Mayor Caldwell signs ADU incentive bill

News Release from City and County of Honolulu

Mayor Kirk Caldwell today signed Bill 27, saving up to $9,000 to $10,000 in application fees for homeowners wishing to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU).

The bill was drafted by the Department of Planning and Permitting and passed by the City Council on July 6. The measure waives all building permit, grading, and inspection fees, and wastewater facility charges, for a two-year period. It also permanently waives park dedication requirements for ADUs.

Caldwell hopes that the temporary fee waiver will encourage homeowners who are considering adding a second unit on their property, or converting part of an existing structure, to act now. Soon after the bill to allow ADUs was signed into law in September 2015, the city received complaints from homeowners who said the fees were an added expense that might keep them from adding an ADU.

“We have challenged the building industry to design and produce a range of ADUs that homeowners could easily add to their lots to help solve the rental housing crisis,” Caldwell said. “We heard from contractors that a temporary fee waiver would really help them to sell ADU packages and ramp up production – like it did with the solar panel industry.”

Homeowners who applied for an ADU permit and have paid the fees will be refunded the fees if requested. Those seeking an after-the-fact building permit to convert an illegally constructed structure into a legal ADU will not be eligible for the fee waiver.

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