Breaking a Lease Early in Hawaii: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you leave without a legal right and clearly show you will not return, you owe the lesser of two amounts. One is all rent due for the rest of the lease. The other is rent for the time reasonably needed to re-rent at fair rent. It adds any gap between fair rent and your rent, plus a reasonable commission. It applies whether or not your landlord re-rents.

   Source:

   1. HRS § 521-70(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   For example, say you leave with 6 months left on your lease at $1,000 a month. It takes 2 months to rent the home again at a fair rent. Your landlord can claim about $2,000, plus a fair fee for finding a new renter, not the $6,000 left.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. HRS § 521-70(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.
   Tip.

   This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

3. 3

   Say you are away 20 days or more in a row without written notice to your landlord. The law treats that as leaving without a legal right. Time your landlord has been paid rent does not count. Your landlord may keep your whole security deposit.

   Source:

   1. HRS § 521-44(d), Hawaii State Legislature. Law.

When you can leave early

4. 4

   If a condition takes away a large part of what your rental agreement promised, send your landlord written notice. The law gives your landlord 1 week after your notice to fix it. If not, you may end the agreement. You may not end it over a condition caused by lack of due care by you, your family, or a person there with your consent.

   Source:

   1. HRS § 521-63(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

5. 5

   To end your agreement over a bad condition, you need no written notice first if the home is uninhabitable (not fit to live in). The same goes for an imminent threat (immediate danger) to anyone's health or safety.

   Source:

   1. HRS § 521-63(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.

After you move out

6. 6

   The law gives your landlord 14 days after the rental agreement ends to return your security deposit. To keep any part, your landlord must send you written reasons and proof of the costs in that time. If not, your landlord cannot keep any of it, unless you quit the home without a legal right.

   Source:

   1. HRS § 521-44(c), Hawaii State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

7. 7

   The law gives you 1 year after the rental agreement ends to start a court case to get back a deposit your landlord kept.

   Source:

   1. HRS § 521-44(c), Hawaii State Legislature. Law.
8. 8

   Say your landlord kept some or all of your deposit without a legal right and on purpose. A small claims court may award you 3 times that amount, plus the cost of suit. For example, 3 times $500 is $1,500. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. HRS § 521-44(h), Hawaii State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

9. 9

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
10. 10

    Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    Tip.

    If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

    From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

11. 11

    You can end a rental agreement of one year or less for domestic violence. You owe no penalty, fees, or rent for later months. You or an immediate family member living with you must have been a victim in the 90 days before your notice. Send the notice, with proof, at least 14 days before the end date you give. That date can be no more than 104 days after the latest act.

    Source:

    1. HRS § 521-80(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.
12. 12

    To end your rental agreement for domestic violence, send one of these with your notice. A certified restraining order (a court order to stay away from you). A court order against harassment (hostile treatment). Papers from a criminal case. Papers from a shelter or a victim group. Papers from someone you asked for help, such as a medical professional, mental health care provider, lawyer, advocate, social worker, or clergy member.

    Source:

    1. HRS § 521-80(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.
13. 13

    To end your rental agreement for domestic violence, give your landlord a written statement. It says you reasonably believe the person who did it knows where you or your family member lives. You do not need it if that person lives in your home.

    Source:

    1. HRS § 521-80(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.
14. 14

    If you end a rental agreement for domestic violence with proper notice, your landlord cannot charge a fee or penalty. After you give back the home, your landlord must return your share of the deposit and prepaid rent. The landlord may subtract damage from not meeting your renter duties. If you alone are responsible, pay rent through the end date and anything you owed before.

    Source:

    1. HRS § 521-80(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes. Law.