The Hawaii Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, Chapter 521 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Section 51 allow a landlord the following remedies when a tenant fails to maintain a dwelling unit:
Tenant Negligence and Failure to Maintain
The landlord may take the following steps in cases where the tenant does not comply with the tenant’s obligations to maintain the unit:
- The landlord may notify the tenant in writing of the problem and specify a time (not less than 10 days) in which the tenant must correct the problem.
- If the tenant cannot be otherwise notified in writing, the landlord may give notice of the tenant’s violations by posting the notice in a conspicuous place on the dwelling unit;
- If the tenant does not correct the problem within the time specified the landlord may:
-
- Terminate the rental agreement and sue to evict the tenant; or
- Correct the problem and bill the tenant for it.
- If the landlord finds out that a tenant’s action or lack of it may cause irremediable damage to person or property, the landlord need not give the tenant any time for correction. Instead the landlord may proceed immediately to end the agreement or make the repair and bill the tenant.
Section 51
See also Hawaii Tenant Obligations for Maintenance and Rules.
Return to Hawaii Landlord-Tenant Laws.