State and city laws protect renters who come forward to report safety hazards in their units, but few alert authorities for fear of being evicted, housing advocates say.

In 2006, the city issued 704 citations, excluding sign complaints, for violations of the city housing code at residential and commercial properties.

It's unclear how many of the violations issued were for rental units, but regardless, it's a tiny portion of the approximately 173,000 renter-occupied housing units in the Islands.

"I've seen a lot of horror stories," said William Durham, a Windward O'ahu housing attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i. "But clients are very, very reluctant for me to pursue the cases. They're honestly just happy to have the roof over their heads."

The issue has come to light in the wake of a stairway and lanai collapse last week at a 65-year-old Kalihi walk-up. The incident left a 47-year-old woman and 2-year-old boy trapped in a second-floor apartment until firefighters helped them out.

Tenants said the landlord was repeatedly told that the concrete-and-wood lanai and stairway, which served one apartment and hung over a first-floor doorway, was in danger of collapse. According to the tenants, the landlord said she could not afford to fix the stairs.

But the landlord, Kay Adaniya, said that she never refused to replace the stairwell. Instead, she said she was waiting for the second-floor tenants to move out before she undertook any work.

None of the tenants went to the city to complain about the situation. If they had, city inspectors likely would have required the stairwell be repaired and would have levied fines on the owner if she didn't comply. As it is, the city has issued a notice of violation to Adaniya and will fine her if the stairs are not replaced.

Adaniya has five days from the day the violation was issued to start making repairs or show inspectors she is working to fix the problem.

Housing advocates say the case illustrates the need for more renters' rights education and research on substandard housing in the Islands. With rents so high and housing so tight, especially on O'ahu, low-income tenants are afraid to raise concerns lest they get evicted and are forced to find another place with no references, they say.

"I think there is a fear" to come forward, said Debbie Kim Morikawa, director of the city Department of Community Services. "With the market the way it is, I'm sure that it is out there."

Henry Eng, director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting, said inspections for walk-ups and houses are typically conducted after a complaint is made. Calls can be made anonymously.

State law says landlords must make repairs to keep their units habitable as long as they are renting them out. And a city ordinance spells out exactly what constitutes "substandard housing."

HARD TO AFFORD REPAIRS

Anything determined to violate the ordinance is subject to violation notices and fines up to $1,000 if the situation is not remedied. Housing is deemed substandard if, for example, it does not have hot and cold running water, is generally dilapidated or is unsafe.

Morikawa pointed out that many landlords who own rental units for the poor may not be able to afford large-scale repairs. And if they do put money into the properties, the low rents are often increased to pay for the fixes, forcing some people out onto the streets.

The Community Services Department manages a low-interest, federally funded loan program for landlords of low-income housing and low-income home-owner-occupants, and doled out about $1.7 million for 37 properties in fiscal year 2007. Only four of those loans, however, went to landlords. The cap for the loans is $50,000.

Morikawa said the money went to everything from termite treatments to new plumbing.

Though tenants appear to be fearful of coming forward, housing advocates say there are protections for tenants facing a safety hazard in their units. The biggest one has to do with tenants who alert authorities to problems.

'ONLY A MATTER OF TIME'

Durham, of Legal Aid, said if the city or state cites a landlord for a hazard, the tenant cannot be evicted until the hazard is repaired. Still, there is no protection for the renter afterward, which means many tenants choose not to speak and sometimes fix it themselves.

Several tenants who live at 2021 Stanley St., say they have been trying for years to get repairs made to the stairwell that collapsed Wednesday.

Darren Villamar, who lived with his 2-year-old son, mother and sister in the second-story apartment whose stairs collapsed, said he had brought up his concerns about the stairwell for years.

He said the previous tenants, who moved out in 2000, also asked the landlord to fix it. When Adaniya didn't, he said, they started making their own repairs.

The stairwell was only used by the one apartment.

"There was a lot of cracks underneath the balcony," he said. "It was only a matter of time until it was going to happen."

Villamar also charges there are other big problems with the one-bedroom apartment. He said the kitchen sink doesn't work, so they are forced to wash dishes in the bathroom. The place also is termite-infested, he said.

The family paid $450 a month for the unit, and were two months behind, according to Adaniya, the landlord.

Adaniya, who also owns two other walk-ups nearby, said she gave the family an eviction notice in March because she wanted to repair the stairs and didn't have an empty unit she could offer them.

She said she agreed to let the family stay until they found a new place. Adaniya also said she pleaded with Charlene Padayao, the 47-year-old woman who was in the home with her grandson when the stairs collapsed, to leave as quickly as possible.

"The stairs are not safe," Adaniya recalls telling Padayao.

WHO'S TO BLAME?

In reaction to Villamar's charges about the unit's condition, including that it had no working sink in the kitchen, Adaniya said the unit was in fairly good condition when the family moved in, and any damage was caused by the tenants.

Adaniya has agreed to hire a structural engineer to survey the site and determine whether there are bigger issues with the building. Meanwhile, it is expected to cost about $10,000 to rebuild the stairs.

Padayao and her family will not be moving back to the apartment once the stairs are fixed, and Adaniya said they will be able to get to their things soon, once a portion of the wall of an adjoining unit is taken down.

Padayao and her family are living with friends and family until they can find a new place. Padayao is staying at an aunt's video store and taking showers at a relatives' house. Villamar said he and his 2-year-old have moved in with his father. His 17-year-old sister, who also lived in the unit, is staying with friends.

Adaniya said she declined to put the family up because she was told they had places to stay. A family on the first floor, whose door is underneath the fallen stairwell, was given a hotel room. The rest of the families in the seven-unit apartment building have returned.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.