Hawaii landlords rejecting $8M in overdue rent
Some island landlords have rejected about $8 million in direct payments to cover the rents they’re owed because they do not have general excise tax licenses and are not paying taxes on their rental income.
Where that leaves renters who have qualified and been approved to have their back rent covered through the state’s Rent Relief & Housing Assistance Program is unclear once the current ban on evictions is scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
“We don’t know what happens in January,” said Kent Miyasaki, spokesman for the state Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp.
Gavin Thornton, executive director of Hawai‘i Appleseed and a member of the House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness, told his fellow committee members Monday that the program to cover rents, mortgage payments and homeowner association fees has been “overall, a great success story” — other than the unwillingness of some landlords to accept $8 million in rent they’re due, which can run from about $4,400 to $6,000.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/12/08/hawaii-news/hawaii-landlords-rejecting-8m-in-overdue-rent/
