Oahu’s affordable housing crisis, and affordable rental units in particular, is expected to see some relief with the passage of Bills 20 and 21, which allow for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) or “ohana housing” as part of the Mayor’s Housing Strategy.
Bill 20 would eliminate the requirement that an ohana unit be for immediate family only. The bill also eliminates the requirement that the unit be attached to or entirely contained within the main house, and allows for only one required off-street parking space, instead of two. The bill requires a minimum three-month rental period for any tenant.
According to the University of Hawaii, when the immediate family-only restriction is removed, the vast number of new ADUs will be rental units, which will increase Oahu’s stock of rental housing. Many, if not most, of the new ADUs units will fall in the affordable range—without any legal requirement to do so—which also will increase the availability of affordable rental housing.
Other benefits of the bill, according to UH, include:
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Additional source of income for single-family home or condominium owner;
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Direct growing population into the Honolulu urban core and the ‘Ewa Plain;
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Landowners can ensure tenants are good neighbors and the property is well maintained.
Objections to the bill include:
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Effect on aging sewer system;
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Parking scarcity;
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Negative impact on the neighborhood due to increased population density;
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Increased vacation rentals;
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Landowners could subdivide property and sell ADU.
The city’s responses to these objections include:
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Steps are being taken to improve the sewer system, taking into account how many additional ADUs can be built in each target area and that the increased sewage flow from an ADU is likely to be less than from the primary family unit;
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Parking will always be a problem as long as we have a car-centric society—a citywide examination of the high cost of parking is necessary;
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A six-month minimum rental requirement would prevent ADUs from being transformed into vacation rental units. Council has also introduced Bill 22(15) to increase enforcement of illegal transient vacation rental rules.
Finally, experts believe that residents of Honolulu must get used to increased population density, whether in high-rises or single-family neighborhoods. The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) estimates that Honolulu’s population will grow to more than 1 million people by 2030—an increase of 11 percent over the 2010 population. One has to wonder: Where will all these people live?
