Washington, DC —Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) led the Hawai‘i congressional delegation in requesting FEMA Region 9 to waive the collection of fair-market value rent from survivors of the Maui fires participating in FEMA’s Direct Housing program. Currently, survivors are expected to receive their first rental bill on March 1 and have until March 11, 2025, to appeal the decision on the rental amount. Rep. Tokuda and the Hawai‘i congressional delegation’s letter calls for a blanket waiver to broadly cover Maui survivors who are already struggling with the high costs of living and the challenges of Maui’s economic recovery. Survivors should continue to file any appeal to FEMA’s rental decisions through their recertification advisor.
"Too many of our Maui ‘ohana have already had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave Maui, and even the state, because of the high costs of living and ongoing challenges with economic recovery,” stated Rep. Tokuda. “These costs beginning March 1st could be the breaking point for hundreds of families still trying to rebuild their homes and working to establish economic stability by restarting their businesses and finding jobs. The law gives FEMA the authority to broadly waive the collection of fair-market rent, and they've done that in the past in places like Louisiana. All we are asking for is the same consideration so our people can focus on recovery and rebuilding."
A copy of the delegation’s letter can be found here.