Saving for a house? A proposed City and County program might be able to help.
For more than a year, the Honolulu City Council has been fine-tuning Bill 20, a measure that would establish a “down payment loan assistance revolving fund,” which would allow qualifying first-time homebuyers to apply for a loan from the county to help make a down payment on a home.
As currently proposed in the bill’s latest draft, people eligible to apply for a loan through the fund would need to have an annual household income no higher than 140% of the city’s area median income and would need to be able to put up at least 5% of the home’s purchase price toward the down payment or closing costs. Borrowers would also need to be approved by a mortgage lender to prove they could cover the mortgage.
All loans through the fund would be secured by a mortgage and their size would be limited by the borrower’s income: for buyers with an annual income below 120% of the area median income, the loan could be no more than 10% of the total purchase price. For those making above 120%, the loan is capped at 7% of the total price.
The bill currently does not specify how much money would be available in the fund, but the council also has a while to figure that out: on Tuesday, the council’s Budget Committee voted to amend the measure to take effect on July 1, 2027.
Andrew Kawano, director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, told the committee Tuesday that the county’s budget for the 2027 fiscal year — which begins this July and ends June 30, 2027 — is already tightly constrained, and he supported putting off the program until the 2028 fiscal year.
“Initial seed funding for this kind of program, I don’t know where it’s going to come from,” Kawano said.
Kawano added that his office needs to further review the measure and determine if the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services would need to implement any new departmental rules to administer the program.
‘Ewa Beach Councilwoman Andria Tupola, co-introducer of the measure, admonished Kawano, telling him his department has had plenty of time to review the bill since its introduction in February 2025.
“You guys will need to respond to emails and give us more feedback,” Tupola said.
But Kawano’s feedback on Tuesday was that the program needs more time in the oven. He compared it to the Transit Construction Mitigation Fund, a grant program by the county providing support for businesses impacted by rail construction on Dillingham Boulevard, a program which Kawano said underperformed following its launch, but was still more developed than Bill 20 currently is.
Anton Krucky, director of the County Department of Community Services, added that he is unsure how effective Bill 20 will be at helping lower-income households buy homes: “We’re talking about a population that doesn’t qualify for loans, or they would have been getting loans.”
Nonetheless, Tupola said the proposal has had considerable support throughout its year of development. While nobody testified in support of the measure in person Tuesday, 35 people and organizations submitted written remarks urging its passage.
“I regularly hear the concerns of young families who are working hard, doing everything ‘right,’ and still finding homeownership increasingly out of reach,” wrote reverend Mark Haworth. “Many are raising children here, serving in our schools, churches, businesses, and local organizations, yet continue to face rising rents and housing instability with little opportunity to build long-term security.
“Families receive assistance, but remain trapped in rental situations where costs continue to rise faster than wages,” Haworth’s letter continued. “They are forced to return again and again seeking additional help simply to remain housed. That cycle is not sustainable for families, nor for our community as a whole.”
The committee voted unanimously Tuesday to forward the bill to the full council for third reading.
Aloha State Daily reached out to Tupola for comment.
