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Hawaii landlord-tenant law
Checked against the Hawaii statutes on October 1, 2026 Statutes current through: Statute files dated January 5, 2026, including 2025 session laws such as Act 278 General information, not legal advice
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Hawaii in brief
Hawaii caps a security deposit at one month's rent, plus an agreed pet deposit of up to one more month, and you may collect nothing else at move-in except the first month's rent. Return the deposit within 14 days after the rental agreement ends, with a written notice and evidence of costs for anything you keep, or you must return all of it. A late charge may not exceed 8 percent of the rent due, and a month-to-month rent increase needs 45 consecutive days' written notice. For unpaid rent, the written notice must give at least 10 calendar days after receipt, carry specific statements and a bold warning, and be copied to a state-funded mediation center. You end a month-to-month tenancy with 45 days' written notice, and you must give two days' notice before entering except in an emergency.
Key numbers
- Security deposit limit
- 1 month's rent
- plus an agreed pet deposit of up to 1 more month
- HRS § 521-44(b)
- Deposit return deadline
- 14 days
- after the rental agreement ends, with a written, itemized notice for anything kept
- HRS § 521-44(c)
- Late fee grace period
- No state rule
- chapter 521 sets no grace period before a late charge
- HRS § 521-21(f)
- Unpaid rent notice
- 10 calendar days
- after receipt; a copy also goes to a state-funded mediation center
- HRS § 521-68(a)
- Notice to fix a violation
- 10 days
- after receipt, for a material breach of the tenant's duties or a rule
- HRS § 521-69(a)HRS § 521-72(a)
- Rent increase notice
- 45 days
- written, consecutive days, month to month; 15 days for shorter tenancies
- HRS § 521-21(d), (e)
- Entry notice
- 2 days
- except in an emergency or where impracticable; reasonable hours
- HRS § 521-53(b)
Before you sign
Application and screening fees
You may charge an application screening fee to cover the cost of checking an applicant, such as reference checks, tenant reports, criminal background checks and credit reports. Charge it only for applicants who are 18 or older or emancipated minors. Chapter 521 sets no dollar limit on the fee.
More detail (6)
- If the applicant asks, give a receipt for the fee and a breakdown of the costs it covers. HRS § 521-46(b)
- Return any part of the fee not used for screening within 30 days after you submit the screening requests. HRS § 521-46(c)
- For covered rental transactions, do not advertise that housing-assistance participants are excluded, discourage their applications, refuse a transaction because of participation or program requirements, or impose different rental conditions. Chapter 368F defines the covered assistance as Section 8 housing choice vouchers or permanent supportive housing. HRS 368F-1 and 368F-2
- Check the statutory exceptions for reasonable ability-to-pay verification, specified small owners, approval delays, owner-occupied homes and publicly subsidized affordable projects. The small-owner exception generally covers no more than four statewide units, but not an owner holding more than a 10% interest in more than four. The approval-delay exception concerns a good-faith tenancy request, including inspection, not approved within 21 days. Confirm the exact property and program facts. HRS 368F-3
- Preserve rental records for one year from the later of the record date or the related practice or action when the building has at least four housing accommodations or the owner has at least three. Covered records include applications and applicant-supplied information, advertising, agreements, eviction records and records affecting tenancy terms. HAR 12-46-304(a)
- When a chapter 368 or 515 complaint or civil action is pending, keep all relevant records until final disposition under the rule. Required records that are destroyed or unavailable can support an adverse-evidence presumption. HAR 12-46-304(c), (d)
Fair housing
Partly readHawaii law makes it a discriminatory practice to refuse to rent, or to set different terms, because of race, sex (including gender identity or expression), sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age or HIV infection. It also bars falsely saying a unit is unavailable, steering, and refusing reasonable modifications for a person with a disability. It also requires reasonable accommodations for a person with a disability. The federal Fair Housing Act was not read for this page.
HRS § 515-3(a) HRS § 515-4(a)
More detail (3)
- The rule does not apply to renting a unit in a building for two families where the owner lives in the other, or renting up to four rooms in a home where the owner lives. HRS § 515-4(a)
- A pet deposit may not be charged for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability. HRS § 521-44(b)
- You must make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services for a person with a disability, including an assistance animal, subject to reasonable restrictions. If the disability or the need for the animal is not apparent you may ask for verification, such as a letter from the person's treating health care or mental health professional or social worker, but you may not ask for medical records or about the diagnosis or its severity, and an online vest, tag or registration is not valid verification. HRS § 515-3(a)(9)
The Rentari lease states that the landlord complies with federal, state and local fair housing laws and provides for reasonable accommodations.
Required disclosures
Partly readAt or before the start of the tenancy, give the tenant in writing the name and address of each person authorized to manage the property and of an owner or a person authorized to accept legal papers, rent and notices for the owner. Give the tenant a copy of a written lease, written receipts for rent, and your general excise tax number so the tenant can claim the low-income tax credit. Federal disclosure rules, such as the lead-based paint disclosure for older housing, were not read for this page.
