STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1968-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2347

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 2347, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Office of Consumer Protection to develop, maintain, and periodically publish an accessible, multilingual notice of tenant rights.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Disability and Communication Access Board; Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS; Hawaiʻi YIMBY; Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice; Maui Housing Hui; Roots Reborn; and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Your Committee finds that the landlord-tenant relationship can be inherently imbalanced in favor of landlords who have ownership control over essential housing and greater financial resources. Your Committee further finds that the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code mitigates some of this imbalance by detailing the rights and obligations of each party to a rental agreement and the remedies available. However, tenants may only meaningfully invoke their rights if the tenants are informed and educated on the existence of those rights. This measure promotes transparency and accountability by ensuring that tenants have early access to accurate information concerning their rights and obligations, which can help prevent avoidable displacement, reduce housing instability, and foster a more balanced relationship between landlords and tenants.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring the notice of tenant rights to be made available as a standalone document and included in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code informational handbook;

(2) Requiring landlords to provide tenants with the most recent notice of tenant rights in the tenant's preferred language, if available, and imposing a fine of an unspecified amount for noncompliance;

(3) Inserting a savings clause;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2347, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2347, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair