In a move that could be a step toward addressing Maui’s chronic overpopulation of dogs and cats, a bill making its way through the state Senate would prohibit landlords from using rental agreements to forbid pets in tenants’ homes, if they obtain liability insurance to cover pet damages.
Senate Bill 416 would amend Hawaiʻi’s landlord-tenant code to prohibit rental agreements from stopping tenants from keeping pet animals in dwelling units, subject to certain conditions. The bill was heard Monday morning and recommended for approval by the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.
To elaborate on the “certain conditions,” the bill says: “No rental agreement shall prohibit a tenant from keeping a pet animal in the dwelling unit; provided that the tenant obtains and maintains liability insurance to cover personal or property damages caused by the pet animal; provided further that this section shall not apply where the articles of incorporation, declaration, bylaws, administrative rules, house rules, association documents, or a similar document of a condominium property regime or planned community association prohibits the presence of pet animals in the dwelling unit.”
Written public testimony was mostly in support of the bill, although there were some objections from landlords.
Thirty-five-year Maui resident and Maui Humane Society volunteer Ann Pitcaithley said she often hears tenants lament how their landlords won’t allow them to have pets, and she testified in strong support of the bill as an advocate for pet welfare and pet owners.
“I own two cats and can relate to the deep emotional bonds people have with their pets,” she said. “They are a part of the family. Sometimes, their pet is the only member of their family. . . . In conducting a search on Maui Craigslist, it is almost impossible to find rentals that allow pets. Landlords who do allow pets, have imposed additional cost prohibitive monthly fees and deposits for pet owners. There are no limits to the amount that landlords can raise the rent or charge for pets.”
Pitcaithley said the situation is so dire that some people choose homelessness over giving up their pets.
Wildfire survivors “have left Maui or had to settle for Maui rentals that did not allow pets,” she said. “As a result, finding no other options, has had to leave their pets behind. There have been reports of animal abandonment of dogs and cats on the streets, or the dumping of cats at cat colonies, in the hopes that others will care for them. It is also a crisis for Maui Humane Society, which has been at over-capacity due to pets surrendered since August 2023 after the Lahaina fires.”
Heather McVay said: “This bill will improve the lives of so many individuals with disabilities that use a service animal or other assistance animal who regularly endure embarrassment, hassle, time delay, and disbelief and disdain when requesting an assistance animal as an accommodation.”
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