HRS § 521-43(a), (d), (e), (h)
More detail (3)
- You must make the written move-in inventory before the tenant first moves in. HRS § 521-42(a) See Move-in inventory
- A landlord who does not provide a required disclosure within 10 days after a proper demand owes the tenant $100 plus reasonable attorney's fees. HRS § 521-67
- A tenant may name, in the lease or a separate writing, a representative to collect or dispose of belongings if the tenant dies during the tenancy. HRS § 521-85(a) See Death of a tenant
The Rentari Hawaii lease comes with an identification page naming the manager and the owner or agent and stating the general excise tax number rule.
Flood disclosure
Not set by statuteChapter 521, read in full, requires no flood zone or flood history disclosure in a residential lease.
More detail (1)
- The disclosures chapter 521 does require are the manager and owner names and addresses, the general excise tax number, and the other items under required disclosures. HRS § 521-43 See Required disclosures
Landlord and agent identity
At or before the start of the tenancy, tell the tenant in writing the name and address of each person authorized to manage the property, and of each owner or person authorized to accept legal papers, rent and notices for the owner. Keep that information current. An owner or landlord who lives out of state, or on a different island from the unit, must name in the written lease an agent who lives on the unit's island.
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- If you do not disclose, whoever deals with the tenant becomes the agent of each landlord for accepting legal papers, rent and notices and for performing the landlord's duties. HRS § 521-43(b), (c)
- In a multi-unit building, the information may instead be posted: in each elevator and one other conspicuous place, or in two conspicuous places without an elevator, and inside each unit. HRS § 521-43(g)
- A landlord who does not disclose within 10 days after the tenant's proper demand owes the tenant $100 plus reasonable attorney's fees. HRS § 521-67
Deposits, rent and fees
Security deposit limit
You may require a security deposit of up to one month's rent. If the lease allows a pet to live in the home, you may also agree on a pet deposit of up to one more month's rent. At the start of the tenancy you may not require or accept any money other than the first month's rent and the security deposit.
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- A pet deposit may not be charged to a tenant who has no pet living in the home, or for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability. HRS § 521-44(b)(1)
- The deposit may cover only: damage from the tenant's failure to keep up the unit, unpaid rent, and unreturned keys, key fobs, parking cards, garage door openers and mailbox keys; cleaning back to the condition at move-in; damages when a tenant wrongfully quits; pet damage; and unpaid landlord-provided utilities not included in the rent. HRS § 521-44(a)
- No part of the deposit counts as last month's rent unless you and the tenant agree in writing when the tenant gives 45 days' notice of vacating. Agreeing does not waive your claims for damage the tenant causes. HRS § 521-44(b)
- You may not require postdated checks or other negotiable instruments for rent. HRS § 521-44(e)
The Rentari Hawaii lease limits the deposit to one month's rent plus an optional pet deposit of up to one month and says no other money may be collected at the start of the tenancy; a move-in fee cannot be added to a Hawaii lease.
Returning the deposit
Return the deposit, less any amount you keep for a permitted purpose, within 14 days after the rental agreement ends. To keep any part, give the tenant written notice of the particulars and grounds, with written evidence of the costs such as estimates, invoices or receipts (this notice is not required if the tenant wrongfully quit). If you do not send that notice within the 14 days, you must return the entire deposit.
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- Mailing the refund or the notice to an address the tenant gave you, with proof of mailing and a postmark before midnight of the 14th day after the agreement ends, is presumed to comply; so is the tenant's acknowledgment of receipt within the 14 days. HRS § 521-44(c)
- A tenant must sue over a retained deposit within one year after the rental agreement ends. HRS § 521-44(c)
- A tenant absent for 20 days or more in a row without written notice to you is treated as having wrongfully quit, and you may keep the whole deposit. A period for which you have received rent does not count as an absence. HRS § 521-44(d)
- If the court finds you wrongfully and wilfully kept deposit money, it may award the tenant three times that amount; if you wrongfully kept it, it must award the amount. Either way the tenant also gets the cost of suit. If you were entitled to keep it, the court awards you the disputed amount and costs. HRS § 521-44(h)
- If you sell or transfer the property, the new owner is bound by these rules. You must give the new owner an accounting of the deposits, and within 20 days the new owner must tell each tenant the amount credited, or the deposit is presumed to be at least one month's rent. HRS § 521-44(f)
- When a tenant ends the lease in the first week of occupancy because the home does not conform to the lease or to your fit-premises duties, because of a serious unrepaired condition or an unlawful lockout, or after fire or casualty damage, return unused prepaid rent and the part of the deposit you may not keep within 14 days after termination. HRS § 521-66 HRS § 521-62 HRS § 521-63
The Rentari Hawaii lease gives the 14-day deadline, requires the written notice with evidence of costs, and states that without it the entire deposit must be returned.
