Housing

Empty Homes Tax: Oʻahu Voters​​ Blocked From Weighing In Craig Fujii/Civil Beat/2026

Empty Homes Tax: Oʻahu Voters​​ Blocked From Weighing In

The decision may mark the end of a protracted battle over how to handle the island’s thousands of empty homes in the midst of a severe housing crisis.

Court Clears The Way For $81M Affordable Rental Project In Kona Screenshot/2025

Court Clears The Way For $81M Affordable Rental Project In Kona

The Honuaʻula project was delayed for years by a Big Island affordable housing scandal and then by a dispute with a neighboring land owner.

Charity Program for Housing Homeless People Broke Promises, Landlord Says Craig Fujii/Civil Beat/2026

Charity Program for Housing Homeless People Broke Promises, Landlord Says

Small landlord now has doubts about renting to tenants from housing assistance programs; tenant says his story is off base.

Maui Vacation Rentals Get A Reprieve With New Zoning Bill’s Approval Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2024

Maui Vacation Rentals Get A Reprieve With New Zoning Bill’s Approval

Roughly 7,000 apartment-zoned units were set to be phased out by 2031 to create more long-term housing. More than half of those may now keep operating as short-term rentals.

‘Renovation Aloha’ Hosts Fined For Illegal Airbnbs In Latest Misstep Renovation Aloha/Warner Brothers/Courtesy photos

‘Renovation Aloha’ Hosts Fined For Illegal Airbnbs In Latest Misstep

Tens of thousands of dollars in fines for illegal vacation rentals are unpaid, the city says.

High Housing Costs Force Hawaiʻi Residents Into ‘Impossible Choices’ Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025

High Housing Costs Force Hawaiʻi Residents Into ‘Impossible Choices’

The latest housing report from the University of Hawaiʻi notes some improvements in the market but authors say they are small and slow.

Aging Hawaiʻi: 60,000 More Housing Units Needed By 2050 Will Bailey/Civil Beat/2026

Aging Hawaiʻi: 60,000 More Housing Units Needed By 2050

New report projects population trends will lead to increased demand for affordable housing for kūpuna and says that departures of younger residents are creating a hole in the workforce.

How To Stop Your North Shore Farm From Flooding? Move, Developer Says David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

How To Stop Your North Shore Farm From Flooding? Move, Developer Says

Waialua farmers were flooded again last weekend, the fifth time since February. A local developer says it’s time to look for new land, but for many that’s unfathomable.

Vacation Rental Owners Could Face New Hawaiʻi County Rules AP Photo/Caleb Jones

Vacation Rental Owners Could Face New Hawaiʻi County Rules

Stronger enforcement and better registration requirements are on the horizon on the Big Island.

Kaua‘i Mayor’s $504 Million Budget Prioritizes Housing, Infrastructure Noelle Fujii-Oride/Civil Beat/2026

Kaua‘i Mayor’s $504 Million Budget Prioritizes Housing, Infrastructure

The proposed spending plan continues Mayor Derek Kawakami’s long-term focus on road resurfacing, bridge repairs and parks improvements.