Published 2026-09-25 · 16 min read

Hawaii Landlord-Tenant Law 2026: The Plain-English Guide

Hawaii residential rentals run on the Hawaii Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, HRS Chapter 521 — a full Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act adoption with island-specific clocks that trip up mainland investors. The headline facts: a one-month cap on security deposits (plus an optional separate pet deposit), a 14-day return deadline where missing the written notice forfeits your right to keep anything, treble damages for wilful deposit withholding in small claims court, and 45-day notice rules for rent increases and for landlord terminations of month-to-month tenancies. Evictions run through the summary possession process (HRS Chapter 666), not Chapter 521 itself.

Two recent changes matter for 2026, and both were missing from the previous version of this page. Act 278 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2025) rewrote the front end of § 521-68 for a two-year pilot running February 5, 2026 through February 4, 2028: the old five-business-day pay-or-quit notice is displaced, for the pilot period, by a ten-calendar-day notice with prescribed contents, and a landlord may not file for summary possession until the tenant has had the chance to request free pre-litigation mediation. And Act 200 (SLH 2023), codified at § 521-46, has capped tenant screening fees at actual cost since May 1, 2024. Statute text was verified against the Hawaii Revised Statutes as published by Justia and FindLaw and against the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Office of Consumer Protection; the official capitol.hawaii.gov site returned an access error from this network, so the mirrors were cross-checked against each other.

At a glance

How much can a Hawaii landlord charge as a screening fee? (§ 521-46)

Since May 1, 2024, a Hawaii landlord who charges a tenant screening fee may charge no more than the actual cost of obtaining information about the applicant. Anything collected above that cost must be returned, and any portion not used for authorized screening costs must be refunded within 30 days of submitting the screening request. The fee may be charged only when the application is actually processed, and only to an applicant who is 18 or older or an emancipated minor. The DCCA's Office of Consumer Protection — which runs the state's Landlord-Tenant Information Center — administers the rule and publishes an FAQ on it.

The practical consequence: the flat "$50 application fee" imported from mainland forms is non-compliant unless $50 is genuinely what screening cost you, per applicant, and you refund the difference when it is not. Price the screening product first, charge that figure, keep the vendor invoice in the file, and calendar the 30-day refund deadline for applicants you do not run. Screening criteria still have to survive Chapter 515 (below): written, uniform, documented standards are the defense if a rejected applicant claims discrimination. See our fair housing guide.

How much can a Hawaii landlord charge as a security deposit? (§ 521-44)

The cap and the pet deposit

Section 521-44(b) caps the security deposit at one month's rent. On top of that, landlord and tenant may agree on an additional deposit for damage caused by a pet animal allowed to live in the premises — also capped at one month's rent. Two limits are statutory: the pet deposit may not be required from a tenant who does not have a pet animal residing in the premises, and it may not be required for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability under § 515-3. Charge it only against an actual pet, document the animal in the lease file, and account for pet damage separately, because subsection (a) treats it as a distinct permitted use.

At move-in the landlord may require nothing beyond the first month's rent and the deposit this section allows. The deposit may not be treated as the last month's rent unless landlord and tenant mutually agree in writing — and then only if the tenant gives 45 days' notice of vacating. The landlord also may not require a postdated check or other negotiable instrument for rent (§ 521-44(e)).

There is no separate-account requirement and no interest requirement in Hawaii. What the tenant gets instead is priority: the deposit is held for the tenant, and the tenant's claim is prior to the claim of any creditor of the landlord, including a trustee in bankruptcy, even if deposits are commingled (§ 521-44(b)). Keep a separate per-unit ledger anyway — in a deposit dispute, the ledger is the difference between an accounting and an argument.

What the deposit may be used for

Subsection (a) is a closed list. The deposit may be held and applied only to:

• Remedy tenant defaults — accidental or intentional damage resulting from failure to comply with the tenant duties in § 521-51, failure to pay rent due, or failure to return all keys, including key fobs, parking cards, garage door openers, and mailbox keys.
• Clean the unit, or have it cleaned, at termination so as to restore it to as fit a condition as when the tenant took possession.
• Compensate for damage caused by a tenant who wrongfully quits the unit.
• Compensate for pet damage under the pet-deposit provision.
• Cover money the tenant owes under the rental agreement for utility service the landlord provided but did not include in the rent.

