A condominium property regime in Hawaii is the legal structure that turns a single parcel of land and the building on it into separately owned units joined to shared common areas, created and governed under Chapter 514B of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Once that structure is in place, each unit can be sold, mortgaged, and taxed on its own, while hallways, roofs, pools, and grounds remain owned in common by every unit owner. The chapter then sets the rules for how the association runs, how money is collected, what insurance must cover, and how disputes get resolved.
If you own a unit, are thinking about buying one, or are trying to understand why your building operates the way it does, the regime is the starting point. Everything else — your monthly bill, your vote, the board’s authority, your right to install solar panels — flows from it.
How the Regime Is Legally Created
A Hawaii condo project begins with a document called the declaration. The declaration is what converts land and a building into individually owned units with shared common areas. Under HRS 514B-32, it must describe the land, the number of units, the boundaries of each unit, the common elements, any limited common elements assigned to specific units, and the permitted and prohibited uses of each unit.1Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-32 – Contents of Declaration It also sets the percentage of ownership interest needed to amend itself, which must be at least sixty-seven percent unless owners vote to raise that threshold.
For the regime to legally exist, the declaration has to be recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances, or with the Land Court depending on how the land is registered. The Bureau is the official repository for condo declarations, bylaws, maps, and amendments, and changes to any of these documents are not enforceable until they are recorded there.2Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Condominium: Obtaining Documents From the Bureau of Conveyances
Before a developer can sell any units, the developer must also prepare a public report disclosing detailed information about the project. HRS 514B-54 requires the Real Estate Commission to issue an “effective date” for that report before sales can begin.3Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-54 – Developers Public Report Requirements for Issuance of Effective Date The commission does not approve or disapprove the project. It simply confirms that the required disclosures have been submitted so buyers can make informed decisions.
What You Own and What You Share
Inside a condominium property regime, you have the exclusive right to use your unit and shared access to the common elements — hallways, lobbies, pools, landscaped areas, and the like. You also get a vote on association matters, including changes to the declaration or bylaws, budget approvals, and board elections. Your voting power is tied to your unit’s common interest percentage, which is set out in the declaration.4Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes Title 28 Chapter 514B – Condominiums
In exchange, you have to pay assessments and follow the rules in the governing documents, which can cover noise, pets, renovations, and use of common areas. The regime’s shared ownership structure is the reason an individual owner cannot, for example, repaint the building exterior or fence off a stretch of lawn: those areas belong to everyone.
Assessments, Reserves, and the Lien That Backs Them
Your monthly assessment covers the association’s operating expenses: maintenance, repairs, insurance premiums, utility costs, and management fees. The amount is based on your unit’s proportionate common interest, so larger or more valuable units typically pay more. The board sets the budget annually and determines the assessments needed to cover projected expenses.
Hawaii law also requires the association to fund long-term reserves. Under HRS 514B-148, the association must collect enough in reserve assessments to fund at least fifty percent of estimated replacement costs, or one hundred percent if it uses a cash flow funding plan.5Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-148 – Association Fiscal Matters Reserves Replacement and Repair Reserves must include separate designated accounts for any component with expected costs exceeding $10,000; components costing less can be grouped into a single reserve. If the reserve study is not prepared by an independent professional, it must be reviewed by one at least every three years. These rules override any declaration or bylaw provision calling for less funding.
Why this matters to you: poorly funded reserves lead to surprise special assessments that can run into thousands of dollars per unit. When you evaluate a condo purchase, ask for the most recent reserve study and compare the funded balance to the projected needs. A reserve fund sitting at thirty percent of its target should give you pause.
Falling behind on assessments has real teeth. Unpaid amounts automatically become a lien on your unit that takes priority over almost every other claim except government tax liens and previously recorded mortgages.6Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-146 – Association Fiscal Matters Lien for Assessments The association can foreclose on that lien through a court action or a nonjudicial power-of-sale process, though the nonjudicial route is not available when the unpaid amount consists solely of fines, penalties, legal fees, or late charges. A recorded lien expires after six years unless the association begins enforcement proceedings before that deadline.