Deposit account and interest
Hawaii does not require a separate account, a particular bank or interest on security deposits; chapter 521, read in full, sets none of these. You hold the deposit for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it comes ahead of your creditors, including a bankruptcy trustee, even if deposits are commingled.
More detail (1)
- If the property changes hands, the deposit obligations pass to the new owner, who must tell each tenant in writing the deposit credited to them within 20 days after the transfer. HRS § 521-44(f)
The Rentari Hawaii lease does not promise interest or a separate deposit account.
Move-in inventory
Before the tenant first moves in, you must inventory the home and make a written record of its condition and of any furnishings or appliances you provide. You and the tenant sign duplicate copies, and each tenant gets one.
More detail (2)
- In a dispute, the signed inventory is presumed correct. Without one, the home's condition at the end of the tenancy is presumed to be the same as when the tenant moved in, which makes damage claims against the deposit hard to prove. HRS § 521-42(a)
- For a furnished rental, identify the supplied furniture and appliances room by room, including existing marks and whether each item works. Add dated photos that match the written entries, record any disagreement before signing, and give each tenant the signed inventory copy. Keep later repair and replacement records with it so a move-out comparison distinguishes new damage from the condition already recorded. HRS § 521-42(a)
The Rentari Hawaii lease includes a move-in inventory clause that restates this duty and its effect.
Rent and late fees
If the lease provides for a late charge, it may not exceed 8 percent of the rent due. Hawaii sets no grace period before a late charge: chapter 521, read in full, has none.
More detail (4)
- Rent is due at the time and place the lease sets. Without an agreement, rent for a term of one month or less is due at the start, and longer terms are paid in equal monthly installments at the start of each month. HRS § 521-21(b)
- A tenant on public assistance whose lease makes rent due on or before the third day after the check usually arrives may set a new due date once, by paying prorated rent for the gap; the new date may be no more than three days, not counting weekends and holidays, after the checks are mailed. HRS § 521-21(b)
- Give a written receipt for rent at the time it is paid. A canceled check counts as a receipt; for rent paid by check, give a receipt if the tenant asks. HRS § 521-43(e)
- You may not require postdated checks for rent. HRS § 521-44(e)
The Rentari Hawaii lease states the late fee and the day after which it applies, and caps it at 8 percent of the rent due.
Returned payment fee
When a check, draft or order is dishonored for lack of funds or credit, or because the writer has no account, the payee may charge a service charge of not more than $30. Chapter 521 has no separate rule for returned rent payments.
More detail (2)
- You may also sue the writer of a dishonored check for $100 or three times the check, whichever is greater, but not more than $500 above the check amount. This needs a written demand, sent by certified mail, restricted delivery, with return receipt, at least 10 days before you sue, warning that triple damages may follow, and the writer must have failed to pay the check and service charge. HRS § 490:3-506
- The sections read speak of checks, drafts and orders for the payment of money; they do not separately address a returned electronic payment. HRS § 490:3-506.5
Rent increase notice
For a month-to-month tenancy, give written notice at least 45 consecutive days before a rent increase takes effect. For a tenancy shorter than month to month, give at least 15 consecutive days' written notice.
More detail (3)
- A notice ending a tenancy that is given to get around these rent increase notice rules is void. HRS § 521-71(f)
- You may not demand a rent increase in retaliation after a tenant's good-faith complaint to a government agency or request for repairs, except in the cases the statute lists. HRS § 521-74 See Retaliation
- Chapter 521, read in full, sets no limit on how much rent may rise. HRS § 521-21(a) See Rent control and local rules
The Rentari Hawaii lease states the 45-day notice for a month-to-month increase and the 15-day notice for a shorter periodic tenancy.
During the tenancy
Landlord entry
Except in an emergency or where it is impracticable, give the tenant at least two days' notice of your intent to enter, and enter only at reasonable hours. The tenant may not unreasonably refuse entry to inspect, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply agreed services, or show the unit to buyers, lenders or prospective tenants.
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- You may not abuse the right of entry or use it to harass the tenant. You have no other right of entry except by court order, when the tenant appears to have abandoned the home, or during an extended absence. HRS § 521-53(b), (c)
- During a tenant's extended absence you may enter as reasonably necessary for inspection, maintenance and safekeeping, or for the purposes listed above. HRS § 521-70(b)
- A tenant who unreasonably refuses access is liable for the damage it causes. Except in an emergency such as fire, you are liable for theft or damage from an entry after the tenant refused that specific entry, an entry without consent when the tenant is present, or your negligence. HRS § 521-73(a), (b)
- Repeated demands for unreasonable entry, or an unreasonable entry without consent, let the tenant end the lease, and a circuit court may enjoin you and fine you up to $100. HRS § 521-73(c)
The Rentari Hawaii lease requires at least two days' notice at reasonable hours, except in an emergency or where impracticable, and lists the purposes and limits of entry.
