Law is expected to generate thousands of new rental housing units

Gov. David Ige signed a bill into law Friday that’s expected to generate $570 million in funding for thousands of new rental housing units throughout the state, aiding a housing crisis that policymakers say has left low- and middle-income families struggling to make ends meet, while fueling the state’s high rate of homelessness.

“We do know that a stable home is the foundation of our community,” said Ige at a bill signing ceremony held at Keauhou Place, a new residential building in Kakaako. The governor was flanked by state lawmakers, housing advocates and developers, including Stanford Carr and David Arakawa, executive director of the Land Use Research Foundation, which represents large homebuilders and landowners.

House Bill 2748, signed into law as Act 39, aims to generate more than 25,000 housing units by 2030, providing housing for low-income households, as well as middle-income families making up to 140 percent of the area median income — which amounts to $77,000 for an individual and $109,900 for a family of four.

The measure appropriates $200 million into the state’s Rental Housing Trust Fund, which is expected to be used as gap financing for developers of affordable rental units, providing money that cannot be raised through private financing. The funding infusion is expected to create approximately 1,600 affordable rental housing units for families at or below 80 percent of the area median income, or $62,800 for a family of four.

The $200 million was a major boost for the fund, which last year received only $25 million.

“I frankly never imagined that we would get anywhere near that,” said Gavin Thornton, co-executive director of the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, which advocates for more affordable housing.

Thornton said that he hoped this year’s appropriation establishes a new benchmark for the fund.

The new law also expands a general excise tax exemption for construction of rental units for families at or below 140 percent of the area median income. At least 20 percent of those units must be at or below 80 percent of the area median income. The excise tax exemption was created last year but was capped at $7 million annually. Under Act 39 the exemption is capped at $30 million per year and extended through 2030.

The total amount of the exemption over 12 years is $360 million and expected to support 24,000 new rental units.

The law also appropriates $10 million into the state’s Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund, which provides interim construction financing for affordable-housing projects.

The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. is also instructed to assess the housing needs of people with special needs, including identifying the supportive services they might require and conducting an inventory of current providers of supportive services statewide. The law appropriates $50,000 for this effort.

Ige praised the efforts of longtime community advocate and former state Sen. Bob Nakata for his work in advancing the measure. Nakata has been a mainstay at the state Capitol in recent years pushing lawmakers to fund the creation of more affordable housing. Hawaii lawmakers mused this session that the measure was called the “Bob Nakata Act.”