Normal wear and tear is not on the list and cannot be deducted. Every deduction should trace to one of these five buckets and to the signed move-in inventory below. Our deductions guide walks through the documentation standard item by item.

The 14-day return clock

If the landlord proposes to retain any amount, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing of the particulars and grounds, including written evidence of the costs — estimates or invoices for materials and services, receipts for cleaning supplies and equipment, or charges for cleaning services. The deposit, or the balance after lawful retention, must be returned not later than 14 days after termination of the rental agreement (§ 521-44(c)). One exception to the written-notice duty: no notice is required where the tenant wrongfully quit — and subsection (d) deems a tenant absent for a continuous 20 days or more without written notice (and without rent paid for that period) to have wrongfully quit, in which case the landlord may retain the entire deposit. Document the absence and the missing rent before relying on that rule.

The sanction for a late or missing notice is absolute forfeiture: a landlord who does not furnish the written notice and required information within 14 days is not entitled to retain the deposit or any part of it and must return the entire amount — even if the deductions were legitimate. Compliance is proven two ways: mailing to an address the tenant supplied, with acceptable proof of mailing and a postmark before midnight of the 14th day, or the tenant's written acknowledgment of receipt within the 14 days. The tenant's window to sue over a retention is one year after termination.

Dated example (weekdays verified): a tenancy renting for $2,400 a month terminates on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The landlord holds a $2,400 deposit (at the cap) plus a $1,200 pet deposit for the tenant's dog — $3,600 in total, all lawful. The 14-day deadline is Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Suppose the file supports $380 of cleaning, $220 of landlord-provided utilities the tenant owed, and $450 of damage beyond wear and tear — $1,050 in total, each item on the § 521-44(a) list and backed by an invoice or receipt. The landlord must deliver the $2,550 balance, with the written grounds notice and cost evidence, by October 14 — or mail it with proof of mailing postmarked before midnight on October 14. Work backward: inspect and photograph in the first days, close out utilities inside the first week, and treat day 10 as the internal mailing deadline. Use our Security Deposit Deadline Finder, and see the dedicated Hawaii security deposit law guide for the full treatment.

The small-claims penalty structure

Deposit disputes are channeled into the small claims division of the district court, where neither side may be represented by an attorney (§ 521-44(g), (h)(4)). The court's findings drive three awards:

• Wrongful and wilful retention: the court may award the tenant three times the amount wrongfully and wilfully retained, plus the cost of suit (§ 521-44(h)(1)).
• Wrongful retention (not wilful): the court shall award the amount wrongfully retained, plus the cost of suit (§ 521-44(h)(2)).
• Retention was justified: the court shall award the landlord the amount in dispute, plus the cost of suit (§ 521-44(h)(3)).

Run the example through it: wilfully keeping the $1,050 of documented deductions after blowing the notice deadline exposes the landlord to three times $1,050 — $3,150 — plus costs, on top of returning the money. The same $1,050, noticed in writing with its receipts by day 14, is simply retained. In Hawaii the paperwork is not evidence supporting the deduction; timely paperwork is the deduction.

Selling or transferring the unit

On a transfer, the successor is bound by § 521-44: the original landlord must give the successor an accounting of the deposits at or before the transfer, and the successor must give each tenant written notice of the deposit amount credited within 20 days. A successor who fails is presumed bound by a deposit of not less than one month's rent at the original rate (§ 521-44(f)). Buyers of occupied rentals should demand the accounting in the purchase file — the presumption prices a missing one.

Disclosures and the mandatory move-in inventory (§§ 521-43, 521-42)

Disclosure (§ 521-43). The landlord (or anyone authorized to sign rental agreements for the landlord) must disclose in writing the owner's name and address and any agent authorized to manage the premises and receive notices and demands. An absentee landlord must designate an agent who resides on the same island as the unit. The landlord must also give tenants the landlord's general excise tax number, which tenants use to claim the state low-income renters' credit. A landlord who fails to make a required disclosure within 10 days after the tenant's proper demand is liable for $100 plus attorney's fees under § 521-67.