Repairs and habitability
Throughout the tenancy you must comply with building and housing laws that materially affect health and safety, keep common areas clean and safe, make the repairs needed to keep the home habitable, and keep the electrical, plumbing and other facilities and appliances you supply in good working order, subject to reasonable wear and tear. Except for a single-family home, you must also provide garbage receptacles and removal, and running water where the building is required to have it.
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- After the tenant's written notice of a defect that materially breaks these duties or the lease, begin repairs within 12 business days. For electrical, plumbing or other facilities, including major appliances you supply, needed for sanitary and habitable living, begin within 3 business days of oral or written notice, unless the tenant's misuse caused the problem. HRS § 521-64(c)
- After written notice from the department of health or another state or county agency of a health or safety violation, begin repairs within 7 calendar days. If you cannot start on time for reasons beyond your control, tell the tenant why and set a reasonable tentative start date. HRS § 521-64(a)
- You and the tenant may agree that the tenant does specified repairs or maintenance only in good faith, not to evade your duties, not to cure a building or housing code violation, and without reducing your duties to other tenants. HRS § 521-42(b)
- The tenant must report a defect as soon as practicable when the tenant has reason to believe you do not know about it. HRS § 521-55
The Rentari Hawaii lease restates these repair duties and the repair start deadlines.
Tenant repair remedies
If you do not start repairs on time, the tenant may have the work done competently and, after giving you receipts, deduct the cost from rent, up to $1,000 or one month's rent, whichever is greater. If a condition deprives the tenant of a substantial part of the benefit of the lease and you do not fix it within one week of written notice, the tenant may end the lease.
HRS § 521-64(b), (d) HRS § 521-63(a)
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- In the first notice the tenant must list every defect the tenant knows or should know of; an unlisted one cannot be repaired at your expense for six months. Total repair-and-deduct charges may not exceed three months' rent in any six-month period. HRS § 521-64(e)
- After an agency notice of a health or safety violation, the tenant may instead give you two written signed estimates at least 7 calendar days before the work and use the lower bidder, subject to your written choice of a reasonable substitute worker or materials. HRS § 521-64(b)(2)
- No notice is needed before ending the lease when the condition makes the home uninhabitable or poses an imminent threat to health or safety. If you caused the condition wilfully or negligently, the tenant may also recover damages. HRS § 521-63(a), (b)
- None of these remedies applies to a condition caused by the lack of due care of the tenant, the tenant's family or guests. Before fixing a shared facility, the tenant must notify the other tenants who share it. HRS § 521-64(f), (g) HRS § 521-63(a)
- If fire or other casualty that occurs without wilful fault of the tenant or the tenant's family makes the home partly or wholly unusable, the tenant may move out and end the lease, notifying you within one week, or stay and pay only the fair rental value of the usable part. HRS § 521-65
The Rentari Hawaii lease describes the repair-and-deduct remedy, its limits and the one-week termination right.
Locks and security devices
Partly readChapter 521, read in full, sets no general duty to provide particular locks or to rekey between tenants. Its one lock rule is for domestic violence: a victim who stays may require you to change the locks within three days of the request, at the tenant's expense. State and county building codes, which may set lock rules, were not read for this page.
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- If you do not act within the three days, the tenant may change the locks and must give you a key. If the abuser is on the lease, change the locks only under a court order to vacate. HRS § 521-81(b), (c)
The Rentari Hawaii lease describes the domestic violence lock change rule.
Smoke alarms
Partly readChapter 521, searched in full, has no smoke alarm rule of its own. It requires you to comply with building and housing laws that materially affect health and safety, but the state and county building and fire codes that set alarm rules were not read for this page.
More detail (1)
- Chapter 521 also requires you to keep the electrical and other facilities you supply in good working order. HRS § 521-42(a)(4)
The Rentari lease says the landlord provides working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors at the start of the tenancy and the tenant may not disable them.
Retaliation
While the tenant continues to tender the usual rent or receipts for rent lawfully withheld, you may not evict, force the tenant out, raise the rent or cut services after the tenant complains in good faith to a government agency (or to you) about a health law or chapter 521 violation, after an agency files a violation notice, or after the tenant requests repairs in good faith.
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- You may still recover possession in listed cases, including when the tenant is committing waste or a nuisance or using the unit illegally, when you in good faith need it for your own or your immediate family's home or to substantially remodel or demolish, when the tenant caused the condition, or when a notice ending a periodic tenancy was given before the complaint. HRS § 521-74(b)
- You may raise rent despite a complaint in five listed cases: the department of health certifies the unit complied when the complaint was filed; the complaint concerns only a condition caused by the lack of due care of the tenant, the household or guests; a substantial increase in property taxes or other maintenance or operating costs at least four months before the demand, excluding costs of complying with the complaint or request and limited to the prorated net increase; a completed capital improvement, up to its straight-line depreciation prorated among the units benefited; or competent evidence establishing that the proposed rent is no higher than for similar units in your building or, for a single-family home or where there is no similar unit, the market rental value. HRS § 521-74(d)
- A tenant dispossessed in violation of this rule may recover damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. HRS § 521-74(c)
The Rentari Hawaii lease restates the retaliation rule and its exceptions.
