The dispute over Ashley Caris’s three-bedroom, post-and-pier home in Keokea centers on what happened to drywall she says was exposed to rain before it was installed—and what Habitat for Humanity did after she raised concerns. Habitat’s account differs on how the materials were handled; the available reporting does not resolve the disagreement.
Caris, a Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiary, told Hawaii News Now that Habitat made mistakes building the home and retaliated after she complained. She says the organization ordered drywall in April 2025 and left it on the lawn for 50 days in heavy rain.
What a Homestead Lease Establishes
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ lessee handbook says beneficiaries may receive 99-year homestead leases for residential, agricultural or pastoral purposes at $1 per year. That general land-lease arrangement does not establish the terms of Caris’s construction agreement or determine what construction and occupancy conditions applied to her home.
What Went Into the Walls
Caris said staff and volunteers saw water damage when the drywall was opened in June 2025, but installed it anyway; she said staff knew about the issue in July. By August, she reported green and gray growth on the textured drywall inside the home.
Habitat's account is not a house left full of spoiled board. The nonprofit said several pieces of material showing visible signs of mold were identified and discarded, and that the home subsequently passed applicable inspections. It said it engaged outside professionals to evaluate her concerns and recommend corrective measures, then took steps to address those recommendations.
Those are Habitat's statements, not an outside ruling on what remains in the walls. Habitat says the visibly moldy pieces were discarded before the home passed applicable inspections. Caris's claim is that water-damaged drywall was installed anyway. She has also said workers damaged electrical equipment.
Paint, on Habitat's Account
The proposed fix is where the two versions stop sounding like a paperwork quarrel. "The proposed remedy from Habitat is to paint over the mold that's on the walls, when we have multiple documents stating otherwise," Caris said. Those documents are not reproduced in the public account.
Habitat, for its part, pointed at the schedule. It said the project experienced delays early and that construction of the Kula home took longer than anticipated. It described the August 2023 wildfires as unprecedented challenges for the Maui affiliate. The statement, as reported, does not say discarded scraps and a coat of paint are the same thing. Caris is arguing they are being treated that way.
Locks, Water, and a Complaint
Caris told Hawaii News Now that the locks had been changed, the water shut off and staff told her she could not be on the property. She characterizes those actions as retaliation after she complained. Habitat's reported statement does not address the locks, the water, or whether she could be on the homestead.
She had looked forward to enjoying the view for years. She also said contractors should follow through on open contracts while they support builds in Lahaina. After trying to get a remedy from Habitat, she said she sought help elsewhere and filed complaints with the state and the Better Business Bureau, according to Hawaii News Now. Those are complaints. Nothing in the public account is a regulator's finding or a court ruling.
The Homes Habitat Counts
Habitat also pointed to its broader record, telling Hawaii News Now that it has worked alongside local residents for 28 years to build more than 125 safe, affordable homes. That organization-wide figure does not resolve Caris's allegations about this particular house.
The affiliate said ten homes it had built in Lahaina were destroyed in the August 2023 fires, and that it mobilized to help affected families. In April, Maui Now reported Habitat's announcement that it had finished its first Lahaina rebuild, one of 10 homes the affiliate built there in 2020. Ravin Ah Puck was described as the first Habitat Maui homeowner to return after rebuilding. Five more Habitat homes were then in progress, expected in the coming months. That is a different address from Keokea. A completion announcement is not a finding about Caris's walls.
Maui's wider rebuild has produced contractor disputes the reporting does not connect to her case or to Habitat. Inside Climate News reported that Maui police released 10 reports describing homeowner losses from about $20,000 to more than $500,000, all marked as civil matters outside police jurisdiction. The county prosecuting attorney's office, the same report said, had received dozens of tips about contractor fraud targeting wildfire survivors. One homeowner, Raquel Utrillo, said she paid a contractor $640,000 to rebuild after the 2023 Lahaina fire before he stopped working and later stopped answering.
The public account leaves the Keokea dispute unresolved: Caris says growth appeared on installed drywall, rejects Habitat's proposed paint remedy, and says she was told to stay off the property. The complaints are filed, but no regulator's finding or court ruling is reported. The inspections Habitat cites remain the affiliate's account of those inspections.
