STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3204

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1711

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1711, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend, for the purposes of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation's Rent-to-Own Program, the period during which the sales price of a dwelling unit is required to remain fixed from five years to an option period to be determined by the Corporation.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS, and Housing Hawaiʻi's Future.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that the State's housing market suffers from high costs and limited inventory. To address these challenges, the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation administers the Rent-to-Own Program, which allows renters in the program to credit a portion of their rent toward the purchase of a home. However, the State currently has one of the lowest rates of homeownership for young adults in the United States, indicating that further action is necessary to facilitate homeownership under this program due to participants' changing economic circumstances. By giving the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation greater flexibility to set an option period during which the sales price of a unit will remain fixed, this measure preserves price stability and improves the effectiveness of the Rent-to-Own Program.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1711, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1711, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

________________________________

STANLEY CHANG, Chair