Hawaii Eviction Laws

Hawaii notice periods for ending a tenancy and starting an eviction, each as LeaseCraft read it in the statute at the official source, with its citation and read date (most recently ).

Create a Hawaii eviction notice

Preview free$2.99/month or $19.99/year membershipCancel any time

Some Hawaii notices must use an official form or required wording that LeaseCraft does not prepare. The wizard tells you if yours is one.

On this page

Hawaii notice periods

Periods are as the statute states them: some are minimums, some apply unless the lease sets another. "Lease controls" means there is no statutory period; "No pre-suit notice" means none is required before filing.

SituationNotice periodSource
Unpaid rent 10 calendar days HRS § 521-68(a)-(c) (as amended by Act 278, SLH 2025 / SB825 CD1, § 2)
Read
Lease violation 10 calendar days HRS § 521-69(a); HRS § 521-72
Read
Ending the tenancy without a chance to cure No pre-suit notice HRS § 521-69(a); HRS § 521-72
Read
Ending a month-to-month tenancy 45 calendar days HRS § 521-71(a), (c)
Read
Tenant staying after the lease ends Lease controls HRS § 521-71(e)
Read
Ending a week-to-week tenancy 10 calendar days HRS § 521-71(d)
Read

What the Hawaii statute says

Unpaid rent 10 calendar days
  • Written demand giving not less than ten calendar days after RECEIPT to pay; landlord must also provide the notice to a state-funded mediation center (HRS 521-68(a), (c)).
  • If the tenant schedules mediation within the 10 days, landlord may file summary possession only after 20 calendar days from the tenant's receipt of the notice.
  • If mediation is not scheduled within 10 calendar days, landlord may file after the 10-day period expires.
  • Notice must contain the 8 items in 521-68(b) including the bold-type mediation warning; court may allow cure of a defect it finds unintentional or immaterial.
Lease violation 10 calendar days
  • Material noncompliance with tenant duties under HRS 521-51 (waste, failure to maintain, unlawful use): written notice specifying a time not less than ten days after receipt to remedy; landlord may then terminate/sue for possession (521-69(a)).
  • Breach of a landlord rule authorized under HRS 521-52: written notice in the statutory form specifying not less than ten days to remedy; landlord may bring summary possession within thirty days after a continued or recurring breach (521-72).

Exceptions

  • No time to remedy is required where noncompliance causes or threatens irremediable damage to any person or property (521-69) or, for rule breaches, damage to any person (521-72).
Ending the tenancy without a chance to cure No pre-suit notice
  • Tenant noncompliance with 521-51 that causes or threatens to cause irremediable damage to any person or property: no allowance of time to remedy required (521-69(a)).
  • Breach of a 521-52 rule that causes or threatens damage to any person: no allowance of time to remedy required (521-72).
Ending a month-to-month tenancy 45 calendar days
  • Landlord: written notice at least 45 days in advance; tenant: at least 28 days (521-71(a)).
  • Tenant may vacate at any time within the last 45 days between notice and termination date, paying prorated rent (521-71(a)).

Exceptions

  • Landlord must give at least 120 days' notice where termination is for voluntary demolition, conversion to condominium/cooperative, or change to transient vacation rental use (521-71(c)).
  • Notices intended to evade landlord obligations under 521-21(d)-(e) are void (521-71(f)).
Tenant staying after the lease ends Lease controls
  • No separate notice: if the tenant remains after the termination date without consent, landlord may recover up to twice the monthly rent (computed daily) and may bring summary possession at any time during the first sixty days of holdover (521-71(e)).
Ending a week-to-week tenancy 10 calendar days
  • Tenancies less than month-to-month (e.g., week-to-week): either party may terminate by written notice at least ten days before the anticipated termination (521-71(d)).

Just cause, delivery, form and local rules in Hawaii

How the notice may be delivered

For the 521-68 nonpayment notice, ch. 521 contemplates posting on the premises (deemed received on the date of posting) or U.S. mail (deemed received two business days after postmark unless returned undeliverable); the period runs from receipt (HRS 521-68(b)). Other ch. 521 notices require only that they be 'in writing' with no prescribed method.

