What are the security deposit rules in Hawaii?
Hawaii caps security deposits at one month's rent — plus, since November 1, 2013, a separate pet deposit of up to one more month's rent for tenants with a pet (never for assistance animals) — and the landlord must return the deposit within 14 days after the rental agreement ends.
Any withholding requires a written notice within that same 14 days itemizing the grounds with estimates, invoices, or receipts attached; a landlord who misses the deadline forfeits the right to keep anything and owes the whole deposit back, and a wrongful, willful retention can cost three times the amount kept in small claims court, where neither side may bring a lawyer. At move-in the landlord may collect nothing beyond the first month's rent and the deposit — no nonrefundable move-in or pet fees — and may not demand postdated checks. There is no interest or separate-account requirement, deposit suits must be filed within one year, and a tenant who vanishes for 20-plus unpaid days without notice forfeits the entire deposit.
Hawaii security deposits at a glance
| Maximum deposit | 1 month's rent — One month's rent is the general ceiling, plus a separately agreed pet deposit of up to one additional month's rent for damage by a pet animal allowed under the rental agreement (2 months total possible for a pet household). The pet deposit may not be demanded from tenants without a resident pet, and may never be charged for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation under HRS 515-3. At the start of a tenancy the landlord may not require or receive ANY money beyond the first month's rent and the security deposit (HRS 521-44(b)); a cost-based application screening fee before tenancy is separately authorized by HRS 521-46 (enacted 2023). |
|---|---|
| Return deadline | 14 days |
| Deadline conditions | The deposit or remaining balance, with the written retention notice and supporting evidence if anything is withheld, must be returned not later than 14 days after the termination of the rental agreement (HRS 521-44(c)). The clock runs from termination of the rental agreement — no tenant demand or forwarding address is required. Compliance is presumptively proven by mailing to an address the tenant supplied, with acceptable proof of mailing postmarked before midnight of the fourteenth day, or by the tenant's acknowledged receipt within the window. A tenant who is absent 20+ continuous days without written notice (and without rent paid for the period) is deemed to have wrongfully quit and forfeits the entire deposit (521-44(d)). |
| Itemization required | Yes |
| Itemization rules | If the landlord proposes to retain any amount, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing with the particulars of and grounds for the retention, including written evidence of costs — estimates or invoices for materials and services, and receipts for cleaning supplies, equipment, or services (HRS 521-44(c)). Deposit uses are limited to the purposes listed in 521-44(a): damage from breach of the tenant's 521-51 duties, unpaid rent, unreturned keys/fobs/parking cards/garage openers/mailbox keys, end-of-tenancy cleaning to move-in condition, wrongful-quit damages, pet damage, and landlord-provided utility arrears. 'Normal wear and tear' is defined in HRS 521-8 (deterioration by ordinary and reasonable use, but missing items are not wear and tear). |
| Separate account required | No |
| Interest owed to tenant | No |
| Account & interest rules | No section of chapter 521 requires interest on deposits or a separate, trust, or escrow account — 521-44(b) expressly gives the tenant's claim priority over the landlord's creditors 'even if the security deposits are commingled,' and the DCCA Office of Consumer Protection's official handbook confirms interest is not required by law. |
| Pet deposits | Expressly authorized and separately capped since November 1, 2013 (Act 206 (2013), S.B. 328): an additional pet-damage deposit of up to one month's rent, on top of the general one-month cap, applicable to rental agreements entered into on or after 2013-11-01. It may not be required from tenants without a pet in residence, and never for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation under HRS 515-3. It is part of the 'security deposit' scheme, so the 14-day return, itemization, forfeiture, and treble-damage rules all apply. |
| Non-refundable fees allowed | No |
| Penalty for violation | Two-stage. First, missing the 14-day notice-and-return deadline automatically forfeits the landlord's right to retain any part of the deposit — the entire amount must be returned (HRS 521-44(c)). Second, in a small-claims action, a court MAY award the tenant three times the amount wrongfully AND wilfully retained plus costs (521-44(h)(1)); merely wrongful retention yields the amount retained plus costs (h)(2)). Deposit disputes go only to the small claims division, where neither side may be represented by an attorney (521-44(g), (h)(4)). Suits must be filed within one year after termination. |
| Tenant forwarding-address duty | No affirmative statutory duty. Mailing the refund and notice to 'an address supplied to the landlord by the tenant' with proof of mailing gives the landlord presumptive proof of compliance (521-44(c)), so tenants are well advised to supply one, but the 14-day clock runs regardless. |
Notes and caveats
Statute citations
- HRS § 521-44 (a)-(h) Official source
- Act 206, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013 (S.B. 328) (slip law) §§ 1, 3 Official source
- HRS § 521-66 Official source
- HRS § 521-46 (a)-(c) Official source
- DCCA Office of Consumer Protection, Landlord-Tenant Handbook (2024) Official source
How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Hawaii State Legislature site (capitol.hawaii.gov, hrscurrent edition; fetched via curl with a browser user agent because the host 403s automated fetchers): sections 521-44, 521-21, 521-53, and 521-71 each fetched twice with SHA-1-identical results, and every load-bearing figure additionally reconciled against two more official documents — the Session Laws of Hawaii act PDFs on capitol.hawaii.gov (Act 179 (2017), S.B. 119, which sets out amended section 521-21 in full including the 45-day/15-day rent-increase notices and the 8 per cent late-charge cap, effective 2017-11-01 with an entered-into-or-renewed applicability clause; Act 206 (2013), S.B. 328, which sets out amended section 521-44(a)-(b) including the one-month cap plus the additional one-month pet deposit, applicable to agreements entered into on or after 2013-11-01) and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Office of Consumer Protection's official 2024 Landlord-Tenant Handbook (cca.hawaii.gov), which matches on the 14-day return, forfeiture rule, treble small-claims penalty, one-year limitation, two days' entry notice, 45-day termination and rent-increase notices, 8 per cent cap and its 2017-11-01 applicability, and the no-interest negative. Also read in full: 521-7, 521-8, 521-10, 521-22, 521-31, 521-43, 521-46, 521-63, 521-66, 521-70, 521-73, 521-74, 521-75, 521-77, 521-85, 666-20, and 127A-30. Verified negatives (no deposit interest, no separate-account rule, no grace period, no rent-increase frequency or size tiers, no express rent-control preemption) each run against the full chapter 521 table of contents sweep. Legislative check 2026-07-11 on official capitol.hawaii.gov status pages and the LRB Bills Passed 2026 list: the 2026 regular session adjourned sine die 2026-05-08 ending the 2025-2026 biennium; no 2025 or 2026 act amended any topic section; SB 2539 (3% rent cap), SB 347 (late fee 8%-to-5%), HB 464 (60/90-day notices), HB 693 (increase increments), and SB 822 (code working group) all died.