How to Evict a Tenant in Hawaii: Notices, Hearing, and Writ

To evict a tenant in Hawaii, you have to follow the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code step by step: serve a written notice that matches your grounds, wait out the cure period, file a summary possession complaint in District Court if the tenant doesn’t comply, win a judgment for possession, and then have an authorized officer or process server execute a writ of possession. Skip a step or shortcut the process, and you can end up owing the tenant two months’ rent plus their attorney’s fees.¹

Match the Notice to the Grounds

Every Hawaii eviction starts with a written notice. Which notice you use, how long it runs, and whether the tenant gets a chance to cure all depend on why you are ending the tenancy.

Nonpayment of Rent

When rent goes unpaid, you can deliver a written demand for payment that warns the tenant the rental agreement will terminate unless the full amount is paid within at least five business days after the tenant receives the notice. The clock runs in business days, not calendar days, and it starts on receipt. If you cannot personally serve the tenant, post the notice conspicuously on the unit. Pay the full amount within the window and the eviction stops.²

Lease or Rule Violations

For a breach of an authorized rule or a lease term — an unauthorized pet, for example — the written notice must identify exactly which rule was broken and give the tenant at least ten days to fix it. If the tenant cures within that window, you cannot proceed. If the same violation continues or recurs after the deadline, you have 30 days from the repeat breach to file for summary possession.³

Material Noncompliance With Tenant Duties

When a tenant violates their statutory obligations under HRS §521-51 — damaging the property, failing to keep the unit sanitary, or interfering with other tenants — you must give at least ten days’ written notice before proceeding.⁴

Conduct Causing or Threatening Irremediable Harm

The ten-day cure period does not apply when the tenant’s conduct causes or threatens damage to a person or property, when the tenant uses the unit for something other than living purposes, or when the activity is illegal. In those cases you can move straight to court.³⁴

Ending a Month-to-Month Tenancy Without Cause

To end a month-to-month arrangement without cause, give at least 45 days’ written notice before the intended termination date. The tenant only owes 28 days’ notice to end the same tenancy. If the tenant stays past the 45-day notice, you can file for summary possession.⁵

Holdover After a Fixed-Term Lease

A fixed-term lease that runs out does not automatically entitle you to file. If the tenant stays past expiration, you can bring a summary possession proceeding within the first 60 days of the holdover period.⁵

Do Not Try to Remove the Tenant Yourself

Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or moving the tenant’s belongings out without a court order is illegal in Hawaii. The statute treats any overnight removal or exclusion without cause or court authorization as unlawful, and the tenant can recover two months’ rent (or two months of free occupancy), plus attorney’s fees and costs. The court can also order the tenant back in and grant further equitable relief.¹ Landlords who try to shortcut the process usually pay far more than the rent they were chasing.

Filing the Summary Possession Complaint

Once the notice period expires and the tenant has not cured or vacated, file a Complaint for Summary Possession in the District Court for the judicial circuit where the property sits.⁶ The Hawaii State Judiciary publishes a standardized complaint form for nonpayment cases.⁷

Bring the following with your complaint:

A copy of the signed lease, or a description of the oral agreement if there isn’t one.
A copy of the written eviction notice you served.
Proof of service — usually a signed affidavit from the person who delivered it, or documentation that it was posted on the unit.
The full legal names of every tenant on the lease, the complete property address, and specific facts about the grounds: dates of violation, or the exact rent amount owed.

Filing requires a court fee. The most recently published Hawaii District Court fee schedule lists summary possession filings at $155; confirm the current figure with the clerk before you file.⁸ After you file, the clerk assigns a case number and issues a summons with a hearing date. A sheriff, police officer, or authorized process server must then serve the tenant with both the complaint and summons.

Check Military Status Before Any Default

If the tenant doesn’t show up and you plan to seek a default judgment, federal law under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires you to file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is on active military duty.⁹ Verify status through the Defense Manpower Data Center’s online tool, which produces a signed, printable letter with the Department of Defense seal.¹⁰ You will need the tenant’s Social Security number to run the check. Skipping this can invalidate a default judgment.

