TEST – Hawaiʻi Fire Relief Program
A WORD ON UNLAWFUL EVICTIONSAttorney General Anne Lopez is asking residential rental tenants on the island of Maui to inform the Department of the Attorney General if their landlords are illegally raising rent or threatening them with eviction for failure to pay rent, taxes, or fees. More…
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 To learn more about the response to the Maui fires as well as the latest updates, go to the Maui Recovers site |
An unimaginable tragedy unfolded on Maui beginning Tuesday, August 8, 2023. Many have lost loved ones and/or their homes. Thousands may be in dire and immediate need of temporary housing.
The State of Hawaii launched the Hawaiʻi Fire Relief Housing Program. The goal of the program is to connect those in need of long-term housing due to the Maui fires, with Hawaiʻi homeowners willing to assist by offering unoccupied rooms, units or houses on a temporary basis.
“We are asking folks in the community to rent out those extra rooms, the ‘ohana units or accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in their homes, vacation rentals, or whatever safe and secure rooms they have available,” Governor Green said.
NEWS & UPDATES
- (December 12,2023 – FEMA News Release 040) Beware of Rental Scams Offering Too-Good-to-be-True Price
Online classified advertisements are luring Maui wildfire survivors with false offers of available rental units, and people are learning too late that the cash they paid for a security deposit went to a scammer instead. - (December 12, 2023) Weʻd like to again remind property owners participating in HHFDCʻs Hawaiʻi Fire Relief Housing Program to please let us know if your unit is rented or no longer available for our program. Do this by completing the form located here. Mahalo again for offering to assist our Maui neighbors who are in dire need of safer and more stable shelter options. Thanks to property owners such as yourselves, the program has been able to place more than 600 families, approximately 1,800 individual survivors!
- (December 12, 2023) Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez is publicly calling for residential rental tenants on the island of Maui to inform her department if their landlords are illegally raising rents or threatening them with eviction for failing to pay rent, taxes or fees. Governor Josh Greenʻs Eighth Proclamation Relating to Wildfires states specifically that Maui landlords cannot charge more rent than what was assessed as of August 9, 2023, unless such a rent increase is contained within a written agreement signed by the prior to August 9, 2023. Violators of these provisions of the Emergency Proclamation may be subject to penalties and remedies as provided by law, including civil penalties of up to $110,000 per day. Questions about the issue should be addressed to the Department of the Attorney General at [email protected].
- (December 12, 2023) The new Department of Human Services (DHS) Rental Assistance Program (DHS RAP) may provide additional financial resources to those who offer long-term housing to Maui wildfire survivors, specifically those survivors who are ineligible for FEMA housing assistance. To learn more, go here.
- (November 21, 2023) NEWS RELEASE: Governor Green renews call for homeowners to assist Maui fire survivors by offering up their vacant units and rooms.
