The accelerated pace of constructing rentals instead of units for sale to meet affordable housing needs is a welcome response of the private sector to market demands. It’s a national phenomenon, and one that government should continue to encourage and prod.

Locally, the trend line became more pronounced this week when Alexander & Baldwin Inc., one of the principals in the redevelopment of Kakaako, announced it was delegating its affordable-housing obligation to Stanford Carr. That developer has gained the reputation as an affordable rental success story, one who has completed another lower-cost rental project in the district, Halekauwila Place, and is cleared to break ground on the 43-story Keauhou Lane rentals in 2015.

Units in Carr’s latest project, called Hale Kewalo, would remain affordable for low-income renters for 30 years, compared to the 50-year term of the original A&B plan. But there’s a gain for the community, too: Instead of 72 one-bedroom units for seniors, the project would yield a mix of 128 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

That’s an important advantage, because the rental market needs units for families as well as single occupants. Further, eligibility would be extended not only to seniors but to others falling within the same income group, those earning up to 60 percent of the annual median income for Honolulu.

Currently, this means $34,692 for a single person or $49,560 for a family of four. By the time the project opens, rents likely would be higher, but rents for affordable units built now would be about $1,100 for one bedroom, $1,300 for two and $1,500 for three.

Carr is making it work, which plainly suggests that the Hawaii Community Development Authority should raise the bar higher on affordable rental expectations. Under the current HCDA rules, the rentals would need to remain within reach of the low-income groups for only 15 years. That’s simply not long enough to provide housing stability for tenants, many of whom have hopes of raising children in that residence.

A&B, which now can develop its market-priced Waihonua tower, is helping the project pencil out, deeding the 27,000 square- foot property to Carr for free. That is probably the most economical way the company can meet its affordable-housing requirement under the rules of the HCDA, the state urban planning agency providing oversight.

Carr said the free land is how he is able to make the project work, and the A&B model of property conveyance could be replicated elsewhere. Leveraging land in this way could also play a larger role in planning for affordable rentals — as the areas around Oahu’s rail stations are redeveloped, for example.

In another workable approach, Carr built Halekauwila Place with the help of a 75-year land lease, which it got at $1 per year from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., the state agency tasked with affordable-housing development.

Before the 2009 economic crash, government policies in this state and elsewhere pushed home ownership as the pathway to financial security. The lowered lending standards and unregulated financial dealings produced an environment that nobody wants to recreate.

The trauma also left lower-income households feeling less than confident about buying homes, and renting became the preferred option for many. Census data show that the share of new homes being built as rental apartments is at the highest level in at least four decades.

The Islandwide Housing Strategic Plan that was proposed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell is one local response that should represent a turning point. The blueprint adds incentives for rental developments and increases requirements for affordable units of all kinds.

Federal authorities must continue to enable rental developments through the availability of short- and long-term financing instruments. If they’re tapped by state agencies such as the HHFDC, these tools can finally be employed to reverse a dire situation.

Hawaii’s housing demands have far outpaced the supply for decades, which have pushed rents ever higher. Taking encouragement from recent successes, isle leaders must adopt more aggressive affordable housing policies, seizing this chance to improve options for renters.