A group of tenants’ rights organizations is warning Hawaiʻi landlords they might face legal consequences for attempting to evict tenants during the state of emergency.

Several organizations trying to raise awareness of what they describe as a growing problem of illegal eviction threats said on Tuesday that they are gearing up to take more legal action against landlords.

Advocacy groups say more landlords are violating the emergency eviction ban that's meant to keep people housed and safe during this public health crisis.

Landlords should know that it’s illegal to threaten, evict or lock people out of the properties they’re renting right now.

Nonprofits say they are being overwhelmed with calls from desperate renters and worry about a public housing rule that mandates social distancing, with the threat of eviction.

Advocates say they’ve had to take over reentry services for prisoners released because of COVID-19 worries.

Housing advocates are calling on Gov. David Ige to act now to stop a housing crisis. The governor has offered mixed messages.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court issued an order Thursday “regarding the release or changes in the conditions of confinement of inmates amid concerns of a potential COVID-19 outbreak in Hawaiʻi’s correctional centers and facilities.”

Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s comments contradict the CDC and the experience of correctional facilities across the country where coronavirus is spreading rapidly.

The Supreme Court is considering the proposed releases to avoid a coronavirus outbreak in correctional facilities.

Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald instructed some Hawaiʻi judges on Tuesday to identify inmates who can be released in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Hawaiʻi’s Department of Public Safety says it would cost more than $1 million to release data related to its long-standing problem with keeping inmates locked up beyond their scheduled release dates.

Like child labor laws, the minimum wage and workplace safety regulations, housing is a basic right.

There is no organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of tenants, and a new study finds they lose nearly every eviction case.

According to a new report from non-profit group Lawyers for Equal Justice, 95 percent of eviction cases in Hawaiʻi resulted in the tenant being evicted.

There’s no justifiable reason that 85-95 percent of all lawsuit-dispute cases end in eviction, but that is where a report from Lawyers for Equal Justice (LEJ), released this week, places the rate for Hawaiʻi.

The study confirms the existence of a stark disparity in legal representation between landlords and tenants, and a corresponding imbalance in eviction case outcomes in favor of landlords.

About nine of every 10 eviction lawsuits in the state result in tenants losing their homes, an outcome that partly reflects a huge disparity in who gets help from attorneys, according to a landmark study that analyzed a decade of Hawaiʻi court data.

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.

A lawsuit filed by tenants of a Lahaina affordable housing project has become a bellwether case for the future of affordable housing in Hawaiʻi. Victor Geminiani, an attorney with Lawyers for Equal Justice, is representing some of the plaintiffs in the case.