State of Hawaii

Public housing tenants in about 3,000 federally subsidized public housing units throughout the state of Hawaii have been paying more rent than is allowed under federal regulations. Tenants cannot be charged more than 30 percent of their income for shelter, including utilities, but the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii had not adjusted the utility allowances since sometime before 1997, which caused some tenants' combined utility and rent payments to exceed the 30 percent cap. Kona public housing tenants filed a class action lawsuit and have been awarded a $2.3 million settlement. (May-07-06) [HONOLULU ADVERTISER]