Can I Sue My Landlord in Hawaii?

Yes — in many situations. These are the main claims Hawaii tenants bring, what the law lets you recover, and where to file. Each rule links to the statute or official source. Most claims under the small claims limit can be filed without a lawyer.

Before you sue

Write down what happened, with dates, and keep photos, texts, emails and receipts.
Send your landlord a written demand (templates below) and give a reasonable deadline.
Check the deadline to sue and the court's dollar limit (below).
If the amount is over the small claims limit, or you are facing eviction, talk to a lawyer or legal aid first.

Your security deposit wasn't returned

Penalty for withholding	Wrongful and wilful retention: court may award up to 3 times the amount wrongfully and wilfully retained, plus costs. Wrongful (not wilful) retention: the amount wrongfully retained plus costs. Deposit disputes go to the small claims division of district court, where attorneys are not allowed (§ 521-44(g)-(h)). Source: HRS § 521-44(h)
Deposit return deadline	14 days after the rental agreement ends. Compliance is presumed if mailed to the tenant's supplied address and postmarked by midnight of the 14th day. Tenant must sue within 1 year. Source: HRS § 521-44(c)

Free Hawaii security deposit demand letter

You were locked out or your utilities were cut off

Lockouts & utility shutoffs	Lockout: if the landlord removes or excludes the tenant overnight without cause or court order, the tenant may recover possession or terminate and recover 2 months' rent (or 2 months' free occupancy) plus costs and attorney's fees. Utility shutoff: landlord may not wilfully interrupt water, hot water, electric, gas, or other essential service to regain possession; it is an unfair and deceptive practice with minimum damages of the greater of 3 times the monthly rent or $1,000. § 521-74.5 text at https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0074_0005.htm Source: HRS §§ 521-63(c), 521-74.5

Lockouts & utility shutoffs

Lockout: if the landlord removes or excludes the tenant overnight without cause or court order, the tenant may recover possession or terminate and recover 2 months' rent (or 2 months' free occupancy) plus costs and attorney's fees. Utility shutoff: landlord may not wilfully interrupt water, hot water, electric, gas, or other essential service to regain possession; it is an unfair and deceptive practice with minimum damages of the greater of 3 times the monthly rent or $1,000.

§ 521-74.5 text at https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0074_0005.htm

Source: HRS §§ 521-63(c), 521-74.5

Your landlord retaliated after you complained

Landlord retaliation	While the tenant keeps paying rent, the landlord may not evict, force the tenant out, raise rent, or cut services after the tenant in good faith complains to a government agency or the landlord about health or code violations, an agency cites a violation, or the tenant requests repairs under §§ 521-63/521-64. No fixed presumption period. Tenant recovers damages plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Exceptions include waste/nuisance, good-faith owner occupancy, substantial remodeling, and a termination notice given before the complaint. Source: HRS § 521-74

Landlord retaliation

While the tenant keeps paying rent, the landlord may not evict, force the tenant out, raise rent, or cut services after the tenant in good faith complains to a government agency or the landlord about health or code violations, an agency cites a violation, or the tenant requests repairs under §§ 521-63/521-64. No fixed presumption period. Tenant recovers damages plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Exceptions include waste/nuisance, good-faith owner occupancy, substantial remodeling, and a termination notice given before the complaint.

Source: HRS § 521-74

Your landlord won't make repairs

Repair and deduct	Yes. If the landlord fails to begin repairs within 12 business days of written notice (3 business days for essential electrical, plumbing, or appliance repairs; 7 calendar days after a health/safety agency notice), the tenant may make the repair and deduct up to $1,000 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, with receipts. Total repair costs charged to the landlord may not exceed 3 months' rent in any 6-month period. Deduction limit raised to the greater of $1,000 or one month's rent by Act 32, SLH 2024. Source: HRS § 521-64
Withholding rent	No general statutory rent withholding right beyond repair-and-deduct. In any court case where rent payment is disputed, either party can ask the court to order disputed rent deposited into a court rent trust fund; a tenant who cannot deposit it loses possession. Case notes to § 521-68 indicate breach of the implied warranty of habitability can be raised as a defense to a nonpayment eviction (61 H. 144 (1979)). Source: HRS § 521-78
Mold	No statute — Hawaii's Residential Landlord-Tenant Code has no mold-specific disclosure or remediation rule. Mold is addressed under the landlord's general duties to comply with building and housing laws materially affecting health and safety and to make all repairs needed to keep the premises habitable. Tenants must keep their unit as clean and safe as conditions permit (§ 521-51(2)); mold caused by the tenant's conduct may be the tenant's responsibility. Source: HRS § 521-42(a)(1), (3)
Pests & bed bugs	No statute — Hawaii law does not specifically assign pest or bed-bug treatment and has no bed-bug disclosure rule. Infestations are handled under the landlord's habitability and code-compliance duties and the tenant's duty to keep the unit clean and dispose of garbage properly. Except for single-family residences, the landlord must provide garbage receptacles and arrange frequent removal (§ 521-42(a)(5)). Lease terms commonly allocate termite and pest treatment. Source: HRS §§ 521-42(a)(1), (3), (5); 521-51(2), (3)
Heat	No statute — Hawaii law does not require landlords to provide heat or set minimum indoor temperatures. Heating equipment the landlord supplies must be kept in good working order as one of the 'facilities and appliances supplied by the landlord.' Hot water is not separately required by § 521-42; the landlord must supply running water as reasonably required (except single-family residences). County housing codes may add requirements. Source: HRS § 521-42(a)(4)

