Legal FAQs for Renters in Hawaii

Hawaii's statewide emergency protections for renters have expired. Landlords may now try to sue tenants to evict them. If you are worried about an eviction, reach out as soon as possible to your local legal aid group. The lawyers may be able to help you find protections and services to deal with your eviction.

Emergency Protections

Hawaii Governor David Ige issued an emergency order suspending evictions for nonpayment of rent through August 6, 2021. It went into effect on April 17, 2020 and now is expired.

Some Hawaii renters were protected by the national CDC eviction moratorium. It expired on August 26, 2021.

Since emergency protections have expired in Hawaii, then for renters:

• Your landlord can give you a notice to quit for not paying your rent.

• Your landlord can file an eviction claim against you for not paying your rent.

• Hearings on eviction have resumed, and the court will hear an eviction case against you if it is based on not paying your rent.

• The court may issue an eviction order agains you.

• Law enforcement can enforce an existing eviction order against you, to remove you from your home.

Yes, Hawaii renters still need to pay rent during the emergency.

You may have been protected from eviction, but now that those protections are over, you may be sued and you still owe all your rent.

If you cannot pay rent, take steps to protect yourself:

• Apply for rental help immediately: If you need financial assistance for housing costs like rent or utility bills, you may be able to get help.
• Communicate with your landlord: Send a written letter or email to your landlord as soon as possible. You can also try to negotiate with your landlord to make a payment plan or get a temporary rent reduction. Get help here for drafting and mailing a letter to your landlord. You can also use this letter-writing tool here.

• Get written records of all communication: Keep copies of any letter or email you send, and any responses from the landlord. Keep receipts for any payments you make, that are signed and dated. If you make a payment plan or rent agreement, make sure to get it in writing.

• Keep proof of COVID-19’s impact on you: Collect documents about your COVID-19-related employment problems, health care issues, or other issues that affect your ability to pay rent. This includes letters from your employer, doctor, insurance provider, child care provider, schools, etc.

Hawaii landlords can sue tenants for eviction since the statewide protections ended.

But if you can't pay your rent because of hardships during COVID, you may be able to stop the eviction by getting rental assistance. Reach out as soon as possible for help.

If you receive a notice to quit from your landlord, or an eviction lawsuit, reach out for legal help.

Some Hawaii renters may be protected against utility shutoffs during the emergency. It depends on where you live.

Hawaiian Electric had suspended disconnections until for all islands except Kauai. Many other companies have said they will not shut off utilities during the emergency. Call for more information.

Renters must still pay their utility bills. If you need financial assistance for utility costs, you may be able to get help.

Landlords are never allowed to shut off a renter's utilities in an attempt to force the renter out. This is illegal. Reach out to a lawyer for help if this happens to you.

Tell your landlord about any repairs needed, particularly if they affect your health and safety.

The emergency may delay your landlord's ability to make repairs, but if they are urgent you should call your landlord to make the repairs as soon as possible.

Emergency repairs could be for problems with:

• Running water or hot water
• Heat or air conditioning
• Stove, refrigerator, or oven
• Electricity
• Bathroom use
• Missing doors, locks, or windows
• Pests

If your landlord doesn't make the repairs promptly, send them a written letter or email about the need for emergency repairs and keep a copy of this communication.

For more information, see here. Find legal help to get advice for your situation.

You may be able to break your lease if you can come to an agreement with your landlord.

Your lease is still valid despite the emergency period. However, you can talk to your landlord to see if they will agree to let you leave early. If they agree, be sure to get the agreement in writing.

Also, you can review your lease. It may have a part that lets you end the lease early in times of financial difficulty. If your lease has this kind of part, you might be able to break the lease, in some cases penalty-free.

Find legal help to get advice for your situation.

Contact a legal help organization to help defend yourself.

It is illegal for your landlord to evict you without first going to court and getting an eviction order. To remove you from your home, a landlord must file an eviction lawsuit against you, win the case, and get an eviction order from the court.

Legal aid groups might be able to provide you with full representation, or other legal organizations can give you information or brief advice.

Find legal help to protect your rights.

Eviction cases have resumed after the emergency protections expired on August 6, 2021. Check with your local court for more up-to-date information.

Renters in 3 categories have special national protections against being evicted during the Emergency Period of March 27, 2020 to July 24 or 25, 2020. These national protections add onto any state and local protections you have.

Do you fit in any of these 3 categories?

Your home’s owner has a federally backed mortgage loan or other guarantee (like through Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae). Search if your home is covered.

You pay rent through a federal assistance program like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Rural Development Voucher, or other 'covered housing' program.

You live in Public Housing, where the government is your landlord.

If you are a renter in one of these 3 categories, the federal CARES Act section 4024 gives you these protections. (Remember, these protections add onto any state and local protections you have)

• Your landlord cannot file a new eviction lawsuit against you for not paying your rent during the Emergency Period. They can still evict you for other behavior, like drug abuse, other criminal activities, or other lease violations.
• Your landlord cannot charge you new fees or penalties for not paying your rent during the Emergency Period.
• After the Emergency Period ends, your landlord may not be able to evict you immediately.(Different states interpret the protections ending on July 24 or 25. Check with local lawyers to see about your state). If you have not paid your rent in full during the Emergency Period, your landlord must wait until the period ends before giving you a notice to vacate. For example, they may give you a notice on July 26, and you must be allowed until at least August 25 to leave the property.

For more help on these national protections, reach out for legal and financial help here. Also, use this tool to write a letter to your landlord if you are having issues with rent or eviction.

You do not have to leave your home yet.

A landlord is prohibited from giving a notice to evict for non-payment until the Hawaii State eviction moratorium expires. Once it expires, your landlord must give you an official notice that they may bring you to court to evict you for not paying your rent (or other reasons). The notice should give you time to either pay your rent or prepare defenses against eviction.

This official notice must follow some rules to be valid. If it doesn't follow these rules, then you can challenge it and stop an eviction.

These are the Hawaii requirements for an eviction notice:

1. The notice must be written down.
2. It has to have your full name and address.
3. It must explain why you may be evicted -- whether it is for non-payment of rent, a lease violation, or other reason.
4. The notice must say exactly how much rent you owe and the date the rent became late.
5. It also has to include the dates of the notice and the when your tenancy began.
6. The notice needs to include a statement that the landlord may pursue the eviction process if you fail to pay your overdue rent or vacate the property.

Reach out for legal help if you think the notice isn't correct, or if you need assistance in defending yourself against the eviction.

Find local legal help in Hawaii here.

A verbal conversation doesn't count as an "eviction notice". To be legal, the notice must be written down and given to you in the correct way. Many landlords are trying to harass non-paying tenants into leaving - you cannot be legally evicted for non-payment of rent until after the Hawaii State eviction moratorium expires.

Reach out for legal help if your landlord is trying to make you leave without going through the court process. This is illegal and a lawyer may be able to help you protect yourself.

Find local legal help in Hawaii here.

No, you do not have to leave (or 'quit') your home by the date listed on the eviction notice.

You do not have to leave your home until you have been brought to court, and a judge has ordered that your landlord can make you leave.

Landlords can not physically remove you, touch your personal property, change the locks, or cut off your utilities.

After the date on the eviction notice passes, then your landlord may file an eviction lawsuit in court against you. You will be able to go to court and present defenses to protect yourself.

Find local legal help in Hawaii here.

You still have time to reach out for rental assistance, and stop the eviction from moving forward.

Be sure to let the local group know that you have received an eviction notice and what its deadline is. They may be able to help you pay the rent you owe, or work with your landlord to reduce the amount or put you on a payment plan.

Find local financial help in Hawaii here.

In Hawaii, you have a minimum of 5 business days between your landlord giving you a notice and them filing a lawsuit against you in court to evict you, but you can pay the full rent owed until the landlord has filed the eviction action in court.

Once the eviction action is filed, you will need to negotiate the payment of any rent due.

The notice should tell you how many days the landlord is giving you. If they are giving you less than 5 business days, then you may be able to challenge it as illegal (30 days if the rental property has a federally backed mortgage loan.) Again, this notice cannot be given until after the Hawaii State eviction moratorium expires.

Reach out for legal help if you think the notice isn't giving you the required time to make your payment.

Find local legal help in Hawaii here.

You should make sure that the landlord properly 'served' you with the lawsuit in Hawaii. If they didn't give it you in the correct way, you can challenge the eviction lawsuit. In Hawaii, a landlord must follow certain rules to let you know about the lawsuit:

1. Only certain people can give you the lawsuit's Summons and Complaint. The landlord can not give you these papers - it has to be a person not involved in the case. This can be the sheriff, police chief, a party authorized by the court, or any person over 18.
2. One of these people can give the papers to you directly, leave a copy with a member of your household, or post the papers in an obvious place on the property (usually on the door).

You should also reach out to local lawyers who can help you prepare for your court hearing so you can protect yourself against the eviction.

Find local legal help in Hawaii here.

In Hawaii, you are required to respond to the eviction lawsuit, if you want to avoid the eviction.

You will have at least 5 business days after you receive the Summons and Complaint. You should either file a written answer or appear in court (in person or virtually) in order to avoid a default in which the landlord will be allowed to obtain a writ of possession to quickly evict you and the judge may give the landlord permission to remove you from your home.

Reach out to legal help to learn what your rights and defenses are in your eviction case. These organizations can help you deal with this lawsuit.

Find local legal help in Hawaii here.

You can come to an agreement with your landlord, but you should still go to court to make sure your case is closed.

You can work with your landlord to work out an agreement before the date of the court hearing. This might be a payment plan or other agreement on what needs to happen for you to stay in your home.

Be sure to get this agreement in writing, so that you can prove it exists and that your landlord follows through on it.

Also, you should still go to court for your hearing date (virtually or in person), to make sure the court knows about the agreement and closes the lawsuit. You can check the state of your case in the court system here. If you do not go to court, the lawsuit might still continue and the judge might rule that the landlord can remove you. Go to court yourself (in person or try a virtual option) to make sure this doesn't happen.

You can reach out for legal help to get assistance in negotiating an agreement with your landlord, and making sure this agreement is being followed.

Find local legal help in Hawaii here.

If you are behind on rent, you can get help from your local Rental Assistance program. This is a government service to help people who owe rent or utility bills.

Especially if you are behind on rent because of COVID-19 hardships, your local Rental Assistance (or Rent Relief) program can help you.

Find your local Rental Assistance program at your Get Help page here.

Local governments set the rules about who is eligible for rent relief. Most programs focus on people who have suffered COVID-19 hardships.

You can talk to your local Rental Assistance program to learn their eligibility rules.

You may have to show your household income, or if you are on other benefits programs like SNAP.

You may also have to show that you are at risk of homelessness or eviction if you don't get rental assistance.

Check with your local Rental Assistance program to see if you are eligible.

Many local Rental Assistance programs are open to everyone, regardless of immigration status. Many programs do not even ask about immigration status.

Check with your local Rental Assistance program to make sure about eligibility rules and immigration.

Most Rental Assistance programs let landlords apply.

Either a renter or a landlord can start the application.

The landlord will have to fill in as much information they have about the amount of money needed, and the eligibility for the program. The tenant may have to fill in the rest of the information.

Check with your local Rental Assistance program about the steps to follow to apply for rent relief.