John Walker opened the letter from his landlord, even though he already knew what it would say.

The rent on Walker's one-bedroom, one-bath apartment in 'Aiea was going up $50 a month — from $950 to $1,000.

For Walker, who is 71 years old, $50 was just enough to tap out his financial budget as a elderly person on a fixed income.

"I knew it was going to happen sooner or later because everyplace else is raising their rent," Walker said. "But when I read that letter, I was a little bit shook up. I can't afford it."Record-high home prices in Hawai'i have convinced many landlords to charge more or sell their property to new landlords who then increase rents. Since the beginning of 2005, state and county officials and organizations that work with Hawai'i's seniors have fielded an increasing number of complaints about rising rents.

But while many government and private organizations offer assistance, their ability to help is limited, and cheap rental housing is hard to come by.

"It's a bleak situation," said Lot Lau, coordinator for information and assistance services for the city's elderly affairs division. "We get calls daily. But after a while, people give up. Hopefully, they have family members or children to move in with. But there must be a lot of senior citizens going homeless."

Debbie Kim Morikawa, director of the Honolulu's Department of Community Services, said she's unaware of any estimates of the number of seniors who have suddenly found their rents going up.

"Just keep in mind that there are a lot of seniors out there that are on fixed incomes," Morikawa said. "Given the market, it's only natural that many landlords would be considering raising their rents. It is a growing concern. We're concerned that it's going to reach crisis proportion."

The problems are exacerbated because the elderly in Hawai'i are often embarrassed to acknowledge the financial strain that higher rents place on them. Several seniors whose rents have recently gone up also told The Advertiser that they did not want to be identified out of fear of harming their relationships with their landlords.

"They've already raised my rent," said one woman who lives in Kaimuki, who did not want her name publicized. "I don't want to get them upset at me."

Rents are going up in Hawai'i because of a basic economic principle, said Barry Kaplan, project broker with Hawaiian Island Homes Ltd., a rental and brokerage company.

"It's really a function of supply and demand," Kaplan said. "There's a limited supply of rental units right now. If you didn't have the demand, the need, they couldn't raise the rates. It's that simple."

NOT ENOUGH SUPPLY

Linda Aganos, rental department manager for Certified Management Inc., whose clients include Hawai'i property owners on the Mainland, said when landlords raise rents, they typically push them up by $100 to $400 a month.

Like Kaplan, Aganos said the situation is basic "supply and demand. A lot of rental units are being sold, and that takes away properties from circulation. Because there are not enough units available for renters, landlords take advantage of the supply and demand, and increase rents, of course."

Three months after his rent went up, Walker doesn't know how long he can continue paying $1,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.

Each month, he gets just over $2,000 from Social Security and interest on a Treasury note. Walker doesn't own a car. So he takes TheBus whenever he needs to go to his doctor's appointments for epilepsy and high blood pressure.

After paying his rent, Walker's next-biggest expenses are his medical insurance of $200 a month and prescription drug costs of another $200 a month.

He abandoned his only indulgence, an occasional dinner at Sizzler. He will, however, still treat himself to a Burger King coffee, which costs 42 cents.

"I've been giving up a lot of things," Walker said, "because I have to watch my budget real close."

Like hundreds of other elders, Walker signed up for a waiting list for a low-income, senior housing project.

But the wait can take longer than a year for a place in town and up to a year in outlying areas, said Betty Lou Larson, housing programs director for Catholic Charities Hawaii, which operates a housing assistance program for seniors with funding from the city.

The waits are even longer — up to four years — for low-income housing projects that charge as little as 30 percent of a senior's income.

"There are no easy answers," Larson said. "As rents increase, we're seeing a lot more seniors at risk for homelessness. The senior housing projects are so crowded ... a year ago, you could get into a studio for $550 with a month or two wait. Now it's at least four to six months, and a lot of them are a year or longer. ... In some cases the waiting list can be two, three, four years."

Walker doesn't know how long he'll be on the list.

"They told me I have to wait until somebody leaves — or passes away," Walker said.

Even if they can find alternative housing, elders can be traumatized by moving out of homes they've sometimes occupied for decades.

"It's not only a physical loss, it's the loss of a community — knowing who you are and where you are," Larson said. "Your routine is so important as you age. They develop (relationships with) neighbors, favorite stores in the area. We have seniors who will wait 10 minutes just so they can be waited on by their favorite bank teller or cashier at the market."

'TRAUMATIC' FOR SOME

Rising rents are one of the main concerns of AARP Hawai'i, said Barbara Kim Stanton, the group's director.

AARP Hawai'i wants its members to be able to "age in place," Stanton said.

Instead, they now face the prospect of homelessness.

"It is very, very traumatic for them," Stanton said. "Sometimes they're forced to relocate, and when they do, they're often disconnected from the communities that they have lived in for a long time."

Eighty-year-old Richard Walters is luckier than some.

He augments his income by painting caricatures of tourists at the King's Village in Waikiki, and can bring home $100 on a good night.

And when Walters' rent eventually shoots up, he knows that he can move in with his twin brother, Bob, in a pinch.

But Walters doesn't want to leave the studio apartment — by the Hawaii Convention Center — where he's lived since the early 1970s.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.