‘Renovation Aloha’ Home Flippers Hit With Flurry Of Building Violations

In the second season of the HGTV show “Renovation Aloha” that kicked off this week, a minor plot point involved something far less cinematic than turning Oʻahu eyesores into glitzy real estate listings. 

Home flippers Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama twice make a point of mentioning building permits. 

“Permits are approved, and the $10,000 repair on the subfloor has begun,” Kamohai Kalama says.

In reality, the permit for the home featured in “Episode 1: Junk in Pearl City” was still pending as Kamohai Kalama spoke over timelapse footage of their flooring work. The home was renovated and on the market by the time the city finished its review, according to city records and Zillow. 

Nevertheless, the Kalamas’ speedy timeline paid off with a $140,000 profit, according to the show.

It’s a pattern the Kalamas have followed again and again, public records show: Start construction work with or without applying for a permit, and sort out any issues after the fact. It’s a tempting approach for permit applicants in Honolulu, who often have to wait months or even years for official permission to build. 

But the Kalamas’ way of doing business may be catching up with them. 

Following a Civil Beat investigation published in early December, the county stepped up its oversight of the Kalamas, issuing at least nine violation notices in a five-week period to properties owned by them, their development companies or their buyers for building without permits, city records show. Those add to a list of violations issued earlier, some of which remain unresolved.

Investigation: For ‘Renovation Aloha,’ Permit Violations Are The Cost Of Doing Business

When flippers skip permits, the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting may not always notice. The practice, however, is not a legal loophole to the city’s permitting rules, Honolulu permitting director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna told Civil Beat. 

“There are definitely repercussions for doing these things the wrong way, and it’s a ripple effect,” she said, noting new owners of unpermitted properties can face safety issues, fines and other problems. 

Meanwhile, the company behind the show, Living Aloha Productions LLC, has applied for a state incentive that could result in a $330,000 payout from taxpayers, according to the Hawaiʻi Film Office. The state offers movies and television programs filmed in the islands a refund of 22% or more of their production costs. The Hawaiʻi tax office was unable to confirm whether the state has cut the show any checks, citing a tax confidentiality law. 

If “Renovation Aloha” does get a handout from taxpayers, Cheryl Cudiamat, president of the engineering firm Structural Hawaiʻi, would have a problem with that. 

“We should not be paying for illegal work,” she said “Our needed tax money is going to waste.” 

The Kalamas and their public relations representative did not respond to a request for comment about the permit fines or the tax credit application. 

One of their homes in Kāneʻohe was slapped with daily fines last July that as of this month had mounted to $31,650. The Kalamas’ team partially demolished that home, started an unpermitted addition and disobeyed a stop work order, according to city records. 

The Kalamas’ company, Stand Firm Developments, only applied for a permit after the home was put on the market, records show. It sold for $1.5 million, more than half a million over the original purchase price. 

The new owner, who didn’t want to be named, said the Kalamas have agreed to pay any permitting-related fines.

In a recent appearance on KITV’s Island Life Live, Kamohai Kalama called Civil Beat’s earlier story disheartening and said it didn’t tell the full picture. The couple is bringing run-down homes back online in a market hungry for supply, he said. 

“We have always worked with, are currently working with and will continue to work with DPP and city officials on all our projects,” he said, adding that the delay-plagued city permitting process is improving. 

“We’re just going to continue to do what we know is right.” 

Why Permits Are Necessary

Permitting rules exist to ensure structures meet health and safety requirements, Takeuchi Apuna said. Without them, there’s no way to know if the jobs were done by licensed professionals and no one checks on the work until the house is about to be sold. Even then, home inspectors can only see what can be viewed with the naked eye while DPP inspectors are supposed to observe the work as it’s being done. 

The buyers of a Kalihi home featured in the first-ever episode of “Renovation Aloha” told Civil Beat last year that they discovered mold and cracking that in turn exposed structural problems. 

The Kalamas had done extensive work on the home, according to their show, including removing a tree growing out of the middle of it, lifting up the foundation of an entire section and adding a new roof. 

However, records show the permit the Kalamas obtained only covered new windows and a carport. 

The county issued a violation notice to the new owners in December, calling on them to obtain a retroactive permit. Now they are going through the permitting process the Kalamas skipped. Retroactive permit fees cost three times the regular rate. 

“The owner is stuck with the bag,” Takeuchi Apuna said of unpermitted flips generally. “They don’t want to have to deal with this.”

Beyond safety concerns and financial penalties, owners of unpermitted structures can face other challenges. If later the work is found to be out of step with the building code, the owner could be forced to rip it out at their own expense. 