Lockouts and utility shutoffs
You may not remove or shut out a tenant overnight without cause or a court order. If you do, the tenant may recover possession or end the lease and, either way, recover two months' rent or two months of free occupancy, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
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- You may not take back the unit by wilfully cutting or reducing running water, hot water, electricity, gas or another essential service, except after abandonment or surrender. Doing so is an unfair and deceptive practice, with minimum damages of three times the monthly rent or $1,000, whichever is greater. HRS § 521-74.5
The Rentari Hawaii lease says the landlord may not remove or exclude the tenant overnight without cause or a court order, or interrupt essential services to recover possession.
Ending a tenancy
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
To end a month-to-month tenancy, give the tenant written notice at least 45 days before the termination date. A tenant who wants to end it must give you written notice at least 28 days ahead and pays rent through the 28th day.
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- After your notice, the tenant may move out at any time within the last 45 days before the termination date, telling you the move-out date and paying prorated rent for the time occupied. HRS § 521-71(a)
- Give at least 120 days' written notice before ending a month-to-month tenancy for a planned demolition, a condominium conversion or a change to transient vacation rentals. A revised notice restarts the period. HRS § 521-71(c)
- For a planned condominium conversion, the 120-day notice applies under any rental agreement, including a fixed-term lease, counted back from the end of the rental agreement. HRS § 521-38
- For a tenancy shorter than month to month, either side may end it with at least 10 days' notice. HRS § 521-71(d)
- A tenant who stays after the tenancy ends without your consent may owe up to twice the monthly rent, prorated daily. If you do not file for possession within the first 60 days of the holdover, and there is no rental agreement, a month-to-month tenancy at the old rent begins. HRS § 521-71(e)
- A termination notice given to evade the rent increase notice rules is void. HRS § 521-71(f)
The Rentari Hawaii lease states the 45-day landlord notice, the 28-day tenant notice, the 120-day and 10-day cases and the holdover rule.
Ending a lease early
If a tenant wrongfully leaves and clearly shows by words or actions that they will not come back, the tenant owes the lesser of the rent for the rest of the term, or the rent for the time reasonably needed to re-rent at a fair rent plus any shortfall between the fair rent and the old rent and a reasonable rental commission.
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- If a tenant backs out before moving in, the tenant owes the lesser of all money deposited with you, one month's rent, or the rent until you re-rent at a fair rent plus any shortfall, reasonable costs and a reasonable commission. HRS § 521-70(e)
- A tenant on a lease of one year or less may end it without penalty if the tenant or a family member living in the unit was a victim of domestic violence in the past 90 days, with at least 14 days' written notice and the documents and statement the law lists. HRS § 521-80 See Domestic violence protections
- A servicemember ordered into on-post government quarters, who would otherwise lose the housing allowance and whose request to keep it was denied, may end a lease of one year or less on 30 days' written notice, or a month-to-month tenancy on 15 days' notice, with the orders or commanding officer's verification and proof of the denial. HRS § 521-83(a) to (c)
- If a servicemember tenant dies on active duty, an adult family member may end a lease of one year or less, or a month-to-month tenancy, on 15 days' written notice with the death certificate and proof of active duty. HRS § 521-83(d)
- A tenant may also end the lease for a serious unrepaired condition after one week's written notice, or after fire or casualty damage. HRS § 521-63 HRS § 521-65 See Tenant repair remedies
The Rentari Hawaii lease includes the domestic violence and servicemember termination rights and also describes the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act right.
Notice for unpaid rent
Any time after rent is due, you may give the tenant a written notice that the rental agreement will end unless the rent is paid within the time the notice states, which must be at least 10 calendar days after the tenant receives it. You must also give a copy of the notice to a state-funded mediation center that offers free landlord-tenant mediation.
