Maui Residents Displaced by Wildfire Survivors for Property Owners' Profit

In the wake of devastating wildfires, a property management company working for FEMA offered a Kahului landlord $6,500 a month for a two-bedroom condominium, significantly exceeding the previous rental rate. Despite a governor's order prohibiting evictions for nonpayment of rent or utilities, tenants Lea and David Vitello were given just five days to vacate their home. This situation reflects a troubling trend where some landlords are reportedly evicting tenants to capitalize on lucrative FEMA housing contracts. Peter Sunday, another affected tenant, shared his experience of being evicted to make way for his landlord's son, who had been living in a garage while waiting for the eviction to finalize. State and federal officials have stated that it was not their intention for housing programs to incentivize such evictions, although they acknowledged the necessity of offering competitive rates to secure housing for wildfire survivors. Governor Green noted that while some landlords have acted unethically, the majority have provided shelter to those in need. The nonprofit Razon-Olds reported receiving 19 complaints from tenants alleging forced evictions to accommodate FEMA rentals. In response, FEMA announced it would reject properties where tenants were illegally displaced. However, the agency has identified fewer than ten such cases, raising concerns about the enforcement of tenant protections. Legal experts, including Nick Severson from the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, highlighted the complexity of these situations, where landlords often cite exceptions to justify evictions. The Hawaii attorney general's office has found that only 28 out of 200 complaints of illegal evictions and rent increases were substantiated, indicating a need for greater oversight in the housing crisis following the wildfires.