HRS § 521-68(b) (as amended by Act 278, SLH 2025) · read

Required form or contents

Mandatory CONTENTS (no mandatory form): HRS 521-68(b) requires the 10-calendar-day nonpayment notice to state landlord/agent name and contact info, unit address, tenant names/contact info, current rent due, that a copy goes to a mediation center, that landlord may file if rent unpaid and mediation not scheduled within 10 calendar days, a bold-type mediation warning, and that landlord must participate if mediation is scheduled. The Judiciary publishes per-circuit sample forms (e.g., 'Ten Calendar Day Notice of Termination for Failure to Pay Rent, HRS 521-68(a)-(b)', form RG-AC-508 02/2026) at https://www.courts.state.hi.us/landlord-tenant-claims-prefiling-eviction-mediation

HRS § 521-68(b); HRS § 521-72 (prescribed rule-breach notice form) · read

Statewide just-cause rule

No statewide just-cause requirement

  • HRS ch. 521 permits no-cause termination of month-to-month tenancies on 45 days' notice; no statewide good-cause requirement found.

HRS § 521-71 · read

For Hawaii landlords

  • Find the period for your situation in the table above and count it from the day the notice is delivered.
  • Deliver the notice the way Hawaii law allows and keep a record of how and when.
  • A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant.

For Hawaii tenants

  • Compare the notice you received with the period for its situation in the table above and the date it reached you.
  • A notice is not a court order. If a case is filed, the court papers say how and by when to respond.
  • Local legal aid and tenant organizations can explain your options.

How an eviction generally proceeds

A general outline, not Hawaii law: the steps, their names and their deadlines differ by state and court. The Hawaii rules LeaseCraft has verified are the ones above.

  1. Written notice. The landlord gives the notice the situation calls for and waits out its period.
  2. Court filing. If the tenant has not paid, cured or left, the landlord files an eviction case in court.
  3. Hearing. Both sides can be heard; the tenant may raise defenses such as an improper notice.
  4. Judgment. The court decides who has the right to the property.
  5. Removal. If the court rules for the landlord, removal follows its order. A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant.

Hawaii eviction questions

  • 10 calendar days, under HRS § 521-68(a)-(c) (as amended by Act 278, SLH 2025 / SB825 CD1, § 2). Written demand giving not less than ten calendar days after RECEIPT to pay; landlord must also provide the notice to a state-funded mediation center (HRS 521-68(a), (c)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 10 calendar days, under HRS § 521-69(a); HRS § 521-72. Material noncompliance with tenant duties under HRS 521-51 (waste, failure to maintain, unlawful use): written notice specifying a time not less than ten days after receipt to remedy; landlord may then terminate/sue for possession (521-69(a)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 45 calendar days, under HRS § 521-71(a), (c). Landlord: written notice at least 45 days in advance; tenant: at least 28 days (521-71(a)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • For the 521-68 nonpayment notice, ch. 521 contemplates posting on the premises (deemed received on the date of posting) or U.S. mail (deemed received two business days after postmark unless returned undeliverable); the period runs from receipt (HRS 521-68(b)). Other ch. 521 notices require only that they be 'in writing' with no prescribed method. Source: HRS § 521-68(b) (as amended by Act 278, SLH 2025). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • No statewide just-cause requirement, under HRS § 521-71. HRS ch. 521 permits no-cause termination of month-to-month tenancies on 45 days' notice; no statewide good-cause requirement found. LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 10 calendar days, under HRS § 521-71(d). Tenancies less than month-to-month (e.g., week-to-week): either party may terminate by written notice at least ten days before the anticipated termination (521-71(d)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

Need a Hawaii eviction notice?

Create a Hawaii eviction notice with the guided form and preview it free.

Create my document

Related Hawaii landlord-tenant guides

Hawaii security deposit laws Hawaii landlord-tenant law Eviction guides for every state

Cities and counties can add rules. LeaseCraft is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.