A record 10,328 housing discrimination complaints were filed nationwide last year, including 57 in Hawai'i, according to the annual fair-housing report released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Complaints were up 11.6 percent nationally from last year, when 9,254 complaints were filed.

The Hawai'i figure represents a 14 percent increase from 2005, when 50 complaints were filed, the state Civil Rights Commission said.

But officials and housing advocates say any increase should be cause for concern, and they add that the complaint tally in Hawai'i tells only part of the story.

They say many people in the Islands don't file complaints because they fear retribution, don't have time to follow through with the process or don't believe their case would warrant a claim.

"One of the problems in Hawai'i is people are reticent and reluctant with filing their claims," said Jelani Madaraka, lead civil-rights specialist at HUD's Honolulu office. "Some people say it's cultural. You also have your language barriers.

"Whatever it is, people don't generally follow through."

In 2006, the Legal Aid Society's fair-housing enforcement program talked to 101 people who said they were victims of illegal housing discrimination and to 122 people who wanted more information on their rights under fair-housing laws.

A year earlier, 95 people said they were victims of discrimination, and 109 people called for more information on their rights.

But only a handful of the people who contacted the program went on to file complaints with the state or to get help through Legal Aid.

"We get a lot of anonymous callers," said Cynthia Thomas, an attorney with the program. "They don't even want to give us their names." She added that even of the callers who find out they likely have a case, many still choose not to proceed.

"They don't want to make waves," she said.

But some people do pursue formal complaints.

Last month, a Waipahu couple reached a $15,000 settlement with Castle & Cooke Homes after the company refused to approve wheelchair modifications for two different models — even though the homes were not yet built and the couple agreed to cover the extra costs. Their story was included in the HUD report.

The couple, Romeo and Hortencia Cayabyab, could not be reached yesterday. They filed a state complaint in February 2005.

Romeo Cayabyab is a disabled veteran who uses a wheelchair.

William Hoshijo, executive director of the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission, said about 26 percent of the 57 housing discrimination complaints in 2006 were based on disabilities. About 20 percent were related to the victim's ancestry or national origin.

And six cases, or about 11 percent, were linked to "familial status" — or whether a family had children under 18.

Nationally, race and disability were tied as the most common reasons housing discrimination cases were filed.

Of the more than 10,000 complaints filed, about 40 percent alleged racial discrimination and 40 percent alleged discrimination against someone with disabilities. The two also were tied in 2005.

The HUD report provides no analysis on why the national total for discrimination complaints increased in 2006.

But it does say the increase coincided with a federal effort to inform renters and buyers on their rights under the Fair Housing Act. It also points out the number of discrimination complaints nationwide has been growing steadily since 1998, when there just 5,818 complaints filed.

Hoshijo said he suspects the hot housing market locally and nationally also played a role in the complaints spike.

"Historically we've tended to see more discrimination complaints in tight rental markets," Hoshijo said yesterday. "People have a harder time finding places. Landlords are more selective."

The national report was released as part of National Fair Housing Month, which occurs every April to mark the signing of the Fair Housing Act.

The report is available online at www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/fy2006rpt.pdf.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.