Governor extends eviction moratorium, but also gives it an end date

Published: Jun. 7, 2021 at 5:11 PM HST|Updated: Jun. 7, 2021 at 5:13 PM HST
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Gov. David Ige on Monday extended the statewide eviction moratorium for another 60 days, but said the ban on evictions won’t be renewed after Aug. 6.

“Our intent was to end the eviction moratorium at the end of that proclamation in about two months,” Ige said, during an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Spotlight Hawaii.

The governor said the move is part of a transition away from statewide emergency proclamations.

He said there still will be protections in place for struggling renters, including million of dollars in rent relief for low-income tenants and landlords and new legislation requiring mediation before eviction.

Renters’ advocates said the extension will help prevent a flood of eviction notices from being filed starting Tuesday, which is when the current moratorium was to expire.

The moratorium has been in effect for more than a year in a bid to prevent mass evictions during the height of the pandemic, when hundreds of thousands in Hawaii were out of work.

“Eviction notices are ready and prepared to go out the door as soon as they are allowed to do so,” said Ray Kong, litigation director for Lawyers for Equal Justice.

“If it wasn’t extended, a lot of notices would be out the door.”

But real estate expert Ricky Cassiday said the moratorium is hurting landlords, many of whom are owed several months in past due rent.

“From an individual landlord perspective, it’s a bad idea.”

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