Inventory (§ 521-42(a)). Before initial occupancy, the landlord shall inventory the premises and make a written record of the condition of the premises and any furnishings or appliances provided. Duplicate copies are signed by both parties, and each keeps one; a signed inventory is presumed correct. With no inventory, the condition at termination is rebuttably presumed to be the same as when the tenant first occupied the premises — damage deductions start from a presumption that nothing changed, and Hawaii appellate courts have denied damage awards on exactly this ground. Do the inventory, sign it, photograph everything, and file it with the lease. Our move-in/move-out inspection checklist is built around this workflow.

What are Hawaii's rules for rent and late fees? (§ 521-21)

• Late fees: only where the rental agreement provides for one, and never more than 8% of the amount of rent due (§ 521-21(f)). A flat $75 or $100 fee copied from a mainland lease violates the cap on lower-rent units — recalculate per unit, as a percentage, in the lease itself.
• No mandatory grace period. Rent is payable at the time and place agreed; absent agreement, at the beginning of the term or in equal monthly installments at the beginning of each month, and is apportionable day to day (§ 521-21(b), (c)).
• No rent control statewide, and no cap on the size of an increase. What the statute controls is notice, and it lives in § 521-21, not § 521-71 (the previous version of this page cited the increase rule to the termination section): 45 consecutive days' written notice before an increase on a month-to-month tenancy (§ 521-21(d)); 15 consecutive days where the tenancy is less than month-to-month (§ 521-21(e)). On a fixed term, rent changes only as the lease allows. Section 521-71(f) closes the workaround: a termination notice issued to evade the § 521-21(d) or (e) increase notice is void.
• Rent withholding is structured, not free-form — a repair-and-deduct remedy with its own clocks (below) and a court-supervised rent trust fund once rent litigation begins (§ 521-78), not a blanket right to stop paying. See how to handle late rent and how to raise rent legally.

Dated example: a landlord who delivers a rent-increase notice (or a 45-day termination notice under § 521-71(a)) on Monday, March 2, 2026 cannot make the increase effective — or end the tenancy — before Thursday, April 16, 2026. Count the full 45 days from delivery, and keep proof of it.

How much notice is required to end a lease in Hawaii? (§ 521-71)

• Month-to-month, landlord ending it: at least 45 days' written notice in advance of the anticipated termination (§ 521-71(a)). The tenant may vacate at any time within that final period, on notice of the move-out date, paying prorated rent for the time actually occupied.
• Month-to-month, tenant ending it: at least 28 days' written notice, with rent owed through the 28th day (§ 521-71(b)). The asymmetry catches mainland landlords off guard — your tenant can leave on barely four weeks' notice while you need six and a half.
• Demolition, condo conversion, or vacation-rental conversion: where the landlord contemplates voluntary demolition, conversion to a condominium property regime, or changing the building's use to transient vacation rentals, the notice is 120 days (§ 521-71(c)). A revoked and reissued notice restarts the 120 days. The tenant may leave early on the same prorated terms.
• Less than month-to-month (including week-to-week): either party may terminate on at least 10 days' notice (§ 521-71(d)).
• Fixed-term leases end on the date the agreement sets; the lease's own notice clauses govern renewal mechanics.
• Holdover: a tenant who stays past termination without consent may owe up to twice the monthly rent, prorated daily, for each day of holdover (§ 521-71(e)). The landlord may sue for possession at any time during the first 60 days of holdover — but if no proceeding is filed within 60 days and there is no new agreement, a month-to-month tenancy at the old rent forms by operation of law. Calendar day 60 the day a holdover starts.

Because the landlord's notice is 45 days (120 for conversions), start re-listing and showing preparations early. See our lease renewal playbook and the tenant early-termination guide — which includes two statutory early-exit rights worth knowing: victims of domestic violence may terminate early under § 521-80 (with lock-change rights under § 521-81), and servicemember tenants have an early-termination right under § 521-83, alongside the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

How does eviction work in Hawaii?