The Hearing and Defenses You Should Expect

At the hearing you present the lease, the notice, proof it was served, and documentation of the unpaid rent or violation. The tenant has the right to appear and raise defenses. Common ones in Hawaii:

Improper notice — the content, timing, or delivery did not meet the statute.
Retaliation — the filing came after the tenant complained in good faith to a government agency about health or code violations, or requested repairs under the statute. An eviction filed after a government agency has noticed violations at the unit is presumed retaliatory. You can still recover possession in a retaliation case if the tenant is committing waste or nuisance, using the unit illegally, or you genuinely intend to move in, demolish, substantially remodel, or have a signed sales contract for the property.¹¹
Breach of habitability — you failed to keep the unit livable and the tenant withheld rent or requested repairs as the code allows.
Rent was paid — the tenant paid within the notice window, or you refused a timely payment.

If the judge rules for you, the court enters a judgment for possession. That judgment confirms your right to reclaim the unit, but by itself it does not authorize anyone to physically remove the tenant.

The Writ of Possession and Physical Removal

After a favorable judgment, request a Writ of Possession from the court clerk.¹² The writ can issue any time after judgment unless a court stay is in effect.¹³

Hawaii law authorizes the writ to be served by a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, or an independent civil process server from the Department of Law Enforcement’s approved list.¹³ Independent process servers are not law enforcement officers, but they are legally authorized to remove the tenant and place you in full possession.¹⁴ You deliver the writ to one of these authorized individuals and pay the service fee. They go to the property, inform the tenant of the court order, and remove all persons from the premises if necessary. Once the unit is empty, change the locks. Rekeying runs roughly $50 to $130 per lock.

After Removal: The Deposit and Any Belongings Left Behind

An eviction does not erase your obligations on the security deposit. Hawaii caps the deposit at one month’s rent, with up to an additional month allowed for pet damage if a pet lives on the premises. After the tenancy ends, you have 14 days to return the full deposit or provide written notice explaining any deductions. Allowable deductions include unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, cleaning to restore move-in condition, unreturned keys or access devices, and unpaid tenant utility charges. Miss the 14-day deadline and you forfeit the right to keep any of it and must return the entire deposit.¹⁵ Many landlords focus on the eviction and forget this clock is already running.

Tenants often leave belongings behind. You cannot simply throw everything out. If you determine in good faith that abandoned property has value, make reasonable efforts to notify the tenant by mailing a notice to the forwarding address or last known address. After that you can sell the property or donate it to a charitable organization. A sale requires advertising in a daily newspaper of general circulation within the judicial circuit for at least three consecutive days, and neither a sale nor a donation can happen until at least 15 days after the notice was mailed. Sale proceeds go first toward accrued rent and the costs of storage, sale, and advertising, and any remaining balance must be held in trust for the tenant for 30 days before you can keep it.¹⁶ Items you determine have no value can be disposed of without liability.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

An uncontested Hawaii eviction typically takes several weeks from the initial notice through physical removal. Scheduling, tenant defenses, or continuances can stretch that to two months or longer. The main out-of-pocket costs:

Court filing fee of approximately $155 for a summary possession complaint, per the most recently published Hawaii District Court fee schedule. Confirm with the clerk.⁸
Service of process fees for the sheriff or independent civil process server to deliver the summons, and later the writ. Confirm rates with the serving agency.
Attorney fees, optional but worth considering if the tenant raises defenses.
Lock rekeying at roughly $50 to $130 per lock.

A dismissed case because of a defective notice means serving a new notice and filing again from scratch, so the money spent on getting the paperwork right the first time is usually the cheapest money in the whole process.

1
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-63 – Tenants Remedy of Termination at Any Time; Unlawful Removal or Exclusion
2
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-68 – Landlords Remedies for Failure by Tenant to Pay Rent
3
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-72 – Landlords Remedies for Improper Use
4
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-69 – Landlords Remedies for Material Noncompliance by Tenant
5
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-71 – Termination of Tenancy; Landlords Remedies for Holdover Tenants
6
Justia. Hawaii Code 666-6 – Summary Possession Proceedings; Venue
7
Hawaii State Judiciary. Complaint – Residential Summary Possession (Non-payment of Rent Only)
8
Hawaii State Judiciary. District Court Filing Fees and Costs
9
U.S. Department of Justice. Financial and Housing Rights
10
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Verification of Military Service
11
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-74 – Retaliatory Evictions and Rent Increases Prohibited
12
Hawaii State Judiciary. Writ of Possession
13
Justia. Hawaii Code 666-11 – Judgment; Writ of Possession
14
Hawaii State Legislature. Hawaii Act 116 – Relating to the Service of Process
15
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-44 – Security Deposits
16
Justia. Hawaii Code 521-56 – Disposition of Tenants Abandoned Property