How to Evict a Tenant in Hawaii: Laws, Process, and Timeline
Hawaii Eviction Timeline 2026: The Rent Notice Is Now 10 Calendar Days, With a Mediation Center Copied In
The Hawaii Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, HRS Chapter 521, sets the notice rules, and the summary possession lawsuit runs under HRS Chapter 666 in the District Court. This page covers the lawsuit itself: notice, filing, the hearing, the writ.
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent (notices from February 5, 2026) | At least 10 calendar days; if mediation is scheduled inside that window, no filing until 20 calendar days after the tenant received the notice (the mediation rule is marked for repeal and reenactment on February 4, 2028) | HRS § 521-68(a), (c) | Yes — payment within the time stated in the notice keeps the rental agreement alive; § 666-14 also stays the writ if, before it actually issues, the tenant pays the rent due, interest at 8% a year, all costs and charges of the proceedings, and all expenses the landlord incurred, including a reasonable fee for the landlord’s attorney |
| Breach of a landlord’s rule adopted under § 521-52 | At least 10 days to remedy | HRS § 521-72(a) | Yes, in general — but no time to remedy is required when the breach causes or threatens damage to any person, or violates § 521-51(1) or (6) |
| The same rule breach continues or recurs after the date in the notice | No second notice; the suit must be brought within 30 days of the continued or recurring breach | HRS § 521-72(b) | No |
| Material noncompliance with building and housing laws materially affecting health and safety (§ 521-51(1)) | At least 10 days to remedy | HRS § 521-69(a)(1) | Yes — except where the noncompliance causes or threatens irremediable damage to a person or property, when no time to remedy is required |
| No-cause, month-to-month | 45 days | HRS § 521-71(a) | N/A |
| No-cause, month-to-month, where the landlord plans demolition, a condominium conversion, or a switch to transient vacation rentals | 120 days | HRS § 521-71(c) | N/A |
| No-cause, tenancy shorter than month-to-month (for example week-to-week) | 10 days | HRS § 521-71(d) | N/A |
The 2026 amendment changed more than the length of the rent notice. The 10-day notice must also be sent to a state-funded mediation center, and the notice itself has to spell out the mediation option in bold. If mediation gets scheduled within the 10 days, the landlord waits until day 20 before filing unless the tenant cancels or doesn’t show up. A mailed notice counts as received two business days after the postmark; a posted one, on the day it goes up. The mediation provisions of § 521-68 carry a statutory marker of repeal and reenactment on February 4, 2028 (L 2025, c 278, § 7(2)), and that marker covers the day-20 rule; the ten-calendar-day notice period in subsection (a) is expressly exempt from that condition. No ten-day notice is needed at all when the suit is based on the tenant’s breach of a mediated or other settlement agreement, and the court then may not require further mediation before trial (§ 521-68(a)).
The Court Process
- File. Once the applicable notice has run, the landlord files a complaint for summary possession in the District Court of the circuit where the property sits (HRS § 666-6). A non-payment complaint must include either a document from the mediation center verifying that the landlord sent it a copy of the notice, or the landlord’s own affirmation that the notice was provided to the center and by what means, plus the scheduled mediation date if one is pending (§ 521-68(d)).
- Serve. The summons is served as the court rules provide (§ 666-8).
- Hearing. The tenant can appear, answer, and raise defenses.
- Judgment. A landlord who proves entitlement gets judgment for possession and costs (§ 666-11).
- Writ of possession. The writ goes to a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, or an independent civil process server on the state list, commanding removal of everyone from the unit (§ 666-11).
- Removal. That officer or server, not the landlord, carries out the writ if the tenant hasn’t left.
What This Costs
District Court costs are set by statute statewide in HRS § 607-4: $100 to institute an action under § 607-4(b)(1), plus a $20 administrative fee on civil filings under § 607-4(b)(10). Posting notice and service are charged separately at the amounts needed to cover actual costs (§ 607-4(b)(6)). Confirm the current fee with the district court clerk before filing.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
Removing or shutting a tenant out overnight without cause or a court order lets the tenant recover possession or end the agreement, and either way collect two months’ rent (or two months of free occupancy) plus attorney’s fees, under HRS § 521-63(c). HRS § 521-74(a) blocks a possession action, a rent increase, or a cut in services, as long as the tenant keeps tendering the usual rent, after any of three events: a good-faith complaint about a health-law or Chapter 521 violation to the department of health, the landlord, the building department, the office of consumer protection, or any other governmental agency concerned with landlord-tenant disputes; a notice or complaint of such a violation filed by the department of health or another governmental agency; or a good-faith repair request under §§ 521-63 or 521-64. Section 521-74(b) lists seven exceptions: waste, nuisance, illegal use or non-residential use in breach of the agreement; the landlord’s good-faith move-in for the landlord or immediate family; good-faith substantial alteration, remodeling or demolition; a complaint about a condition caused by the tenant’s household or guests; a department of health certification that the unit complied on the complaint date; a good-faith sale contract whose buyer represents a move-in or renovation; and a periodic-tenancy termination notice given before the complaint. A tenant dispossessed in violation of the section recovers damages, costs and reasonable attorney’s fees (§ 521-74(c)).
Frequently Asked Questions
What changed about Hawaii’s non-payment notice in 2026? For notices under the version of HRS § 521-68 in force from February 5, 2026, the minimum rose from five business days to ten calendar days, a copy has to go to a state-funded mediation center, and a scheduled mediation pushes the earliest filing date to day 20. The mediation provisions are marked for repeal and reenactment on February 4, 2028; the ten-calendar-day period is exempt from that marker.
How much notice does a Hawaii landlord need to end a month-to-month tenancy? 45 days under HRS § 521-71(a), or 120 days when the reason is demolition, condominium conversion, or conversion to transient vacation rentals. A tenancy shorter than month-to-month ends on 10 days’ notice under § 521-71(d). The 28-day figure in § 521-71(b) is the tenant’s notice to the landlord, not the other way around.
Can a Hawaii landlord evict without cause during a fixed-term lease? HRS § 521-71’s no-cause notices are written for month-to-month and shorter periodic tenancies only. Ending a fixed term early runs through the breach remedies in §§ 521-68, 521-69 and 521-72.