Self-help eviction is illegal — no lock changes, no utility shutoffs, no removing the tenant's belongings. Possession changes hands only through a summary possession action in district court under Chapter 666, after the correct Chapter 521 notice has run. In 2026 the nonpayment track has two regimes stacked on top of each other.

Nonpayment: the 10-day Act 278 notice and mediation (§ 521-68)

The codified text of § 521-68(a) states the long-standing rule: any time after rent is due, the landlord may demand payment and notify the tenant in writing that unless payment is made within a time stated in the notice — not less than five business days after receipt — the rental agreement will be terminated; if the tenant cannot be served, notice may be posted conspicuously on the unit; if the tenant remains in default, the landlord may bring a summary proceeding. Section 521-68(b) separately allows an action for rent alone after demand and notice of intent to sue.

For February 5, 2026 through February 4, 2028, Act 278's pilot displaces that front end for nonpayment cases. Per the DCCA's Landlord Tenant Information Center: the landlord serves a ten-calendar-day notice carrying the prescribed information, including the mediation language, and must also submit it with a Landlord Intake Form through the Mediation Centers of Hawaii website, which routes it to the center on the property's island. The tenant has 10 calendar days from receipt to request and schedule mediation — free to both sides, run by the community mediation centers under contract with the Judiciary. If the tenant does not request mediation, the landlord may file once the 10-day period has run; if the tenant schedules mediation, filing waits for that process. A tenant who then defaults on a mediated agreement may be filed against without a new notice, and the landlord may recover the attorney's fees and costs incurred in mediation. No new notice or further mediation is required where the filing rests on breach of a mediated or other settlement agreement rather than fresh nonpayment.

Dated example: March 2026 rent is due Sunday, March 1, 2026 and goes unpaid. The tenant receives the Act 278 notice on Monday, March 2, 2026. The ten calendar days run through Thursday, March 12, 2026 — both the pay window and the mediation-request window. With no mediation requested, the earliest filing date is Friday, March 13, 2026. Filing on the old five-business-day timeline in 2026 means filing early, on a defective notice. The pilot ends February 4, 2028; unless the Legislature extends it, § 521-68's five-business-day text governs again. (The earlier Maui post-wildfire mediation regime — Act 57 of 2021, extended by Act 202 of 2024 — expired as Act 278 took over.)

Lease violations: the 10-day cure notice (§ 521-69)

For material noncompliance with the tenant duties in § 521-51 — keeping the unit clean and safe, proper use of plumbing and electrical fixtures, not damaging the premises or letting guests do so, not disturbing neighbors — the landlord, on learning of the noncompliance, must notify the tenant in writing and allow a specified time of not less than 10 days after receipt to remedy it (§ 521-69(a)). Two remedies follow an uncured breach:

• If the noncompliance is with § 521-51(1) — building and housing laws materially affecting health and safety — the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and bring a summary proceeding.
• Where the noncompliance can be remedied by the landlord by cleaning, repairing, or replacing a damaged item, the landlord may do the work and bill the tenant for the actual and reasonable cost, treated as rent due on the next regular rent collection date (or immediately on receipt if the tenancy has terminated).

No cure time is required where the tenant's noncompliance causes or threatens to cause irremediable damage to any person or property. Separately, § 521-72 governs breaches of lawful landlord rules under § 521-52, and § 521-70 addresses absence, misuse, and abandonment. One correction to the previous version of this page: Chapter 521 contains no general URLTA-style "repeat breach within six months loses the right to cure" rule for § 521-69 notices — do not draft or serve notices as if it did. In every track, name the exact amount owed or the specific conduct, cite the lease provision and the § 521-51 duty, state the statutory deadline, and document delivery. See the legal eviction process guide and our lease agreement guide.

