Providing legal help to tenants shows promising results

The Hawaiʻi eviction report set to be released Monday by the nonprofit Lawyers for Equal Justice stops short of recommending such legislation, but it suggests other ways to provide more representation for residents facing evictions here.

The study found that about nine of every 10 Hawaiʻi eviction lawsuits over the past decade ended in tenants losing their homes, and most tenants did not have lawyers to help them navigate a system widely considered to be confusing for lay people.

“These people have no clue what’s going on and they’re just being shuffled through the system,” said Victor Geminiani, executive director of the nonprofit group and one of the report’s authors.