The Emergency Proclamation Due to the Wildfire

Photo byOleksandr Pidvalnyi from Pixabay

According to the news release, on January 5, 2024, the Governor signed an emergency proclamation to extend support and help to the people of Maui. Here are some of the key points of the proclamation.

"Enhance housing opportunities for displaced Maui residents by allowing condominium owners and associations to house displaced residents in excess of time limits in governing documents."

"Encourage hotels, motels, and condominiums to make units available for the housing of those displaced by the wildfires by exempting such housing agreements from landlord-tenant statutes unless specified in a tenancy agreement."

The proclamation has a broad description, so the details still need to be determined. How do you make hotels, motels, and condominiums available for housing displaced by the Maui wildfires?

The details will be important because they could be a blueprint for future Governors. The news release states this is the ninth proclamation on wildfire emergency. The Governor has good intentions. However, the Governor could use emergency proclamations for other areas at one person's discretion.

An emergency proclamation is one way to circumvent the process of getting something done. All that is required is for the person in the executive branch to do is declare an emergency. The person can bypass the legislative branch entirely.

Here is an excerpt of the proclamation.

"Additionally, section 521-68, HRS, landlord's remedies for failure to pay rent and section 521-71, HRS, termination of tenancy; landlord's remedies for holdover tenants and chapter 666, landlord and tenant, are suspended to the extent necessary to prohibit the commencement, continuation, or prosecution of an action to terminate any tenancy for a residential dwelling unit on the island of Maui for failure to pay all or any portion of the rent, maintenance fees, utility charges, taxes, or other fees required for the residential dwelling unit."

I'm not an attorney, but it sounds like if a tenant or tenants cannot pay their rent, the tenant can remain in the rental unit without paying their rent. The proclamation can stop homeowners from removing a renter from their property even if they cannot pay the rent.

Final Thoughts

So, if a person's entire income is from rental, how will the homeowner make their living? An executive power would prevent them from making a living from their rental unit because of the Governor's emergency proclamation.

If you were a landlord on Maui, would you rent your property to the people displaced by the wildfire under the Governor's Emergency Proclamation?