The court process and the rent trust fund

After the notice runs, the landlord files for summary possession in district court (Chapter 666); the tenant may answer and raise defenses, including habitability breaches. Where rent payment is in dispute, either party may ask the court to order rent paid into the rent trust fund as it comes due under § 521-78 — a tenant who fails to comply faces a judgment for possession. Only a court order moves a tenant out: remove or exclude a tenant overnight without cause or a court order and § 521-63(c) prices it at two months' rent or two months of free occupancy, plus the cost of suit including reasonable attorney's fees. Section 521-74.5 separately bars recovering possession by wilfully interrupting running water, hot water, or electric or telephone service.

Repairs and habitability (§§ 521-42, 521-64, 521-63)

The landlord's duties

Section 521-42(a) requires the landlord, at all times during the tenancy, to: comply with building and housing laws materially affecting health and safety; keep common areas of multi-dwelling premises clean and safe; make all repairs necessary to put and keep the premises habitable; maintain electrical, plumbing, and other landlord-supplied facilities and appliances in good working order, subject to reasonable wear and tear; provide receptacles and arrange garbage removal (except in a single-family residence); and provide running water as reasonably required (same carve-out where the building is not required by law to be equipped for it). Landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant performs specified repairs — but only in good faith, not to evade the landlord's obligations, never for work needed to cure the landlord's own § 521-42(a)(1) code noncompliance, and never so as to diminish obligations to other tenants (§ 521-42(b)). In Hawaii's climate, mold, moisture, and pest pressure are routine operating facts — budget for them rather than litigating them.

The three repair clocks (§ 521-64)

Section 521-64 runs three different clocks — the previous version of this page collapsed two of them. Which applies depends on who flagged the condition and what kind it is:

• Agency-flagged health or safety violations — 5 business days. On written notification from the department of health or another state or county agency that a health or safety violation (noncompliance with § 521-42(a)(1)) exists, the landlord must commence repairs within five business days, with a good-faith duty to finish as soon as possible. If the landlord cannot start in time for reasons beyond its control, it must tell the tenant why and set a reasonable tentative start date (§ 521-64(a)).
• Essential facilities — 3 business days. For repairs (tenant misuse excepted) to electrical, plumbing, or other facilities, including major appliances the landlord provided, necessary to provide sanitary and habitable living conditions, the landlord must commence repairs within three business days of receiving oral or written notification from the tenant, with the same explain-and-set-a-date duty for genuine delays (§ 521-64(c)).
• Other material noncompliance — 12 business days. On the tenant's written notification of a defective condition in material noncompliance with § 521-42(a) or the rental agreement, the landlord must commence repairs within twelve business days, under the same duties (§ 521-64(c)).

The 12-business-day clock is the one most often missed — summaries tend to print only the dramatic 3-day figure, which is the facilities track. Both clocks start on notification, which is why a written, date-stamped maintenance-request channel, handed to the tenant at move-in, is a landlord protection and not a courtesy. See how to handle maintenance requests.

Repair-and-deduct, with the Hawaii structure (§ 521-64(b), (d)–(g))

If the landlord misses the agency track, the tenant's remedies are the generous ones: repair immediately and, on submitting receipts, deduct up to $500 of actual expenditures — or submit written signed estimates from two qualified workers at least five business days before the work, proceed with the lower bidder, and deduct the greater of $500 or one month's rent (§ 521-64(b)). On the two-estimate route the landlord may require, in writing, a reasonable substitute worker or materials — respond in writing when estimates arrive; silence accepts the tenant's bidder. If the landlord misses the tenant-notice track, the tenant's repair-and-deduct is capped at $500 (§ 521-64(d)).

Four guardrails complete the section. The tenant's initial § 521-64(c) notice must list every condition the tenant knows or should know of; an unlisted known condition cannot be forced on the landlord, or repaired at the landlord's expense, for six months, and total charges in any six-month period are capped at three months' rent (§ 521-64(e)). No deduction is available for a condition caused by the tenant's own want of due care (or family or guests) (§ 521-64(f)). Before repairing a facility shared by more than one unit, the tenant must notify the other tenants sharing it (§ 521-64(g)).

