Governor signs bill requiring mediation prior to landlord evictions

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Gov. David Ige signed a measure Wednesday that temporarily requires mediation before a landlord files for eviction.

Currently, mediation can only be done after filing.

However, as the state anticipates numerous court cases following the expiration of the governor’s eviction moratorium in August, legislators passed HB 1376 to help ease the burden on both landlords and tenants.

“With many people still struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic, we need to make sure families are not evicted when there may be a way to negotiate a solution that is good for all the parties involved,” said Rep. Troy N. Hashimoto.

“Legislators knew this eviction moratorium would end at some point and did not want to see any families become homeless.”

Under the measure, landlords must provide a copy of a notice of termination of a rental agreement to a tenant and find a mediation center that provides free landlord-tenant mediation.

The mediation must be completed within 30 days from the receipt of the notice.

Furthermore, the bill also extended the notice of termination from five days to 15 days.

The program will begin on the first day after the eviction moratorium ends on Aug. 6.

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