Statewide pre-eviction mediation program launches this week

Thursday (Feb. 5) marks the launch of a new 2-year statewide pilot pre-eviction mediation program, requiring landlords to participate in mediation before filing residential eviction cases involving non-payment of rent.

The initiative is intended to prevent unnecessary evictions and reduce court congestion by addressing landlord-tenant disputes earlier in the process, before cases escalate into formal eviction filings.

It builds on the success of earlier mediation efforts in Hawaiʻi, including Act 57, which kept 90% of participating tenants housed; the Early Eviction Mediation Program, which achieved a 90% agreement rate between landlords and tenants; and mediation used during the Maui Wildfire Act 202 emergency response.

Under the new pilot program, landlords must issue a 10-day notice informing tenants of the opportunity to participate in mediation and upload the notice to a centralized website, which directs cases to the appropriate island mediation center.

If a tenant schedules mediation within the initial 10-day period, an additional 10 days is provided for the mediation to take place before an eviction filing can proceed.

Mediation services are free for landlords and tenants. They will be provided by trained, neutral mediators.

Language interpretation also is available upon request, and mediation centers offer technology assistance for
participants who need support accessing Zoom-based mediation.

State officials say the pilot program is informed by lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are … testing a professionalized, pre-eviction framework through this pilot program,” said Maui state Sen. Troy Hashimoto in a release about the new pilot program. “Instead of relying on limited resources in the courts, this data-driven approach encourages early dialogue and allows us to measure how effectively professional mediation can reduce court backlog and resolve disputes.”

The new program will track outcomes through annual reports to the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, providing data to inform future eviction prevention strategies statewide.

Find more information at the Mediation Center of Hawaiʻi website.