Hawaii Security Deposit Laws: Limits, Deductions & 14-Day Return

Hawaii security deposit law caps the deposit at one month’s rent, limits what a landlord can deduct to a short list of specific reasons, and gives the landlord 14 days after you move out to return the money or send a written, itemized explanation of what was kept. Miss that deadline, and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any of it. The rules sit in HRS § 521-44, with related tenant protections in HRS § 521-42.

How Much a Landlord Can Charge

The standard security deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent. If the lease allows a pet, the landlord may collect a separate pet deposit, also capped at one month’s rent.¹ So the most a Hawaii landlord can take up front as deposits is two months’ rent, and only when pets are involved.

The money remains yours while the landlord holds it. Hawaii does not require a separate trust account and does not require the landlord to pay interest on the deposit. Even so, your claim to it takes priority over the landlord’s other creditors.¹

What a Landlord Can Deduct

HRS § 521-44 lists the only grounds for keeping any part of a deposit:¹

Damage beyond normal wear and tear, caused by the tenant’s failure to meet the maintenance duties in HRS § 521-51.²
Unpaid rent owed at the end of the tenancy.
Cleaning costs needed to return the unit to the level of cleanliness it had at move-in.
Keys, key fobs, parking cards, garage door openers, mailbox keys, or similar access devices not returned.
Damage caused by a pet allowed under the lease, charged against the pet deposit.
Unpaid utility charges the landlord supplied that were not covered by the rent.

Anything outside this list is off-limits. Scuffed floors from everyday foot traffic, faded paint, and carpet thinned by years of normal use are all wear and tear. A hole punched through drywall, a cracked countertop, or a stained carpet from a spilled bottle of wine is damage the landlord can charge for.

The 14-Day Deadline to Return the Deposit

Once the tenancy ends and you have moved out, the landlord has 14 days to either return the full deposit or send a written explanation that itemizes every deduction and includes supporting documentation such as repair invoices, cleaning receipts, or estimates.¹ The deadline is met if the notice is postmarked before midnight on the 14th day and mailed with proof to the address you provided, or if you acknowledge receipt in person within the same window.

Miss that deadline and the landlord loses the right to keep any part of the deposit, regardless of what you may actually owe for damage or cleaning. The full amount must come back to you.¹ Give the landlord a reliable forwarding address in writing before you leave; otherwise you make it harder to prove the clock ever started.

Can You Use the Deposit as Last Month’s Rent?

Not on your own. A tenant may apply the deposit to the final month’s rent only if the landlord has agreed in writing and the tenant has given 45 days’ notice before vacating.¹ Even with that written agreement, the landlord keeps the right to come after you for any damage you leave behind. Simply skipping the last month’s rent and telling the landlord to use the deposit creates unpaid rent that the landlord can pursue through the courts.

The Move-In Inventory Decides Most Disputes

Before you move in, the landlord is required to inspect the unit, record its condition in a written inventory covering the premises and any furnishings or appliances, and have both parties sign it. Each side keeps a copy, and that signed inventory is presumed accurate in any later dispute.³

If the landlord never did an inventory, the law presumes the unit was in the same condition when you left as when you arrived.³ That makes damage deductions almost impossible to justify. Photograph the unit the day you move in and the day you move out. Keep every signed inspection form.

When the Property Is Sold

If your landlord sells or transfers the building, the new owner takes on full responsibility for your deposit. The outgoing owner must give the new owner an accounting of every deposit held at or before the transfer, and within 20 days of the transfer the new owner must send you written notice confirming the amount credited to you.¹

If the new owner skips that notice, the law presumes you paid a deposit of at least one month’s rent at the rate in effect when you first moved in. The new owner is bound by that amount in any later dispute, even if the deposit you actually paid was lower.

Extended Absence From the Unit

One trap worth knowing about: a tenant who is gone from the unit for 20 or more consecutive days without written notice to the landlord is treated as having wrongfully abandoned the rental, and the landlord can keep the entire deposit.¹ Paying rent that covers the period you are away cancels the presumption. If you’re traveling for a stretch, a brief written note to your landlord closes this loophole.

Suing to Get Your Deposit Back

If you cannot resolve a dispute, either side can file in the small claims division of the district court. The filing fee is $35. Small claims cases are normally capped at $5,000, but security deposit cases carry no monetary limit, so even a large deposit can go through this process.⁴

Neither side may bring an attorney to a security deposit hearing in small claims court. That bar covers salaried in-house lawyers appearing for a corporate landlord as well.¹ You argue your own case.

What the Court Can Award

The outcome turns on what the court finds about the landlord’s conduct:¹

If the retention was wrongful and willful, the court may award up to three times the amount wrongfully kept, plus court costs.
If the retention was wrongful but not willful, the court must award the amount wrongfully kept plus court costs.
If the landlord was entitled to keep the money, the court awards the landlord the disputed amount plus court costs. A weak claim can cost you.

Evidence That Carries Weight

Bring the signed lease, the signed move-in inventory, any move-out inspection record, dated move-in and move-out photos of every room, and all written communication with the landlord about the deposit or the unit’s condition. If the 14-day deadline came and went with no itemized notice, that fact alone can resolve the case in your favor.

1
Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 521-44 – Security Deposits
2
Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 521-51 – Tenant to Maintain Dwelling Unit
3
Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 521-42 – Landlord to Supply and Maintain Fit Premises
4
Hawaii State Judiciary. Small Claims Questions and Answers