Slicing off part of a roof to comply with height limits or tearing up sewer pipes because new bathrooms put a home over capacity can be a pricey headache for a homeowner, Structural Hawaiʻi’s Cudiamat said. 

The Kalamas may believe they’re building to code, but Cudiamat said even longtime construction experts sometimes miss things. 

“They’re still playing that game of Russian roulette,” she said. “What if there is something they don’t know about?” 

Another challenge with unpermitted work: Homeowner’s insurance may not cover unpermitted additions. In the event of a fire or flood, insurance may only cover the cost of rebuilding the home based on the plans filed with the city.   

After DPP started sending out several violation notices in December, Takeuchi Apuna said the Kalamas asked to meet with her. 

In a Dec. 12 email sent to the director and shared with Civil Beat, the Kalamas framed the criticism they’ve faced as a problem not only for them but for the city.

To repair both of their reputations, the couple proposed a collaboration on their show, which they noted has “millions of viewers across its international network.”

“We believe a partnership with the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) presents an excellent opportunity to foster a positive narrative around the department’s critical role in shaping Honolulu’s future,” they said. “By collaborating with your leadership at DPP and Mayor Blangiardi’s, we can feature a compelling campaign on ‘Renovation Aloha’ that showcases the department’s commitment to transparency, efficiency, and community service.”

They continued: “This initiative would not only elevate DPP’s public image but also reinforce its leadership in driving thoughtful, responsible development across Oahu. It is our hope that through open dialogue, we can rebuild trust, ensure transparency, and strengthen our shared mission to serve our community with integrity.”

The director said she spoke with the Kalamas but did not take them up on their offer.

“People are, in a way, injured by the bad decisions of others,” Takeuchi Apuna said last week. “And I think they’re realizing that now, and they want to figure out a way to make it right. The way to make it right is to not do it again.” 

Numerous Violations Unresolved

The kickoff of Season 2 suggests the Kalamas are going about business as usual.

In addition to spotlighting the Pearl City home makeover, the Kalamas mention another nearby flip in the episode. 

Stand Firm Developments purchased the home for $775,000, invested $400,000 and sold it for just under $1.3 million, according to the show and property records. The Kalamas told viewers they made $118,000 on the deal.

County records for a home matching that description show no one has pulled a building permit for the property since 1996.

So far, the Kalamas have not received a violation notice from the city for either property featured in Season 2. But DPP has taken aim at several others in which they have ownership interests.

A Kailua property owned by the Kalamas and Tristyn’s parents is on its way to accruing daily fines, according to DPP. The Iliaina Street home has undergone structural work that exceeds the scope of its repair permits, the Dec. 18 violation notice says. As of Thursday, they hadn’t applied for a permit. 

In this ongoing series about Honolulu’s notoriously troubled permitting department, we seek to explain the failures, inequities and inefficiencies in O‘ahu’s permitting process and explore solutions that would make the system work better for everyone.

Several violations pertaining to homes from Season 1 of “Renovation Aloha” remain unresolved, public records show.  

An Aliʻi Shores home featured in the second episode of Season 1 – “Bee Infestation On The Bay” – was hit with a violation notice in December for “extensive alterations” installed without permits, including a bathroom, deck, and “substantial plumbing and electrical work.” 

The owner told DPP they’re in touch with the Kalamas’ representatives, and a building permit application will be filed soon, according to the department. 

DPP says the Kalamas are challenging one of the violation notices filed against the home featured in Episode 3, “House Held Up By Car Jacks.” At that Kāneʻohe home, the department found the flippers completely replaced the foundation and floor beams, rebuilt the deck, installed a split AC system and built a pergola — all without permits. 

Another Kāneʻohe property on Pahia Road featured in Episode 4 underwent major unpermitted renovations including lifting and replacing the foundation, according to a violation notice. If the owners don’t make progress to remedy the situation soon, DPP said it will start to impose daily fines. 

Generally speaking, if property owners are willing to work with the department to fix a violation and get retroactive permits, Takeuchi Apuna said fines don’t need to be imposed. That’s the case so far on Kalama Street in Kailua where Civil Beat caught up with the Kalamas mid-renovation as they filmed their show last year. 

A reporter spotted the Kalamas through a fence from the backyard of a neighbor who waited almost three years for her own building permit. At the time, they had applied for permits through a company called True Vibe Collective, and they hadn’t been approved yet. 

Nevertheless, construction equipment was buzzing, and the Kalamas and their producer were not pleased with the media attention. Talking through the fence, Kamohai Kalama chastised Civil Beat for tracking down the couple’s latest project. 

“I don’t understand what this has to do with anything,” he said as his workers’ equipment buzzed and hummed in the background. 

True Vibe Collective was subsequently cited for unpermitted work on Kalama Street later in December. The company hasn’t yet been fined.