The tenant's termination remedy (§ 521-63(a)–(b))

If a condition deprives the tenant of a substantial part of the benefit and enjoyment of the bargain, the tenant may notify the landlord in writing and, if the landlord does not remedy the situation within one week, terminate the rental agreement (§ 521-63(a)). No notice is needed where the condition renders the unit uninhabitable or poses an imminent threat to health or safety. If the condition was caused wilfully or negligently by the landlord, the tenant may also recover damages (§ 521-63(b)). Treat any § 521-63 letter as a seven-day cure clock with the tenancy itself at stake.

How much notice must a Hawaii landlord give before entering? (§ 521-53)

The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to entry to inspect; make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supply agreed services; or show the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees, or tenants (§ 521-53(a)). The landlord may not abuse access or use it to harass. Except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable, the landlord must give at least two days' notice and enter only at reasonable times (§ 521-53(b)). Beyond that, there is no other right of entry except by court order, where the tenant appears to have abandoned the premises, or as § 521-70(b) permits during an extended absence (§ 521-53(c)). Abuse cuts both ways under § 521-73 — a tenant who unreasonably refuses lawful access is liable for proximately caused damage — so log every entry, with the notice given, in the unit file.

Retaliation (§ 521-74)

So long as the tenant continues to tender the usual rent (or tenders receipts for rent lawfully deducted), § 521-74 bars the landlord from maintaining a possession action, otherwise causing the tenant to quit involuntarily, demanding a rent increase, or decreasing services, after any of three protected events: the tenant complained in good faith — to the department of health, the landlord, a building department, the office of consumer protection, or another government agency concerned with landlord-tenant disputes — about a condition violating a health law or regulation or any provision of Chapter 521; a government agency filed a notice or complaint of such a violation; or the tenant in good faith requested repairs under § 521-63 or § 521-64. Exceptions in § 521-74(b) still allow possession where the tenant is committing waste or a nuisance or using the unit illegally or for non-dwelling purposes, where the landlord seeks the unit in good faith as the landlord's or immediate family's own abode, or for substantial alteration, remodeling, or demolition, among the listed grounds. Note that even a rent increase is on Hawaii's list of barred responses — broader than most states. Document an independent, pre-existing basis for every adverse action that follows a complaint.

Discrimination and state-specific protections (Chapter 515)

The federal Fair Housing Act applies in full, and Hawaii's own law (HRS Chapter 515) protects a broader list: race, sex (including gender identity or expression), sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (§ 515-3). Two precision points verified against the current chapter text: Hawaii does not list source of income as a statewide protected class in § 515-3 — do not import that rule from mainland summaries (check county ordinances separately) — and § 515-3's disability provisions include the duties to permit reasonable modifications at the tenant's expense and to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, and services, the provision the assistance-animal deposit ban in § 521-44(b) keys to. Our pet policy and pet screening guide and emotional support animal guide cover what verification you may and may not request. Screening criteria should be written, uniform, and documented for every applicant — with the § 521-46 actual-cost rule applied per adult applicant, that paper trail is your Chapter 515 defense and your DCCA defense at once.

A 10-step Hawaii compliance checklist

1. Charge screening fees at actual cost only, per adult applicant, only when you process the application — and refund any excess or unused amount within 30 days (§ 521-46).

2. Collect at move-in only the first month's rent plus a deposit of one month's rent, plus at most one more month as a pet deposit — only for an actual pet, never for an assistance animal. Take no postdated checks (§ 521-44(b), (e)).

3. Deliver the § 521-43 written disclosures (owner and agent identity; a same-island agent if you are absentee; your general excise tax number) with the lease file.

4. Complete the § 521-42 signed move-in inventory before occupancy, in duplicate, with photographs — without it, move-out condition is presumed unchanged and damage deductions start from zero.

5. Draft the late fee as a percentage and check it against the 8% cap on every unit; confirm increase-notice clauses read 45 days (month-to-month) and 15 days (shorter tenancies) (§ 521-21(d)–(f)).

