STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3322

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1776

H.D. 2

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 Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1776, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD-TENANT CODE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Office of Consumer Protection to periodically publish an accessible, multilingual notice of tenant rights;

(2) Require the notice to be included in the informational handbook on the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code maintained by the Office; and

(3) Require a landlord to provide a tenant with a copy of the most recent notice of tenant rights in the tenant's preferred language, if available, and subject the landlord to a fine for failure to do so.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Disability and Communication Access Board, Hawaiʻi Childrenʻs Action Network Speaks!, Hawaiʻi YIMBY, Roots Reborn, ACLU Hawaiʻi, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaiʻi, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, and two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Consumer Protection of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS.

Your Committee finds that despite renters comprising a significant portion of the State's housing market, Hawaii's Residential Landlord-Tenant Code is not well-understood by many participants. This measure would provide accessible, multilingual information for renters and landlords to encourage better landlord-tenant relationships and communication.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Replacing language that would have required the Office of Consumer Protection to periodically publish a notice of tenant rights under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code and any other applicable federal or state law with language that requires the Office of Consumer Protection, beginning July 1, 2027, to publish a notice of tenant rights under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code in electronic format on a website maintained by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs;

(2) Deleting language that would have:

(A) Required a landlord to provide a tenant with a physical or digital copy of the most recently issued notice of tenant rights published by the Office of Consumer Protection at or before the time the tenant signs a written rental agreement; and

(B) Established penalties for failure of a landlord to provide a tenant with a copy of the notice of tenant rights;

(3) Inserting a blank appropriation for the Office of Consumer Protection to publish the required notice;

(4) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1776, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1776, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair