Hawaii Lease Agreement: What to Include

A Hawaii residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from Hawaii's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: 1 month rent plus pet deposit allowed except assistance animals. Hawaii does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 14 Days.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: 48 Hours. Late fees: No specific statewide cap; should be reasonable and stated in lease; no statewide grace period requirement. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 45 days. (Entry notice citation: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-53 (2 days).)

Required disclosures

A Hawaii lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • property condition inventory
• • tax/manager info where applicable

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, Hawaii: 5 business days This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-68 (10 days).)

What actually distinguishes Hawaii

Hawaii caps the security deposit at: 1 month rent plus pet deposit allowed except assistance animals.

Hawaii requires 48 hours notice before a landlord enters an occupied unit for routine, non-emergency purposes.

Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies in Hawaii is 45 days — different from the 30-day default most other states use, so don't assume the general rule applies here.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect Hawaii's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's Hawaii landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44. Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against Hawaii's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full Hawaii landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with Hawaii-specific clauses built in automatically.