Tools · Security Deposit

Hawaii Security Deposit Calculator (2026)

Enter your rent and move-out date to see the most a Hawaii landlord can charge and the exact date your deposit is due back — up to 1 month of rent, returned 14 days after the rental agreement terminates.

Cited to HRS §521-44Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes §521-44 (capitol.hawaii.gov).

Hawaii security deposit calculator

Security deposit · Hawaii

State

Monthly rent

Move-out date

Hawaii rule applied to your numbers

Maximum deposit

$2,000

Up to 1 month’s rent under Hawaii law. The base security deposit cannot exceed one month's rent. On top of that, a landlord may require a separate pet deposit, agreed on by both sides, of up to one additional month's rent to cover damage caused by a pet allowed under the lease. That pet deposit cannot be charged to a tenant with no pet, and cannot be charged for an assistance animal that is a reasonable accommodation for a disability. At the start of the tenancy a landlord may collect only the first month's rent and these deposits, nothing more.

Return deadline

14 days

14 days after the rental agreement terminates. Enter your move-out date for the exact deadline.

These are the Hawaii figures applied to what you entered: a plain summary of the rule and the dates, not a determination that anyone did or did not comply.

If a deposit is wrongly kept

If a landlord wrongfully and willfully keeps a deposit, a small claims court may award the tenant three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus the cost of suit. If the retention was wrongful but not willful, the tenant is awarded the amount wrongfully withheld plus the cost of suit. These disputes go to the small claims division of district court, where neither side may be represented by an attorney, so the statute does not provide for attorney fees. A tenant must file within one year after the tenancy ends.

Interest on the deposit

Hawaii does not require a landlord to pay interest on a security deposit or to hold it in an interest-bearing account.

PlainStatute

Security deposit — Hawaii

Maximum deposit: $2,000 · 1 month’s rent
Monthly rent: $2,000
Move-out date: Not entered
Return deadline: 14 days after the rental agreement terminates

Source: HRS §521-44

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0044.htm

Printed from plainstatute.com
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.

Informational only, not legal advice. Security-deposit rules carry exceptions (lease type, small landlords, city ordinances) this summary cannot weigh. See the full statute and exceptions on the Hawaii security deposit reference, cited to HRS §521-44.

How Hawaii security deposits work

Hawaii caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent under HRS 521-44. Separate from that, if you keep a pet allowed under your lease, the landlord may require a pet deposit of up to one additional month's rent, though that extra cannot be charged for an assistance animal tied to a disability. After the tenancy ends, the landlord has 14 days to return your deposit or send written notice of any deductions with the particulars and cost evidence behind them. Miss that 14-day window and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any of it. If a landlord wrongfully and willfully holds your deposit, a small claims court may award you three times the amount withheld plus the cost of suit. You have one year after the tenancy ends to bring that claim.

This calculator shows the Hawaii figures applied to your own rent and dates. It is informational only and not legal advice — exceptions this summary cannot weigh may apply. For the full rules, penalties, and citations, see the Hawaii security deposit reference.

Security deposit calculators for other states

Same tool, each with its own cap and return deadline.