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- A posted notice is received on the date it is posted in a conspicuous place on the unit. A notice mailed by the Postal Service, properly addressed and stamped, is received two business days after the postmark unless it comes back undeliverable. HRS § 521-68(a)
- The notice must give your name and contact information, the unit's address, each tenant's name and contact information, and the rent due after applying all payments from all sources. It must say that a copy is going to a mediation center, that you may file for possession if the rent is not paid and mediation is not scheduled within the 10 days, and that you will mediate if mediation is scheduled. HRS § 521-68(b)(1) to (6), (8)
- It must also carry, in bold type, a warning in substantially the statute's own words about when you may file. The statute directs the Judiciary to prepare a notice form landlords may use and post it on its website; this page did not locate or read that form. HRS § 521-68(b)(7)
- If mediation is scheduled within the 10 days and the tenant takes part, you may file for possession only after 20 calendar days from the tenant's receipt of the notice, unless the tenant fails to appear or cancels. If the tenant schedules mediation, you must take part. Mediation is to happen within 30 days after the center reaches both of you. HRS § 521-68(c)
- Your complaint for possession must include proof that you gave the notice to the mediation center, and the mediation date if one is scheduled. A court may let you cure an unintentional or immaterial defect in the notice without dismissing the case. HRS § 521-68(d), (e)
- Each side pays its own mediation costs, but if the tenant defaults on a mediated agreement or misses a scheduled mediation you may ask for your costs, including reasonable attorney's fees. HRS § 521-68(h)
- The mediation provisions of this section are set to be repealed and reenacted on February 4, 2028. The 10-day notice period itself is exempt from that and stays. HRS § 521-68
- You may sue for rent alone at any time after demanding the past-due rent and telling the tenant you intend to sue. HRS § 521-68(j)
- If the tenancy was covered by the governor's wildfire emergency proclamations that suspended evictions for nonpayment, a different section applies while it is in effect: the written notice must give at least 15 calendar days after receipt, with its own list of contents and bold warning, a copy goes to a mediation center, and if mediation is scheduled within the 15 days you must wait 30 calendar days after receipt to file. It also sets a minimum amount of unpaid rent, stepping down over time, before you may use it. The section is repealed by December 31, 2026 at the latest. HRS § 521-84
The Rentari Hawaii lease states the 10-calendar-day notice, the mediation center copy and the 20-day wait when mediation is scheduled.
Notice for other lease violations
If the tenant materially fails to keep up the unit as the tenant's duties require, give written notice of the problem and at least 10 days after the tenant receives it to fix it. If it is not fixed, you may end the agreement and sue for possession when the failure is a breach of building or housing laws affecting health and safety, or you may fix it yourself and bill the tenant, with the bill treated as rent due on the next rent day.
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- No time to fix is required when the tenant's failure causes or threatens to cause irremediable damage to any person or property. If the tenant cannot be served, the notice may be posted in a conspicuous place on the unit. HRS § 521-69(a)
- For a breach of a house rule, the written notice must give at least 10 days to stop and follow the form the statute sets out. If the breach continues or recurs after that date, you may sue for possession within 30 days. HRS § 521-72(a), (b)
- No time to stop is needed when the rule breach causes or threatens damage to any person, or is a building code violation or wilful damage to the premises. HRS § 521-72(a)
- A rule binds the tenant only if the tenant knew of it at signing, or later learned of it and, where it substantially changes the deal, agreed in writing. It must serve the tenants' convenience, safety or welfare, protect the property or share services fairly, be reasonably related to that purpose, apply fairly to all tenants and be clear. HRS § 521-52
- A lease term allowing eviction of a tenant with a valid medical cannabis certificate is void unless the lease also allows eviction for smoking tobacco and the cannabis is smoked. This does not apply where condominium or planned community documents prohibit medical cannabis. HRS § 521-39
The Rentari Hawaii lease gives at least 10 days to remedy a material breach of the tenant's duties or of a rule, and its smoking clause bans smoking tobacco and marijuana inside the home alike.
Eviction process
Partly readOnly a court can remove a tenant. After the required notice, file a summary possession case in the district court of the circuit where the property is. If you win, the court issues a writ of possession directing a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer or listed civil process server to remove the occupants. The court rules for summary possession cases were not read for this page.
More detail (4)
- In a nonpayment case, the writ is stayed if, before it issues, the tenant pays the rent due with interest at 8 percent a year and all costs, charges and your expenses, including a reasonable attorney's fee. HRS § 666-14
- Accepting rent during the case does not recognize the tenancy or waive your rights; if you win, the rent counts as damages. HRS § 666-5
- Either side may ask the court to have the tenant pay disputed rent into court as it comes due. A tenant who cannot make the deposit faces judgment for possession. HRS § 521-78(a), (b)
- Self-help such as a lockout or a utility shutoff is unlawful. HRS § 521-63(c) HRS § 521-74.5 See Lockouts and utility shutoffs
The Rentari Hawaii lease lets an action for summary possession be brought in any Hawaii court with jurisdiction.
Abandoned property
When a tenant has wrongfully quit, or has left after a notice to quit or the end of the term, and left belongings you in good faith judge to have value, you may sell them in a commercially reasonable way, store them at the tenant's expense, or donate them to charity. Before selling or donating, mail notice to the tenant's forwarding or designated address, or the last known address, and wait 15 days after mailing.
More detail (4)
- A sale must first be advertised in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the circuit for at least three consecutive days. HRS § 521-56(a)
- Sale proceeds, after accrued rent and storage, advertising and sale costs, are held in trust for the tenant for 30 days and then belong to you. HRS § 521-56(b)
- Belongings you judge to have no value may be disposed of at your discretion without liability. HRS § 521-56(c)
- A tenant absent 20 days or more without written notice, with no rent received for that period, is treated as having wrongfully quit. HRS § 521-44(d)
The Rentari Hawaii lease describes the notice, 15-day wait, advertised sale and 30-day trust for proceeds.
Small claims
The small claims division of the district court hears money claims of up to $5,000, not counting interest and costs, and security deposit disagreements between residential landlords and tenants.