Hawaii also gives associations a limited super-priority lien. When a mortgage lender or other buyer purchases a delinquent unit at foreclosure, the board can specially assess the new purchaser for up to six months of unpaid regular monthly assessments that accrued before the foreclosure was completed.6Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-146 – Association Fiscal Matters Lien for Assessments
Who Runs the Regime
The board of directors is the association’s decision-making body. Board members must be unit owners, co-owners, trust beneficiaries, or authorized representatives of entities that own a unit, and no more than one person per unit can serve. Resident managers and association employees cannot sit on the board. Any board member can be removed at a regular or special meeting by a majority vote of unit owners.
The board holds broad authority to adopt budgets, levy assessments, and enforce the governing documents, but every member owes a fiduciary duty to the association as a whole, not to any individual director’s interest. Hawaii law backs that up with transparency rules: board meetings must be open to owners with limited exceptions for executive sessions covering sensitive topics like personnel matters, pending litigation, or individual owner delinquencies. The association must make financial statements, general ledgers, contracts, insurance policies, and meeting minutes available to any unit owner on request.7Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Chapter 514B Condominiums – Section 514B-154.5 A board that resists reasonable document requests is a red flag.
The association must also hold at least one meeting per year. Special meetings can be called by the president, a majority of the board, or by a petition signed by at least twenty-five percent of unit owners. If the secretary or managing agent fails to send notices within fourteen days of receiving a valid petition, the petitioners can set the meeting themselves at the association’s expense.8Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Chapter 514B Condominiums – Section 514B-121 Notice must go out at least fourteen days in advance and include the agenda, the general nature of any proposed amendments, and any proposal to remove a board member.
Many associations hire a professional managing agent to run day-to-day operations. Under HRS 514B-132, every managing agent must either hold a Hawaii real estate broker’s license or be a corporation authorized under state banking law. The agent must register with the Real Estate Commission on a biennial basis, maintain a fidelity bond of at least $20,000 (scaled at $500 per unit managed, up to a $500,000 cap), and disclose the names and addresses of all associations it manages.9Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-132 – Managing Agents If the agent fails to maintain the bond, its registration terminates automatically.
The Insurance Gap Owners Miss
Insurance is one of the most misunderstood parts of condo ownership. Under HRS 514B-143, the association must buy and maintain property insurance on the common elements at full insurable replacement cost, including coverage for increased construction costs due to building code updates.10Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Chapter 514B Condominiums – Section 514B-143 For buildings with attached units, this insurance must also cover the units themselves and limited common elements, though the board can decide the scope of coverage for limited common elements.
Here is the catch. The association’s policy does not have to cover your improvements and upgrades — anything you installed beyond what the developer originally built, such as upgraded cabinets, flooring, or fixtures. If the association does choose to cover improvements, it can assess the added cost against the units that benefit. You need your own HO-6 condo policy to cover your personal belongings, interior improvements, and personal liability. Without one, a fire or water leak could leave you personally responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in uninsured losses.
What You Can Install Despite the Rules
Solar Energy Devices
Hawaii law strongly protects your right to install solar panels. Under HRS 196-7, no covenant, declaration, bylaw, or other agreement can prevent you from installing a solar energy device on a single-family dwelling or townhouse unit you own.11Justia. Hawaii Code 196-7 – Placement of Solar Energy Devices Any contractual provision that tries to block solar installation is void.
The association can adopt reasonable design rules, but those rules cannot make the device more than twenty-five percent less efficient or increase installation, maintenance, and removal costs by more than fifteen percent. The association also cannot charge you any fees for placing the device. If you want to install solar on a common element or limited common element, you need the association’s consent, but it must grant consent if you agree to follow its design specifications, hire a licensed contractor, and provide insurance naming the association as an additional insured.11Justia. Hawaii Code 196-7 – Placement of Solar Energy Devices You and any future owner remain responsible for all costs related to the device, including damage to common elements.
Satellite Dishes and Antennas
Federal law limits what your association can do about satellite dishes and antennas. Under the FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Device rule, an association cannot restrict the installation, maintenance, or use of a satellite dish one meter or smaller, or a TV antenna of any size, on property within your exclusive use or control such as your balcony, patio, or lanai.12eCFR. 47 CFR 1.4000 – Restrictions Impairing Reception of Television Broadcast Signals The association cannot require prior approval for installation on your own space, charge installation fees or deposits, or impose rules that unreasonably delay installation, increase costs, or degrade signal quality. It can require you to register the dish and carry liability insurance. The rule does not give you the right to install on common elements like the roof or exterior walls without association permission.
