A Hawaii rental application form helps a landlord choose a prospective tenant who is well suited to rent a particular property. The form requests personal and employment information plus consent for a credit check (sometimes called a consumer report). Applications often collect a non-refundable fee, commonly equal to the cost of getting the relevant screening reports.
Hawaii Rental Application Laws
Hawaii has minimal regulations on the content of a rental application. Application fees are limited to actual expenses. Hawaii law requires that a landlord cannot use an application fee for any purpose other than actual, qualifying costs of tenant screening, and must refund any portion of an application fee that wasn’t spent on qualifying costs.
Quick Guide To Process a Hawaii Rental Application
After receiving a Hawaii rental application, most landlords use the following process to evaluate the potential tenant:
- Verify Credit – Order a credit report for the potential tenant; a score of 600-650 is a common minimum requirement. A credit report can be as simple as a “pass/fail” result or can have comprehensive details, including criminal history. (NOTE: a credit report requires the tenant’s written and signed consent, on the application or separately)
- Verify Income – Check the potential tenant’s employment status and pay scale. This can be done through recent pay stubs and/or contacting the potential tenant’s employer.
- Check Rental History – Contact previous landlord(s) to confirm a potential tenant has in the past been a good renter and neighbor.
- Check Eviction History – Verify the potential tenant has honestly disclosed the details of any past evictions. An eviction check usually covers a longer period (previous 7 years) than a rental history check (previous 3 years).
- Check Criminal History – Confirm the potential tenant’s reporting of any criminal history, especially including a check of criminal databases like sex offender registries.
- Provide a Response – Approve the application if it’s a good fit, or, if rejecting the application, draft an appropriate adverse action notice to limit liability.
Checking Eviction History in Hawaii
Hawaii eviction cases are matters of public record which anyone can access. While third-party services often automatically check eviction history as part of a screening report, this also can be checked manually, with the following process:
- Visit eCourt Kōkua and select “Civil/Family/Housing/Small Claims Case” under “Superior Court Case Look-up”
- Select the “Party Search” tab and enter the applicant’s name to see relevant court documents
- Select the case ID to be taken to details and docket, with available documents marked by a PDF icon
- To purchase, select the PDF icon, choose regular or certified copy, and add to cart
- Select “View/Purchase Documents” to review cart (in the “New Documents” section)
- The site assigns a purchase ID and asks for contact information to purchase; copies cost 10 cents per page or $3 per document, whichever is greater (+$2, if certified), and may be viewed for two days after purchase
- After payment, click “Continue” to return to the home page, then enter purchase ID and email into the “View/Purchase Documents” tab to view
Restrictions on Hawaii Rental Application Questions
The sample rental application provided on this page complies with federal law restricting the information a landlord can request. In general, it’s illegal under the Federal Fair Housing Act to screen tenants by asking for information about the following, or using these as a basis for approving or denying an application:
- Race
- Color
- National origin (nationality)
- Religion
- Sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity)
- Familial status (i.e., having or not having children)
- Disability (whether physical or mental)
Hawaii also has statewide protections for additional categories including age, rental assistance status / source of income, marital status, and HIV status. There are narrow exemptions for things like senior housing or certain very-small scale landlords, but local regulations may still apply. Always consult an attorney before attempting to ignore state or federal requirements.
Rejecting an Application: Adverse Action Notice
When taking an action which may disadvantage a potential tenant, a landlord may have to provide an adverse action notice informing the tenant about the decision (sometimes called a “conditional approval,” if the application is approved subject to meeting additional conditions). Federal regulations require an adverse action notice whenever a landlord collects a credit report and takes one of the following actions:
- Rejecting the potential tenant’s application
- Adding a requirement for someone to co-sign the potential tenant’s lease
- Demanding a larger security deposit than before, as a condition for renting
- Asking for higher rent after receiving the report
Important Features of an Adverse Action Notice
An adverse action notice must contain the following details:
- Note that the landlord took adverse action based on information in a consumer credit report
- Details of the consumer reporting agency
- Note that the landlord decided the adverse action, not the agency
- Declaration of the applicant’s right to a copy of the consumer credit report
- Declaration of the application’s right to dispute the report within 60 calendar days
While not legally required, it also is expedient for a landlord to explain the reasons for the adverse action, since this establishes a written record of issues with the application.
For an example, see this tenant rejection letter template.
Fees in Hawaii
Hawaii has the following regulations on fees relating to a new rental:
- Rental Application Limit: Cost of actual qualifying expenses of tenant screening
- Security Deposit Limit: One month’s rent
- Pet Fee Limit: No pet fees allowed (only security deposit and first month’s rent)
Local jurisdictions may impose stricter regulations than the statewide standard. Always check local laws.
Sources
- 1 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-46
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(a) When a landlord or the landlord’s agent receives a request from an applicant to rent a dwelling unit, the landlord or the landlord’s agent may charge the applicant an application screening fee at the time the application is processed for the dwelling unit to cover the costs of obtaining information about the applicant; provided that a landlord or the landlord’s agent shall only charge an application screening fee for an applicant who is eighteen years of age or older or an emancipated minor. Information sought by the landlord or the landlord’s agent charging the fee may include personal reference checks, tenant reports, criminal background checks, and credit reports produced by any consumer credit reporting agency.
(b) Upon request by the applicant, a landlord or the landlord’s agent shall provide to the applicant a:
(1) Receipt for payment of the application screening fee; and
(2) Breakdown of costs covered by the application screening fee.
(c) A landlord or the landlord’s agent shall return to the applicant any amount of the application screening fee that is not used for the purposes authorized by this section within thirty days after the landlord has submitted screening requests.
(d) For the purposes of this section: “Consumer credit reporting agency” has the same meaning as in section 489P-2. “Credit report” has the same meaning as in section 489P-2.
