How to Evict a Roommate in Hawaii (and Other Household Situations)
What Hawaii law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: A "tenant" is any person who occupies a dwelling unit for dwelling purposes under a written or oral rental agreement. Hawaii's courts have held that a roommate who shares the unit with the leaseholder—without exclusive possession, a right to assign, or a fixed term—may be a licensee of that roommate rather than a sublessee, holding a license revocable at will that ends when the leaseholder's interest ends. HRS § 521-8 (definitions of rental agreement, tenant); 109 Haw. 296, 126 P.3d 339 (2005) (case note to § 521-8)
| Roommate not on the lease | A "tenant" is any person who occupies a dwelling unit for dwelling purposes under a written or oral rental agreement. Hawaii's courts have held that a roommate who shares the unit with the leaseholder—without exclusive possession, a right to assign, or a fixed term—may be a licensee of that roommate rather than a sublessee, holding a license revocable at will that ends when the leaseholder's interest ends. Whether a roommate is a subtenant or a licensee depends on the terms of the arrangement. |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | A "landlord" includes a sublessor, so a leaseholder who sublets to a roommate under a rental agreement must end the tenancy with the Code's written notice (for example, 45 days for a month-to-month tenancy from the landlord, 10 days if the tenancy is shorter than month to month) and then bring a summary possession case in district court if the roommate stays. Removing or excluding a tenant overnight without cause or a court order lets the tenant recover possession or end the agreement, plus two months' rent and attorney's fees. If the roommate is only a licensee of the leaseholder, different rules may apply (see the case note to HRS § 521-8). |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets a number of days after which a guest becomes a tenant; a person is a tenant only if they occupy under a written or oral rental agreement. A licensee whose license is revoked or ends becomes a trespasser, according to the case law annotated to the Code's definitions. Whether a guest has an oral rental agreement depends on the facts, such as rent paid. |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger statute. The Residential Landlord-Tenant Code's exclusions do not list rooms rented in an owner's home, so a room rented under a written or oral rental agreement is generally covered by the Code. Source: HRS § 521-7 (exclusions checked) |
| Tenancy at will | Hawaii's statutes do not use a separate tenancy-at-will rule for residential rentals. Property rented for an indefinite time with periodic rent is a month-to-month (or period-to-period) tenancy. Under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, a landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with at least 45 days' written notice and a tenant with at least 28 days'; a tenancy shorter than month to month needs 10 days' notice. A tenant by parol may also be removed by summary possession after a notice to quit of at least 10 days. For residential units covered by chapter 521, the notice periods in § 521-71 apply. |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | The Residential Landlord-Tenant Code does not apply to transient occupancy on a day-to-day basis in a hotel or motel. No statute sets a number of days after which a hotel guest becomes a tenant. A longer hotel or motel stay that is not on a day-to-day basis may fall under the Code, depending on the facts. Source: HRS § 521-7(5) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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Hawaii eviction laws · Free legal help in Hawaii · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.