Hawaii Rental Lease Agreement Templates

1.) Condo Conversion (§ 521-38) – If a landlord of a property intends to convert the premises into a condominium project, they must alert the current tenant of the future plans one hundred twenty (120) days in advance of the termination of the lease.

2.) Demolition (§ 521-71(c)) – If a landlord decides to demolish their property for whatever reason, they must give the tenant one hundred twenty (120) days’ notice prior to the building’s destruction or lease termination.

3.) GET Disclosure: Hawaii explicitly requires landlords to disclose their “general excise tax number to all tenants” (HRS § 521-43).

4.) Landlord/Owner Information (§ 521-43(a)(b)) – The names & addresses of the individuals responsible for receiving notices/statements regarding the property being rented must be disclosed to the lessee upon the beginning of their tenancy. Such individuals would include property managers, the owners of the building, or the agents operating on their behalf.

5.) Lead-Based Paint (42 U.S. Code § 4852d) – It is mandatory that the landlord provide an educational pamphlet regarding the dangers of lead paint for residential structures before 1978, as well as a disclosure of any known on-site lead hazards.

Grace Period: Tenants do not have a grace period past the due date unless the lease states as much (HRS § 521-68).

Unpaid Rent: Landlords submit a pay or quit notice giving tenants 5 business days to pay whenever rent remains unpaid (HRS § 521-68).

Return Period: Hawaii law gives the landlord 14 days after the lease termination to return the security (HRS § 521-44).

Itemized List: Even when landlords must deduct from security for valid repairs, they must account for all expenditures in writing when returning the balance. (e.g., invoices) (HRS § 521-66).

Right to Enter: Landlords give at least 48 hours’ notice before entering with tenants’ consent or enter by court order (HRS § 521-53).

Emergencies: Landlords can access the premises during an emergency but may never “abuse this right” (HRS § 521-53).

Duty to mitigate: Landlords live up to their duty of mitigating losses even after a wrongful termination (HRS § 521-70).

Active Military: Military service member can cancel their lease according to Hawaii laws with notice given;

• Thirty-day notice for one-year leases and other fixed terms under a year
• Fifteen-day notice for month-to-month and other non-fixed term leases (HRS § 521-83)(50 USC §3955).

Domestic Violence: Domestic violence victims terminate a lease whenever necessary, but must satisfy the requirements:

• Fourteen-day notice (minimum)
• Notice date is within 90 days of the last domestic violence incident
• Termination date is within “one hundred four days from the date of the most recent act of domestic violence.”
• A statement regarding safety
• Evidence such as police reports, court orders, and filed complaints (HRS § 521-80).

Uninhabitable Conditions: Tenants give one week’s notice to terminate or repair habitability violations, but this is not required if the uninhabitable conditions pose a significant health risk (HRS § 521-63).

Landlord Harassment: Tenants facing retaliation and repeated violations (e.g., unlawful entries, utility shutoffs) reserve the option of seeking an injunction and may be able to terminate the lease (HRS § 521-73).