Hawaii Tenant Rights: Repair and Deduct Up to a Month’s Rent

Short answer: Hawaii tenant rights include a generous repair-and-deduct limit: if your landlord misses the statutory deadline to start repairs, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-64 lets you have the work done and deduct up to $1,000 or one month’s rent, whichever is greater. Hawaii’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Code also requires 45 days’ notice of a rent increase, caps late fees at 8%, and, since February 2026, routes nonpayment cases through mediation first.

Hawaii’s code, Chapter 521, is detailed and sets firm clocks on both sides. Housing costs are high and there’s no rent control, so the protections focus on repairs, notice periods and process. Below is a walk-through of the parts that matter most, with links to the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Hawaii tenant rights quick reference

The Residential Landlord-Tenant Code and who it covers

Chapter 521 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes is the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code (§ 521-1). The state Office of Consumer Protection publishes a Landlord-Tenant Handbook summarizing it.

Under § 521-7, the code doesn’t cover institutional residence, university-controlled student or faculty housing and large private dorms, buyers under a bona fide contract of sale, fraternal housing run without profit, day-to-day hotel stays, employee housing tied to the job, residential ground leases of 15 years or more, buyers or sellers occupying around a closing, homeless facilities and certain public housing.

Repairs: firm start deadlines, then self-help

Section 521-42 requires your landlord to meet building and housing laws affecting health and safety, keep the home habitable and multi-unit common areas clean and safe, and maintain the electrical, plumbing and other facilities and appliances it supplies. Before move-in, the landlord must also prepare a written inventory of the unit’s condition, signed by both of you.

When repairs must start

• Three business days after oral or written notice, for electrical, plumbing or other facilities, including major appliances the landlord supplies, needed for sanitary and habitable living (§ 521-64(c)).
• Twelve business days after written notice, for other conditions in material noncompliance with § 521-42(a) or the lease.
• Seven calendar days after the Department of Health or another agency gives the landlord written notice of a health or safety violation (§ 521-64(a)).

If the landlord can’t start in time for reasons beyond its control, it must tell you why and give a tentative start date. If it fails to do so, you may have the work done competently and deduct your actual costs, up to $1,000 or one month’s rent, whichever is greater, once you give the landlord receipts for at least the amount deducted. For agency-cited violations, you can instead submit two written estimates at least seven days before the work.

Leaving instead

If a condition deprives you of a substantial part of the benefit of your lease, § 521-63(a) lets you give written notice and terminate if it isn’t fixed within one week. No notice is needed if the condition makes the unit uninhabitable or poses an imminent health or safety threat. See our guide on what to do when the landlord won’t make repairs.

Deposits in brief

Under § 521-44(b), the deposit can’t exceed one month’s rent, plus a separate pet deposit of up to one more month if pets are allowed, and no pet deposit for an assistance animal. The landlord has 14 days after the lease ends to return the deposit or send an itemized statement of deductions. Missing the deadline forfeits the right to keep any of it. Details are in our Hawaii security deposit law guide.

Entry and privacy

Section 521-53 requires at least two days’ notice before entry and entry only during reasonable hours, except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable. You can’t unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, repairs, agreed services or showings, but the landlord may not abuse access to harass you, and it has no other right to enter except by court order, apparent abandonment, or during an extended absence as § 521-70(b) allows.

Rent increases and late fees

Hawaii has no rent control, and the Office of Consumer Protection’s handbook confirms there is no limit on the amount of an increase. What the law regulates is notice. Under § 521-21(d), a landlord on a month-to-month tenancy must give written notice 45 consecutive days before an increase takes effect, or 15 days for a tenancy shorter than month-to-month (§ 521-21(e)). A fixed-term lease can’t be raised mid-term unless it says so.

If your lease includes a late charge, § 521-21(f) caps it at 8% of the rent due. The statute sets no grace period, so the lease controls when the fee kicks in.

Ending a tenancy and eviction

Month-to-month notice

Under § 521-71, a landlord must give at least 45 days’ written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy, and you may move out any time in that window if you tell the landlord your date and pay prorated rent. You must give at least 28 days’ written notice and pay rent through the 28th day. If the landlord plans demolition, condo conversion or conversion to transient vacation rentals, the notice is 120 days. Tenancies shorter than month-to-month need 10 days. Compare these rules on our month-to-month lease rules page.

