Housing & Tenant · Landlord Entry
Landlord Entry Notice in Hawaii
How much warning a landlord must give before entering your home in Hawaii, the hours entry is allowed, and what to do if they walk in unannounced, cited to the statute.
The rules and your rights in Hawaii
The notice, the allowed hours, the reasons a landlord may enter, and what to do about an unlawful entry.
| Advance notice | 48 hours before entry |
| Allowed entry hours | Reasonable hours. The statute does not fix clock times. |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | To inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply services as agreed, and exhibit the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees, or tenants. |
| Emergency entry | Hawaii writes two escape routes, not one. The notice duty applies except in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable. Impracticability is a lower bar than emergency, so it is the exception most likely to be used against a renter. |
| Local ordinance | The statute sets no local carve-out, but Hawaii county ordinances can add rules, so check your county code where you live. |
| Statute | Haw. Rev. Stat. §521-53 |
If the landlord enters unlawfully
The section read sets the notice rule but does not spell out the tenant remedy, which sits elsewhere in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. Document improper entries and ask a local legal aid office which provision applies before you rely on a specific one.
Chapter 521 has been amended in recent years on other sections, so confirm the current text of 521-53 before relying on the exact wording.
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if a landlord keeps entering your Hawaii home without proper notice. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Watch the impracticable exception
Hawaii lets a landlord skip notice not only in an emergency but where giving it is impracticable. That is a soft exception, so if a landlord claims it, ask why notice could not reasonably be given and keep the answer in writing.
- Treat the two days as calendar days
The statute says two days without limiting it to business days, so plan on two calendar days of notice for an ordinary entry. If you get less and it was not an emergency, note it.
- Keep a dated log
Record each entry: the date, the time, the reason, and how much notice you received. A log is your evidence if entries start skipping the two-day rule.
- Get local help
For repeated improper entries, contact a local Hawaii legal aid office or your county housing office to learn your options. Search for legal aid in your area.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change what applies to your home.
What Hawaii renters get wrong
Hawaii writes two escape routes into its entry rule rather than one. Under HRS 521-53 the landlord must give at least two days' notice and enter only during reasonable hours. Every state lets a landlord skip notice in an emergency, and Hawaii does too, but it adds the words "or where impracticable to do so." That is a much lower bar than emergency, and it is doing real work in the sentence. A Hawaii renter should understand that the two days is the rule and impracticability is the exception most likely to be raised against it, so it is worth asking a landlord who invokes it exactly why notice could not be given. Outside those exceptions, the two-day figure and the reasonable-hours limit are firm, and the reasons for entry are the familiar list of inspection, repairs, agreed services, and showings. The section itself does not set out the tenant remedy for a violation, which lives elsewhere in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code.
Common questions
What does impracticable mean in Hawaii entry law?
HRS 521-53 excuses notice in an emergency or where giving it is impracticable. The statute does not define impracticable, but it is a lower bar than emergency, so a landlord may use it for urgent but non-emergency situations. Ask for the reason and keep it in writing.
Are the two days calendar days in Hawaii?
The statute says two days without limiting it to business days, so treat it as two calendar days. It is a floor for an ordinary entry, and only an emergency or an impracticable situation lets a landlord give less.
What counts as reasonable hours in Hawaii?
The statute requires entry during reasonable hours but does not fix clock times. Normal daytime hours for an announced, allowed purpose are generally reasonable, while late-night or repeated entries generally are not, absent an emergency.
Can my landlord show the unit while I still live there in Hawaii?
Yes. Showing the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees, or tenants is one of the listed entry purposes, so a landlord may do it, but only with the two days notice and during reasonable hours, unless an exception applies.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.