More detail (1)
- A deposit dispute is heard in the small claims division of the district court in the circuit where the rental is, which has exclusive jurisdiction except that a district court hearing a summary possession case may also decide it. In small claims neither side may be represented by an attorney, including a salaried employee. HRS § 633-27 HRS § 521-44(g), (h)(4)
The Rentari Hawaii lease says a security deposit dispute may be brought in small claims, where neither party may be represented by an attorney.
More Hawaii rules
Domestic violence protections
A tenant on a lease of one year or less may end it without early termination fees or liability for future rent if the tenant or an immediate family member living in the unit was a victim of domestic violence in the 90 days before the notice. The notice must come at least 14 days before the termination date, which may be no more than 104 days after the most recent act.
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- The notice must include a certified restraining order, injunction or criminal case document, or documentation from a victim services program, or from a medical or mental health provider, attorney, advocate, social worker or clergy member. The tenant also gives a written statement that the abuser is believed to know where the tenant lives, unless the abuser lives in the unit. HRS § 521-80(a)
- The tenant owes rent through the termination date. Where other tenants remain, the lease continues for them if they show they can pay; if not, you may end it on 14 days' notice without fees. HRS § 521-80(b), (c)
- Do not disclose what the tenant reported unless the tenant consents in a signed statement, it is needed in a court case, or another law requires it. HRS § 521-80(d)
- A tenant who stays may require you to change the locks, at the tenant's expense, within three days of the request; if you do not, the tenant may change them and give you a key. If the abuser is on the lease, change the locks only under a court order to vacate. HRS § 521-81
- When a court orders the abuser to leave, you need not let the abuser in without a police officer or give the abuser keys, and an abuser on the lease loses the tenancy. HRS § 521-82
- You may recover actual damages from the abuser, and if the abuser is on the lease you may hold the abuser to it or end the abuser's interest on at least five days' written notice. A tenant who knowingly gives false notice or documents owes you three months' rent or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. HRS § 521-80(e), (f)
The Rentari Hawaii lease describes the domestic violence termination right, the lock change rule and the confidentiality limit.
Attorney's fees
A lease may require the tenant to pay court costs and reasonable attorney's fees in a suit for unpaid rent, but the fees may not exceed 25 percent of the unpaid rent and apply only after default and referral to an attorney who is not your salaried employee. A lease may also provide fees and costs to the prevailing party in other disputes under chapter 521. A fee term that goes further cannot be enforced.
More detail (2)
- A lease term that limits your liability for harm caused by your own acts or omissions, or makes the tenant indemnify you for it, is void. HRS § 521-33
- Neither side may waive rights under chapter 521, except by a good-faith settlement of a disputed claim. HRS § 521-31
The Rentari Hawaii lease limits attorney's fees for unpaid rent to 25 percent of the unpaid rent and provides prevailing-party fees in other matters.
Subletting and assignment
Unless a written lease says otherwise, a Hawaii tenant may sublet or assign without your consent. A written lease may require your consent. This default does not apply to government-owned or subsidized units.
More detail (1)
- If the unit is in a condominium or cooperative, the tenant must also follow the association's or corporation's bylaws. HRS § 521-52(d)
The Rentari Hawaii lease requires the landlord's prior written consent to sublet or assign; where the landlord allows subletting, consent may not be unreasonably withheld.
Death of a tenant
When the only tenant (or every tenant) dies, notify the tenant's named representative by registered mail, or, if none was named, the estate at the unit's address. The tenancy ends 15 calendar days after the notice is mailed or delivered, or on the date rent is paid through, whichever is later.
More detail (3)
- The notice must give the tenant's name, the unit address, the approximate date of death, the monthly rent and the date rent is paid through, the termination date, and how you may dispose of belongings of value. HRS § 521-85(c)
- If the representative contacts you within 15 calendar days, give access to remove the belongings. Within 14 calendar days after the tenancy ends or the belongings are removed, account for the deposit and pay any balance to the representative or the estate. HRS § 521-85(d), (h)
- You need not tell a prospective tenant about a death in the unit. HRS § 521-85(j)
Local rules
Rent control and local rules
Partly readChapter 521, read in full, sets no limit on rent amounts and no statewide rent control. The summary possession chapter does not allow an eviction contrary to a county rent control ordinance that declares a housing emergency, while that emergency lasts; no county ordinance was read for this page.
More detail (1)
- Rent increases still need the written notice periods Hawaii sets. HRS § 521-21(d), (e) See Rent increase notice
Hawaii's counties (Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai) have their own building, housing and fire codes that can add duties for rental property, and state law preserves a county rent control ordinance declaring a housing emergency. No county code was read for this page, so no local rule is listed here; check the county where the property is located.
Hawaii landlord questions
How much can I charge for a security deposit in Hawaii?
Up to one month's rent, plus an agreed pet deposit of up to one more month's rent if a pet will live in the home. No pet deposit may be charged for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation. At the start of the tenancy you may collect only the first month's rent and the deposit.