Nonpayment and mandatory mediation

Since February 5, 2026, the amended § 521-68 requires a written notice giving at least ten calendar days to pay, with a copy sent to a state-funded mediation center. The notice must list the landlord’s contact information and the current rent owed. If mediation is not scheduled within the ten days, the landlord may file for summary possession after they run. If mediation is scheduled within the ten days, the landlord must wait 20 calendar days from your receipt of the notice before filing, unless you skip or cancel the session. A posted notice counts as received the day it’s posted; a mailed notice, two business days after the postmark. This version is scheduled for repeal and reenactment in February 2028.

Lockouts

If a landlord removes or excludes you overnight without cause or a court order, § 521-63(c) lets you recover possession or end the lease and collect two months’ rent or two months of free occupancy, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees. The court can also order injunctive relief.

Retaliation and fair housing

Under § 521-74, as long as you keep paying the usual rent, a landlord may not evict you, force you out, raise your rent or cut services after you complain in good faith about health or code violations to the Department of Health, the landlord, a building department or the Office of Consumer Protection, after an agency files a violation notice, or after you request repairs under §§ 521-63 or 521-64. There’s no fixed time window. Exceptions include waste, nuisance or illegal use, and a good-faith plan to move in or substantially remodel.

Hawaii’s fair housing law, § 515-3, bars discrimination in real estate transactions based on race; sex, including gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; color; religion; marital status; familial status; ancestry; disability; age; or HIV infection. That section doesn’t list source of income. The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission enforces it.

Breaking a lease early

Under § 521-80, a tenant on a lease of one year or less may end it without penalty if the tenant or a household family member was a victim of domestic violence within the prior 90 days. Give at least 14 days’ notice, with a termination date no more than 104 days after the latest incident, plus a restraining order or court document, or documentation from a victim services program or a professional such as a doctor, counselor, attorney, advocate or clergy member. You also provide a written statement that you reasonably believe the abuser knows where you live, unless the abuser lives with you. You owe rent only through the termination date. Servicemembers can use the federal right in 50 U.S.C. § 3955.

Example: a broken water heater in Kailua

Leilani rents a Kailua cottage for $2,400 a month, with a water heater the landlord supplied. On Monday, March 2, it fails, and she calls and emails the landlord that day. Because a water heater is a plumbing facility needed for sanitary living, § 521-64(c) gives the landlord three business days, through Thursday, March 5, to start repairs. The landlord doesn’t respond. On Friday she hires a licensed plumber who replaces it for $1,650. Her deduction limit is $2,400, one month’s rent, because that’s greater than $1,000, so she gives the landlord the receipt and deducts the full $1,650 from April rent.

Where Hawaii renters can get help

The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii serves low-income renters statewide. The Office of Consumer Protection’s landlord-tenant page explains the code and how to get the handbook. For nonpayment notices, the mediation center named in your notice is the first stop. Mainland rules differ widely; our tenant rights by state hub lays them out, and you can see timelines on our eviction process by state page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can I deduct for repairs in Hawaii?

Up to $1,000 or one month’s rent, whichever is greater, under § 521-64, and only your actual costs backed by receipts. The landlord must first miss its deadline to start repairs: three business days for essential plumbing, electrical and appliance problems, twelve business days for others.

Do I have to go to mediation before a Hawaii eviction?

For nonpayment cases under the version of § 521-68 effective February 5, 2026, the landlord’s 10-day notice is copied to a mediation center. If mediation is scheduled within those ten days, the landlord can’t file until 20 days after you received the notice, unless you skip or cancel it.

How much notice must I give to leave a month-to-month rental in Hawaii?

At least 28 days in writing under § 521-71(b), and you owe rent through the 28th day. The landlord needs 45 days to end it.

Is there a late fee limit in Hawaii?

Yes. Section 521-21(f) caps a lease’s late charge at 8% of the rent due. There’s no statutory grace period.

What if my Hawaii landlord changes the locks?

If you’re excluded overnight without cause or a court order, § 521-63(c) entitles you to get back in or end the lease, plus two months’ rent or two months’ free occupancy and attorney fees.

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. If you receive a 10-day notice, respond to the mediation center right away and contact the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii or LSC’s get legal help tool.

Sources

• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-7, exclusions
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-21, rent
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-42, fit premises
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44, security deposits
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-53, access
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-63, termination; unlawful exclusion
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-64, repair and deduction
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-68, nonpayment and prelitigation mediation
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-71, termination of tenancy
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-74, retaliation
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-80, domestic violence early termination
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-3, discriminatory practices
• Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection, Landlord-Tenant Handbook
• 50 U.S.C. § 3955, SCRA lease termination
• Hawaii Civil Rights Commission
• Legal Aid Society of Hawaii
• Legal Services Corporation, get legal help