SB 393 Summary

• Extends the notice period for rent non-payment from five business days to ten calendar days and requires landlords to provide specific information including landlord contact details, rent amount due, and tenant rights.

• Requires landlords to participate in free pre-litigation mediation if a tenant schedules mediation within the ten-calendar-day period, and delays filing for summary possession to twenty calendar days if mediation is scheduled.

• Mandates that copies of the ten-calendar-day notice be sent to mediation centers on the applicable island to facilitate contact and scheduling with both landlord and tenant.

• Establishes an emergency rent relief program administered by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority providing rental assistance to tenants participating in pre-litigation mediation, with maximum payment amounts and annual program limits to be specified.

• Appropriates unspecified sums to the judiciary for fiscal years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 to contract for mediation services and to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to fund the emergency rent relief program; sunsets June 30, 2025.