Fair Housing Limits on the Association
The federal Fair Housing Act applies to Hawaii condo associations like any other housing provider. Under 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3), an association cannot refuse to allow a person with a disability to make reasonable modifications to their unit or to common areas at the disabled person’s own expense when the modification is necessary for the person to fully use the property.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing An association that enforces a blanket rule against structural changes could violate federal law if it refuses a wheelchair ramp or grab-bar installation requested by a disabled owner.
The Americans with Disabilities Act generally does not apply to private residential associations. It kicks in only if the association opens common facilities to the general public, for example by renting out a clubhouse for community events or allowing nonresidents to use the pool for a fee.
Even if your association’s governing documents prohibit pets, federal fair housing law requires the association to grant a reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal, including an emotional support animal, when the owner has a disability-related need. If the disability and the need are not obvious, the association can ask for documentation from a licensed healthcare provider confirming the owner has a disability and that the animal provides a therapeutic benefit related to it. The association cannot require a government-issued certification, demand proof of training, insist on disclosure of the specific diagnosis, or accept only documentation from the owner’s current treating provider. Commercial ESA registry certificates carry no legal weight.
When You Disagree: Mediation and Arbitration
Chapter 514B pushes disputes toward mediation and arbitration rather than the courthouse. Litigation is expensive, slow, and tends to poison community relationships in a building where you still have to share an elevator with your opponent.
Mediation is mandatory when a unit owner, board member, or managing agent sends a written request to the other party, as long as the dispute involves interpreting or enforcing the declaration, bylaws, or house rules. The other party cannot simply refuse. If the parties cannot agree on a mediator and a date within forty-five days, either side can ask the circuit court to compel mediation, and the prevailing party on that motion can recover up to $1,500 in attorney’s fees.14Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-161 – Mediation
Mediation is not mandatory for disputes involving threatened property damage or health and safety issues, assessment collection, personal injury claims, or matters that could affect the association’s insurance coverage. The Real Estate Commission funds subsidized mediation through the Condominium Education Trust Fund, with services available through designated providers on each island.15Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Mediation of Condominium Disputes Each association pays into this fund at $3 per unit every two years.16Justia. Hawaii Code 514B-72 – Condominium Education Trust Fund Payments by Associations and Developers
Any party to a condo dispute involving the interpretation or enforcement of Chapter 514B, the declaration, bylaws, or house rules can demand arbitration. Unlike mediation, arbitration produces a binding decision. The arbitrator must follow substantive law but is not bound by rules of evidence, and discovery is available under Hawaii’s civil procedure rules, though the arbitrator can limit it to avoid excessive delays and costs.17FindLaw. Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-162 – Arbitration Certain disputes are exempt from mandatory arbitration, including actions involving the Real Estate Commission, mortgage lenders, foreclosure of assessment liens, personal injury claims, and claims exceeding $2,500 against the association or board when pursuing arbitration would void insurance coverage.
Buying or Selling Into the Regime
If you plan to finance a Hawaii condo with an FHA or VA loan, the project itself has to meet federal approval requirements. This is a project-level hurdle, not just a borrower qualification issue.
For FHA loans, the project must appear on HUD’s list of approved condominium projects. The project must be primarily residential, with nonresidential space making up no more than forty-nine percent of total floor area. Projects with right-of-first-refusal clauses that could prevent a buyer from freely acquiring a unit are generally ineligible. If your building is not on the approved list, your lender may be able to submit it for approval, but the process takes time and is not guaranteed. VA loans work the same way through the Department of Veterans Affairs database. If you are a veteran or active-duty service member, check both approval databases early in your search to avoid falling in love with a unit in a building that cannot be financed with your preferred loan product.
When you sell, the association must make certain documents available to prospective buyers: the declaration, bylaws, house rules, the most recent financial statement, board and association meeting minutes, management agreements, and a detailed accounting of receipts and expenditures related to the common elements.7Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Chapter 514B Condominiums – Section 514B-154.5 If you are the buyer, request and review these documents before closing. The financial statements and reserve study are the ones that tell you whether the association is financially healthy or headed toward a special assessment, and they are the clearest signal of what living inside this particular condominium property regime will actually cost you.