On July 5, the Ninth Circuit dismissed with prejudice an appeal by Front Street Affordable Housing Partners, confirming that the developer may not unilaterally end rent restrictions.

The dismissal confirms that FSA may not end unilaterally the rent restrictions that prevent it and subsequent buyers from raising rents or selling the project unencumbered by the rent restrictions.

Lahaina Front Street Apartments, a 142-unit development built using federal housing tax credits, cannot be converted to market-rate housing or sold without the tax credit program's rental restrictions.

The lawsuit challenged a developer’s attempt to increase rents to market rate, or sell the property without restrictions.

The lawsuit challenges developer’s attempt to convert the property into market-rate rentals in violation of the 51-year commitment to keep rents affordable to low-income tenants.

Kapālama residents fed up with what they say is substandard public housing conditions filed class-action lawsuits in state and federal courts yesterday against the state for the alleged lack of repairs.

Only cold water streams from most showers and sink spigots at Mayor Wright public housing, a chilling daily reminder to its low-income residents that their basic need for hot water has been ignored by the government.

A federal lawsuit seeks to force Hawaiʻi’s government to more quickly hand out food stamps to families in need because the state has been falling behind.

U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright said he will rule next week, but he was apparently grappling with what could be a life-or-death situation for many.

Federal class action suit alleges new Hawaiʻi healthcare plan illegally discriminates against certain legal residents from three South Pacific nations by drastically reducing their benefits, based on nationality.

The state has chosen a New Jersey-based company to undertake a $316 million redevelopment of Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes, which will include a one-for-one replacement of public housing units along with the addition of 276 subsidized, senior and market rate rental units.

Lawyers for Equal Justice is considering legal action to delay implementation Tuesday of a new state health plan key legislators say “could be a death sentence” for some residents.

“We have appropriated funds to take care of many of the projects, including the elevators, trash chutes, fire alarms, etc., but there seem to be delays in carrying out the repairs. We've tried to hold the administration accountable by doing hearings, site visits, and recently asked for an audit.”

The minimum expected of public housing, according to multiple federal laws on the books, is that it be "decent, safe, and sanitary." It's simply unconscionable that there are still public housing projects in Hawaiʻi that can't even reach that low bar.

Among the responsibilities of state government is to help provide basic needs for citizens' whose own means fall short. Where shelter is concerned, the state acknowledges this through its public housing projects.

The state, as a landlord, has an obligation to provide living quarters that are in good repair, just as private property owners do.

Disabled tenants at Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes have to worry every day about meeting their most basic needs, but after years of suffering, they have new hope it's about to change.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, also says disabled tenants are not being afforded bare-bones accommodations, including accessible showers.

The federal case alleges that the public housing project violates the American with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and the Fair Housing Act. The state case alleges a breach of obligation by the state under its warranty of habitability.

Calling the state ''the largest slumlord'' in Hawaii, Lawyers for Equal Justice filed federal and state class-action lawsuits Thursday against the Hawaiʻi Public Housing Authority.