When do I have to return the deposit?
Within 14 days after the rental agreement ends. To keep any part, send the tenant written notice of what you kept and why, with written evidence of the costs, within those 14 days; without it you must return the whole deposit.
Can I charge a move-in fee or an administrative fee?
No. At the beginning of a rental agreement Hawaii allows you to require or receive only the first month's rent and the security deposit. A screening fee charged to applicants when the application is processed is covered by its own rule.
How much can I charge for a late rent payment?
If the lease provides for a late charge, it may not exceed 8 percent of the rent due. Hawaii law sets no grace period, so the lease's own terms decide when the charge applies.
How much notice do I need to raise the rent?
For a month-to-month tenancy, at least 45 consecutive days' written notice before the increase takes effect; for a shorter periodic tenancy, at least 15 consecutive days. Hawaii sets no cap on the amount.
What notice do I give a tenant who has not paid rent?
A written notice giving at least 10 calendar days after receipt to pay, with the contents and bold warning HRS 521-68(b) requires. Send a copy to a state-funded mediation center. If mediation is scheduled in time and the tenant takes part, you must wait 20 calendar days after receipt before filing.
How much notice do I give to enter the unit?
At least two days' notice, entering only at reasonable hours, except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable.
How do I end a month-to-month tenancy?
Give written notice at least 45 days before the termination date, or 120 days before a planned demolition, condominium conversion or change to transient vacation rentals. A tenant gives you 28 days' written notice. For a condominium conversion the 120 days apply under any rental agreement, including a fixed-term lease.
Do I have to do a move-in inspection?
Yes. Before the tenant first moves in, inventory the home and its furnishings and appliances in writing, and both of you sign duplicate copies. Without it, the home is presumed to have been in the same condition at move-out as at move-in.
Can a tenant repair something and deduct it from rent?
Yes, if you do not begin repairs within the deadlines (12 business days after written notice, 3 business days for essential facilities). The tenant may deduct up to $1,000 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, after giving you receipts, and not more than three months' rent in any six months.
Can I change the locks or shut off utilities to get a tenant out?
No. An overnight lockout without cause or a court order lets the tenant recover two months' rent plus costs and attorney's fees, and cutting essential services to regain the unit carries damages of at least three times the monthly rent or $1,000, whichever is greater.
Do I need to tell tenants who the owner and manager are?
Yes, in writing at or before the start of the tenancy. If you live out of state or on another island, name an agent on the unit's island in the written lease. Also give tenants your general excise tax number.
Where are security deposit disputes heard?
In the small claims division of the district court in the circuit where the rental is, which has exclusive jurisdiction except that a district court hearing a summary possession case may also decide it. Neither side may be represented by an attorney in small claims, which also hears other money claims up to $5,000.
What can I charge for a bounced rent check?
A service charge of not more than $30 on a check dishonored for lack of funds or because the writer has no account. You may also sue for larger damages after a 10-day written demand sent by certified mail.
Statutes read for this page
- HRS chapter 521, Residential Landlord-Tenant CodeRead in full
- HRS chapter 666, Landlord and Tenant (summary possession)6 sections
- HRS 633-27, small claims division jurisdiction1 section
- HRS 515-3 and 515-4, discriminatory practices in real property transactions2 sections
- HRS 490:3-506 and 490:3-506.5, dishonored checks2 sections
- Hawaii housing-assistance discrimination and exceptionsFull current HRS 368F-1, 368F-2 and 368F-3 read in own browser October 15, 2026, including assistance definitions, ownership thresholds and other exceptions. Current521-46,515-3 and515-4 also reread. No whole fair-housing chapter, later2026Acts or property-specific coverage decision.
- Hawaii Commission rental-record retention ruleFull HAR 12-46-304 read October 15, 2026 on official Commission site. Selected other rule excerpts do not equal a full subchapter review;12-46-21(c)(2), federal retention/reporting duties and local codes not read.
- Rent and retaliation qualificationsFull current compiled 521-21(a)-(f), history and applicability note, and 521-74(a)-(d), history and displayed case notes read October 15, 2026. Selected sections only; full opinions, linked session law, county codes, emergency orders and federal requirements not freshly reviewed.
Not read for this page (8)
- Laws passed in Hawaii's 2026 legislative session. The statute files read are dated January 5, 2026, so later changes were not checked.
- The Hawaii Judiciary's form for the 10-day notice for unpaid rent.
- The session law that sets what returns when the mediation provisions of HRS 521-68 are repealed and reenacted on February 4, 2028.
- State and county building, housing and fire codes, including smoke alarm and lock rules.
- County ordinances, including any rent control ordinance, for Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai counties.
- Federal rules, including lead-based paint disclosure and the federal Fair Housing Act, and the remaining Hawaii fair-housing statutes and administrative rules.
- The court rules for summary possession and small claims cases.
- The governor's wildfire emergency proclamations, which decide whether the 15-day notice section for affected tenancies is in force now.