A Hawaii rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant who wishes to use it. Hawaii landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Hawaii Rental Agreement Types
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Common Residential Rental Agreements in Hawaii
- Hawaii Association of REALTORS® Rental Agreement – This template is intended for use by members of the National Association of REALTORS®. It contains extensive terms, conditions, and procedures, particularly for maintenance rules and regulations.
Hawaii Required Residential Lease Disclosures
- Landlord’s Name and Address (required for all leases) – Hawaii leases must contain the name and address of the landlord or authorized agent. This enables smooth communication of any important legal notice.
- Move-In Checklist (required for some leases) – Hawaii landlords collecting a security deposit must provide an inventory of the rental property’s condition, in the form of a move-in checklist. The prospective tenant must agree with the landlord on existing damages, to enable accurate deductions upon move-out.
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some leases) – For any property built before 1978, federal law requires that a Hawaii residential lease must contain a lead-based paint disclosure with an EPA informational pamphlet, plus notice of any lead hazards on the property.
To learn more about required disclosures in Hawaii, click here.
Hawaii Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Hawaii landlords can only rent out habitable property, which means providing certain features essential to basic health and safety, like heat, plumbing, electricity, and sound structural elements. Landlords must begin repairing any issues within 3-12 days after proper notice from the tenant, depending on the issue. Failure to repair lets a tenant sue the landlord, repair and deduct from the rent, or terminate the lease. Tenants aren’t allowed to withhold rent.
- Evictions – Hawaii landlords may evict for rent default, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay or quit, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in Hawaii take between one to four months.
- Security Deposits – Hawaii caps security deposits at a maximum of one month’s rent. Upon lease termination, a landlord must return any unused portion of a security deposit to the tenant within 14 days.
- Lease Termination – Hawaii allows tenants to terminate a month-to-month lease with 28 days of advance notice. A fixed-term lease can’t be terminated early without active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Hawaii landlords can raise rent by any amount, whenever they want, with no particular requirements for justification, as long as they give 15 or 45 days of advance notice, depending on the specifics of the tenancy. The state caps late fees at 8% of the overdue amount, and returned check fees at $30.
- Landlord Entry – Hawaii landlord may enter rental property for purposes reasonably related to the tenancy, such as maintenance and inspections. Before entering, a landlord must typically provide at least two days of advance notice. Entry requirements are temporarily suspended in emergency situations.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Hawaii allows hearing landlord-tenant disputes in small claims court, as long as the amount in controversy is under $5,000. Eviction cases cannot be heard in small claims. The statute of limitations for most landlord-tenant issues in Hawaii is six years.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Hawaii, click here.