6. Run every maintenance request against the right repair clock — 3 business days for essential facilities, 5 for agency-flagged violations, 12 for other material noncompliance — and answer two-estimate § 521-64(b) submissions in writing (§ 521-64).

7. Give two days' notice for every entry, at reasonable hours, and log the notice and the entry (§ 521-53).

8. Use the termination number for the side giving notice: 45 days landlord, 28 days tenant, 10 days for sub-monthly tenancies, 120 days for demolition, condo conversion, or vacation-rental conversion (§ 521-71).

9. For nonpayment during the Act 278 pilot, serve the 10-calendar-day notice with the mediation language, file the Landlord Intake Form with the Mediation Centers of Hawaii, and do not file for summary possession until the mediation window has run (§ 521-68; Act 278).

10. At move-out, calendar day 14 from termination: deliver the balance with the itemized written grounds notice and cost evidence, or mail it with proof of mailing postmarked before midnight of day 14 — and keep the deposit file for the tenant's one-year suit window (§ 521-44(c)).

The bottom line

Hawaii is a tenant-protective URLTA state that runs on its own clocks: a 14-day deposit return with forfeiture for a late notice and treble damages for wilful withholding; an 8% late-fee cap and a 45-day increase notice that force lease rewrites for mainland investors; a 45/28 termination asymmetry (and 120 days for conversions) that pushes vacancy planning six weeks out; three distinct repair clocks — 3, 5, and 12 business days — with a two-estimate repair-and-deduct route up to a full month's rent; and, through February 2028, a 10-day mediated front end on every nonpayment case. The trade remains workable: no rent control, no deposit interest or escrow-account burden, fast 10-day cure mechanics for lease violations, and clear guardrails that favor landlords who respond promptly and document everything.

The winning play is administrative discipline: the signed inventory at move-in, separate deposit ledgers, receipts gathered within days of move-out, screening fees priced at cost, and a written maintenance channel that timestamps every request.

Investing from the mainland? Hawaii punishes deposit mistakes harder than any other state — a 14-day return deadline where missing it means you forfeit the right to keep anything, plus treble damages for wilful withholding and a 45-day rent-increase notice rule that surprises mainland landlords. Every state has its own traps. The 50-State Landlord Law Dataset (CSV + JSON) puts all 50 states' key rules in one spreadsheet-ready dataset ($29, one-time purchase).

Primary sources

• Section 521-44, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Justia) — security deposits: cap, pet deposit, 14-day return, treble damages.
• Section 521-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Justia) — rent: increase notices and the 8% late-charge cap.
• Section 521-71, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Justia) — termination: 45/28/10/120-day notices and holdover liability.
• Section 521-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Justia) — the codified nonpayment remedy, overlaid by Act 278's pilot through February 4, 2028.
• Section 521-64, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Justia) — repair-and-deduct: the three clocks and the two-estimate route.
• Section 521-63, Hawaii Revised Statutes (FindLaw) — tenant termination remedy and the wrongful-removal award.
• Landlord Tenant Information Center (Hawaii DCCA) — Office of Consumer Protection guidance, including the Act 278 mediation pilot FAQ.
• Tenant screening fee regulations, Act 200 (Hawaii DCCA release) — § 521-46's actual-cost rule, effective May 1, 2024.
• Section 515-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes (FindLaw) — Chapter 515's protected-class list.

Statute text was checked against these Justia, FindLaw, and DCCA publications. The Legislature's official capitol.hawaii.gov publication returned an access error from this network, so the mirrors above were used and cross-checked against each other; verify against the official publication before filing anything.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum security deposit in Hawaii?

One month's rent under § 521-44(b). A separate pet deposit of up to one additional month's rent may be agreed for damage from a pet animal actually residing in the premises — never for a tenant without a pet, and never for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation for a disability under § 515-3.

How long does a Hawaii landlord have to return a deposit?

Not later than 14 days after termination of the rental agreement (§ 521-44(c)). Any retention requires a written notice of the particulars and grounds, with written evidence of costs — estimates, invoices, or receipts. Mailing to the tenant's supplied address with proof of mailing postmarked before midnight of the 14th day counts as compliance, as does the tenant's written acknowledgment of receipt within the 14 days.