Free Hawaii repair request letter to landlord

Your landlord entered without notice or invaded your privacy

Landlord entry notice	At least 2 days' notice and entry only at reasonable hours, except in an emergency or where impracticable. No other right of entry except by court order or apparent abandonment. Repeated unreasonable entry: tenant may terminate; circuit court may enjoin and fine up to $100 (§ 521-73). Source: HRS § 521-53
Cameras & privacy	No landlord-specific statute. It is a crime to install or use, in any private place and without consent of those entitled to privacy there, a device to observe, record, amplify, or broadcast sounds or events (violation of privacy in the second degree), or to capture a person in a stage of undress or sexual activity (first degree, a class C felony). It is also an offense to trespass for surveillance or to use an outside device to pick up sounds from a private place not ordinarily audible outside. Landlord entry generally requires at least two days' notice, during reasonable hours, and may not be used to harass. A rented home is a private place for its occupants; landlord cameras or audio devices inside a tenant's unit without consent are likely unlawful. Exterior or common-area cameras are not specifically regulated. Source: HRS §§ 711-1111(1)(a), (d), (e); 711-1110.9; 521-53

Landlord entry notice

At least 2 days' notice and entry only at reasonable hours, except in an emergency or where impracticable. No other right of entry except by court order or apparent abandonment.

Repeated unreasonable entry: tenant may terminate; circuit court may enjoin and fine up to $100 (§ 521-73).

Source: HRS § 521-53

Cameras & privacy

No landlord-specific statute. It is a crime to install or use, in any private place and without consent of those entitled to privacy there, a device to observe, record, amplify, or broadcast sounds or events (violation of privacy in the second degree), or to capture a person in a stage of undress or sexual activity (first degree, a class C felony). It is also an offense to trespass for surveillance or to use an outside device to pick up sounds from a private place not ordinarily audible outside. Landlord entry generally requires at least two days' notice, during reasonable hours, and may not be used to harass.

A rented home is a private place for its occupants; landlord cameras or audio devices inside a tenant's unit without consent are likely unlawful. Exterior or common-area cameras are not specifically regulated.

Source: HRS §§ 711-1111(1)(a), (d), (e); 711-1110.9; 521-53

You were refused or treated differently because of Section 8 or other income

Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income	No statewide protection found. The fair housing law's protected classes in real estate transactions are race; sex, including gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; color; religion; marital status; familial status; ancestry; disability; age; and HIV infection. Source of income and voucher status are not listed. Neither § 515-2 nor § 515-3, nor ch. 521, mentions source of income or Section 8. Source: HRS § 515-3

Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income

No statewide protection found. The fair housing law's protected classes in real estate transactions are race; sex, including gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; color; religion; marital status; familial status; ancestry; disability; age; and HIV infection. Source of income and voucher status are not listed.

Neither § 515-2 nor § 515-3, nor ch. 521, mentions source of income or Section 8.

Source: HRS § 515-3

Other claims tenants bring in Hawaii

Constructive eviction (conditions forced you out)	No Hawaii statute uses the term "constructive eviction," but the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code gives a similar move-out right. If a condition deprives the tenant of a substantial part of the benefit and enjoyment of the lease, the tenant may notify the landlord in writing and end the lease if the landlord does not fix it within one week. No notice is needed if the condition makes the unit uninhabitable or poses an imminent threat to anyone's health or safety. If the landlord caused the condition willfully or negligently, the tenant may also recover damages. If the landlord locks the tenant out overnight without cause or a court order, the tenant may recover possession or end the lease and recover two months' rent (or two months' free occupancy) plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The tenant cannot end the lease for a condition caused by the lack of due care of the tenant, a family member or a guest. Source: HRS § 521-63
Covenant of quiet enjoyment	No Hawaii statute in chapter 521 expressly states a covenant of quiet enjoyment. The Code protects the tenant's possession and enjoyment instead: the tenant may end the lease over a condition that substantially deprives the tenant of the benefit and enjoyment of the bargain, and a landlord who locks the tenant out overnight without cause or a court order owes two months' rent or free occupancy plus costs and attorney's fees. Any broader covenant comes from court decisions. Source: HRS § 521-63
Injuries on the property	A lease clause that exempts or limits the landlord, or requires the tenant to indemnify the landlord, from liability for injury to people or damage to property caused by the acts or omissions of the landlord or the landlord's agents or employees, in or around the unit or premises, is void. If a condition was caused willfully or negligently by the landlord, the tenant may recover the resulting damages. When a landlord is liable for a particular injury is otherwise decided by court decisions on negligence. Source: HRS §§ 521-33, 521-63(b)

Where and when to sue

Small claims limit	$5,000 for money claims. A tenant's claim for return of a residential security deposit has no dollar limit. Source: HRS § 633-27(a); Hawaii State Judiciary, Small Claims Court Q&A
Small claims filing fee	$35. The filing fee can be added to the judgment if you win. Source: Hawaii State Judiciary, Small Claims Court Q&A
Deadline to sue on a written lease	6 years from when the claim arises, for an action to recover a debt founded on any contract, obligation, or liability. This covers unpaid rent and lease damages, and Hawaii uses the same period whether the lease is written or oral. Read on data.capitol.hawaii.gov, the Legislature's official HRS file server. § 657-1 does not distinguish written from oral contracts. Source: HRS § 657-1(1)

How small claims court works in Hawaii →

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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.