HI · Researched October 7, 2026
Hawaii's Residential Landlord-Tenant Code (HRS Chapter 521) caps deposits at one month's rent plus an optional pet deposit, limits late fees to 8%, and requires 45 days' notice to raise rent or end a month-to-month tenancy. Since February 5, 2026, nonpayment notices give 10 calendar days and go to a mediation center, and filing waits 20 days if mediation is scheduled (mediation rules run to February 4, 2028). Absentee owners must have an agent on the same island.
Hawaii's broker definition covers anyone who, for compensation, leases, rents, or manages real estate for others, so third-party property management needs a Hawaii license. Separately, an owner who lives off island must name an on-island agent under HRS § 521-43(f).
Owners and their attorneys in fact, court-appointed fiduciaries and trustees, custodians or caretakers renting property in their care, hotel operators, and certain homeless facility providers. A state attorney general opinion says the owner exemption does not cover corporate employees.
Commingling a principal's money with the licensee's own, or converting it, is grounds for discipline. Commission rules in HAR chapter 16-99 set client trust account details, which we did not verify here.
No pet deposit is allowed from a tenant without a pet or for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation. At move-in you may collect only the first month's rent and the security deposit. The deposit can be used as last month's rent only if both sides agree in writing and the tenant gives 45 days' notice of vacating.
If you miss the 14 days with the written notice and cost evidence, you lose the right to keep any of it. Mailing with proof, postmarked by the 14th day, presumptively complies. Either side may go to small claims court, where a court may award three times the amount wrongfully and willfully kept. A new owner must tell each tenant in writing within 20 days of the transfer how much deposit was credited.
The landlord holds the deposit for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it comes before the landlord's creditors, even if deposits are commingled.
The cap applies when the rental agreement provides for a late charge. The Code sets no grace period.
Since May 1, 2024, charge only adults and emancipated minors, and only for reference checks, tenant reports, criminal checks, and credit reports. Give a receipt and cost breakdown on request. We could not reach the official text of HRS § 521-46; this follows the state consumer protection handbook.
Fixed-term leases cannot be raised mid-term unless the lease allows it. A termination notice given to get around the rent increase notice period is void.
The Residential Landlord-Tenant Code does not limit the amount of a rent increase. Governor's emergency proclamations, such as those after the 2023 Maui wildfires, have at times limited rent increases or evictions, so check for any current proclamation.
Since February 5, 2026, the notice must include landlord and tenant contact details, the rent due, and a bold mediation warning; the Judiciary offers a form. If mediation is scheduled within the 10 days, you must take part and cannot file until 20 calendar days after the tenant received the notice, unless the tenant skips or cancels. Posted notice counts as received on posting; mailed notice two business days after the postmark. The mediation rules end February 4, 2028, but the 10-day period stays.
If the breach continues or recurs after the date in the notice, you may file for summary possession within 30 days. No cure time is required when the breach causes or threatens damage to any person or violates certain tenant duties in § 521-51.
Landlords need 120 days' notice to end a month-to-month tenancy for demolition, condominium conversion, or conversion to transient vacation rentals. Tenancies shorter than month-to-month need 10 days. A holdover tenant can owe up to twice the monthly rent per day, prorated, and a new month-to-month tenancy arises if you do not file within 60 days.
Either side can ask the court to order disputed rent paid into a rent trust fund while the case is pending. If the tenant does not pay into the fund, you get judgment for possession. We could not confirm typical court timelines for this guide.
You may sell items of value in a commercially reasonable way, store them at the tenant's expense, or donate them. Mail notice to the forwarding or last known address first. After rent and costs, hold proceeds in trust for 30 days. Items of no value may be thrown out. If a tenant dies, a separate notice process applies (§ 521-85).
Notice is not needed in an emergency or where it is impracticable. The tenant cannot unreasonably refuse entry to inspect, repair, or show the unit. Repeated unreasonable entry lets the tenant end the lease or seek an injunction.
Other repairs must start within 12 business days of written notice, and health or safety violations within 7 calendar days of an agency notice. If you do not act, the tenant may repair and deduct up to $1,000 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, with receipts. Retaliation after a complaint or repair request is barred.
Before occupancy, prepare a written inventory of the unit's condition, signed by both sides. Disclose in writing who manages the unit and who receives notices and rent, and keep it current. An owner living off island must name an agent on the same island in the rental agreement. Give receipts for rent and a copy of any written lease. Federal lead disclosure applies to pre-1978 units.
Owner-occupied buildings with two units or fewer, and renting up to four rooms in the owner's home, are exempt from § 515-3. Assistance animal verification is limited. We could not find a voucher or Section 8 protection in the current HRS chapter 515 text.
Screening fees may cover only listed screening costs for adults and emancipated minors, with receipts on request and refunds of unused amounts within 30 days.
Tenants may name a representative for their belongings. After a tenant dies, the landlord sends notice, and the tenancy ends 15 days after notice or the paid-through date, whichever is later.
For tenancies covered by the wildfire emergency proclamations, a 15-day nonpayment notice and mediation apply once evictions resume. The section is repealed by December 31, 2026 at the latest.
Nonpayment notices now give 10 calendar days and go to a state-funded mediation center. If mediation is scheduled, the landlord must take part and wait 20 days from receipt to file. The mediation rules end February 4, 2028; the 10-day period does not.
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Compare with other states: security deposit limit, deposit return deadline, deposit interest and holding rules, late fees, application and screening fees, rent increase notice, rent control, notice for unpaid rent, notice for lease violations, ending a month-to-month, eviction timeline, abandoned property, landlord entry, repairs and habitability, required disclosures, state fair housing protections.