| Rent Increase Facts | Answer |
| Reason Needed? | No |
| Maximum Amount | None |
| Required Notice | 15 or 45 Days |
Does Hawaii Have Rent Control Laws?
Hawaii does not have rent control laws limiting the amount that landlords may ask for rent. State law allows local governments to establish rent control laws.
When Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Hawaii?
Landlords in Hawaii can raise the rent at any time, as long as they comply with the following:
- Wait until the end of the lease term (unless otherwise specified in the lease)
- Give reasonable notice
- Aren’t raising rent for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons
- Don’t break any local rent control laws
When Can’t a Landlord Raise Rent in Hawaii?
Landlords in Hawaii may not raise the rent if:
- The increase is applied in a way that discriminates against one of the protected classes specified in the Fair Housing Act
- It is during the middle of a lease’s fixed term (unless stated otherwise in the lease agreement)
- It is done in retaliation against a protected tenant action, such as filing a complaint
In addition to the characteristics protected by federal law, Hawaii state law prevents discrimination because of age, marital status, or HIV status.
How Often Can Rent Be Increased in Hawaii?
Landlords in Hawaii can increase the rent as often as they choose as long as they provide sufficient notice each time.
How Much Notice is Needed to Raise Rent in Hawaii?
In Hawaii, landlords cannot raise the rent during a lease term and must give 45 days’ notice to month-to-month tenants to increase the rent. If the tenant is on a week-to-week lease, the landlord must give 15 days’ notice.
Landlords do not need to provide a reason for the rent increase in the notice letter. When the tenant receives the notice, they may choose to enter a new lease at a higher rate or move out.
How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Hawaii?
In Hawaii, landlords can raise the rent by any amount and for any reason as long as they give proper notice, don’t do so during the fixed term of a lease, and aren’t doing so for certain discriminatory or retaliatory reasons.
Sources
- 1 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-74(a)
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Notwithstanding that the tenant has no written rental agreement or that it has expired, so long as the tenant continues to tender the usual rent to the landlord or proceeds to tender receipts for rent lawfully withheld, no action or proceeding to recover possession of the dwelling unit may be maintained against the tenant, nor shall the landlord otherwise cause the tenant to quit the dwelling unit involuntarily, nor demand an increase in rent from the tenant; nor decrease the services to which the tenant has been entitled, after:
(1) The tenant has complained in good faith to the department of health, landlord, building department, office of consumer protection, or any other governmental agency concerned with landlord-tenant disputes of conditions in or affecting the tenant’s dwelling unit which constitutes a violation of a health law or regulation or of any provision of this chapter; or
(2) The department of health or other governmental agency has filed a notice or complaint of a violation of a health law or regulation or any provision of this chapter; or
(3) The tenant has in good faith requested repairs under section 521-63 or 521-64.
Source Link - 2 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-3(a)(2)
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It is a discriminatory practice for an owner or any other person engaging in a real estate transaction, or for a real estate broker or salesperson, because of race; sex, including gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; color; religion; marital status; familial status; ancestry; disability; age; or human immunodeficiency virus infection:
…
(2) To discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection with a real estate transaction.
Source Link - 3 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-21(d) & (e)
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(d) When the tenancy is from month to month, the amount of rent for such tenancy shall not be increased by the landlord without written notice given forty-five consecutive days prior to the effective date of the increase.
(e) When the tenancy is less than month to month, the amount of rent for such tenancy shall not be increased by the landlord without written notice given fifteen consecutive days prior to the effective date of the increase.
Source Link
