallout from Hawaii fire
Gabrielle M. Etzel
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Gov. Josh Green (D-HI) has threatened to use the “hammer” of emergency orders to convert 3,000 temporary vacation rentals into longer-term housing for survivors displaced by the wildfire that swept across the island of Maui in August.
As of Thursday, Green said that there are still 6,297 residents still living in hotels more than four months after the wildfire killed at least 97 people, the deadliest United States wildfire in over a century.
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There are currently a minimum of 12,000 units legally rented on a short-term basis in Maui. Green estimates that there could be nearly as many as 25,000 units available if rentals without legal permits are included in the calculations.
The devastating wildfire entirely wiped out the historic area of Lahaina, destroying roughly 2,200 buildings estimated to be worth more than $5 billion. Approximately 86% of the structures destroyed were residential buildings.
According to Green, a combination of county tax benefits and rent subsidies offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency should incentivize landlords to comply with the request.
On Monday, FEMA sent letters to short-term rental operators across the island offering to pay them the same rent level that they earned last year for their units. The agency offered to pay for the rent for approximately 2,000 families, while the state of Hawaii and private philanthropists will cover the remaining 1,000 who do not qualify for federal aid.
“So there is no reason at all for people not to take this opportunity provided they want to be a helpful part of the solution,” Green said.
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Green intends for the measures to last two years, enough time for more permanent housing solutions to be built on Maui.
Although the governor has not yet released an estimate as to how much the plan will cost for the state of Hawaii, the details are anticipated in a new budget proposal to be released Monday.