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Beginning May 1, 2022, seller disclosures, which are required for all residential real estate sales in Hawaii, must include information about whether the property could potentially be impacted by rising sea levels due to climate change.

Oceanfront and beach homes are likely to fall into zones vulnerable to sea level rise, the state’s forecast model shows.

Why did the Hawaii Legislature amend the Real Estate Seller Disclosure Act?

Work has been underway for a number of years to study the possible future impacts of climate change on our Hawaiian Islands , primarily so that state and county governments can adequately plan for changing infrastructure needs and protect the well-being of residents living in areas vulnerable to sea level change .

In 2017, the State of Hawaii’s Report on Vulnerability and Adaptation to Sea Level Rise was published. The following year, the state Climate Commission recommended that information from the report be included in seller disclosures, and the Hawaii Association of Realtors began preparing to implement that recommendation.

This is in addition to existing disclosure requirements regarding whether a property is located in a floodplain , as established by FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. While sea level changes will primarily impact properties located on and near the ocean, it already requires disclosure of properties located near a stream or area that might otherwise be flooded during heavy rainfall conditions.

Recent heavy rains have affected communities such as Hilo on Hawaii Island and the northern shores of Kauai and Oahu.

Without going into all the technical details, the modeling was done by researchers at the University of Hawaii and includes three looks at the potential hazards of sea level rise: Passive flooding, which is low-lying areas at risk of inundation at mean sea level. 

Here is a link to a sea level rise mapping tool .

How does the sea level change disclosure law affect real estate buyers and sellers?

Just as sellers and their representatives currently check National Flood Insurance Maps to see if a property falls within a special flood zone, starting in May 2022 they will also need to check the State of Hawaii’s Sea Rise viewer. 

While the available mapping tool will show the effects of a sea level rise of 6 inches to 3.2 feet by the end of the century, it is this highest elevation that is the basis for the required disclosures.

While this sounds like a potentially scary revelation, low-lying areas were already found in the special flood zone in the previous mapping. And oceanfront areas that rise above the ocean will suffer little from a 3.2-foot rise over the next 80 years.

Recent amendments to the law requiring residential property sellers to disclose material facts to buyers at the time of transaction will be included in the Hawaii Association of Realtors’ standard property disclosure statement for sellers. 

The agent representing you in the transaction should be able to help you complete this section (if you are a seller) or direct you to resources for interpreting the disclosure (if you are a buyer).