What happens if a Hawaii landlord misses the 14-day deposit deadline?

A landlord who does not furnish the written notice and cost information within 14 days forfeits the right to retain any part of the deposit and must return the entire amount. In a small claims action, wrongful retention costs the amount retained plus suit costs, and wrongful and wilful retention can be trebled — up to three times the amount wrongfully and wilfully retained, plus costs (§ 521-44(h)). The tenant has one year after termination to sue.

How much notice does Hawaii require for nonpayment of rent in 2026?

During the Act 278 pilot (February 5, 2026 – February 4, 2028), a 10-calendar-day notice carrying the prescribed mediation information, plus a Landlord Intake Form filed with the Mediation Centers of Hawaii. The tenant has 10 calendar days from receipt to request free mediation, and the landlord may not file for summary possession until that window has run — and, if mediation is requested, until the process concludes or the tenant defaults on a mediated agreement. The underlying codified text of § 521-68, which resumes when the pilot sunsets, specifies not less than five business days.

How many days' notice ends a Hawaii month-to-month tenancy?

It depends on the side: the landlord must give at least 45 days' written notice, the tenant at least 28 days (§ 521-71(a), (b)). A landlord's notice given Monday, March 2, 2026 supports a termination no earlier than Thursday, April 16, 2026. For demolition, condominium conversion, or conversion to transient vacation rentals, the landlord's notice is 120 days (§ 521-71(c)).

How much notice is required for a rent increase in Hawaii?

Forty-five consecutive days' written notice for a month-to-month tenancy, and fifteen consecutive days where the tenancy is less than month-to-month (§ 521-21(d), (e)). There is no cap on the amount of the increase and no rent control; on a fixed term, rent changes only as the lease allows. A termination notice served to evade the increase-notice duty is void (§ 521-71(f)).

What is Hawaii's late fee cap?

Where the rental agreement provides for a late charge, it may not exceed 8% of the amount of rent due (§ 521-21(f)). Hawaii imposes no statutory grace period, and no late charge is available at all if the lease does not provide for one.

How much notice must a Hawaii landlord give before entering?

At least two days' notice, and entry only at reasonable times, except in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable (§ 521-53(b)). Entry is for the § 521-53(a) purposes — inspection, necessary or agreed repairs and improvements, agreed services, and showings to prospective purchasers, mortgagees, or tenants — and may not be used to harass.

Can a Hawaii tenant repair and deduct?

Yes, under § 521-64's structure. After an agency-flagged health or safety violation the landlord fails to begin fixing within five business days, the tenant may repair immediately and deduct up to $500, or use the two-estimate route — written signed estimates from two qualified workers at least five business days ahead, the lower bidder does the work — and deduct the greater of $500 or one month's rent. After a tenant's written notice of other material noncompliance the landlord leaves unaddressed for twelve business days (three business days for essential electrical, plumbing, or appliance facilities), the tenant's repair-and-deduct is capped at $500 (§ 521-64(c), (d)).

What can a Hawaii landlord charge as an application or screening fee?

Only the actual cost of obtaining information about the applicant (§ 521-46, since May 1, 2024). The fee may be charged only when the application is processed and only to an applicant aged 18 or older or an emancipated minor; any amount above actual cost must be returned, and any unused portion refunded within 30 days of submitting the screening request.

Can a Hawaii landlord change the locks or shut off utilities to force a tenant out?

No. Possession is recovered only through the summary possession court process. A landlord who removes or excludes a tenant overnight without cause or a court order faces § 521-63(c): the tenant recovers possession or terminates, plus two months' rent or two months of free occupancy and the cost of suit including reasonable attorney's fees. Section 521-74.5 separately bars recovering possession by wilfully interrupting water, hot water, electric, or telephone service.

More landlord-tenant law guides

• Landlord-tenant law by state
• Georgia landlord-tenant law
• Idaho landlord-tenant law
• Florida landlord-tenant law
• Illinois landlord-tenant law

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a Hawaii landlord-tenant attorney for specific situations.