Hawaii Attorney Legal Blog

In our September 3, 2008 entry we discussed the duties owed by a landlord to a tenant under Hawaii Law. A tenant owes certain duties to her landlord as well. A landlord is not responsible for repairing all defective conditions on the premises. Under Hawaii Law, a tenant is responsible for maintaining the premises. H.R.S 521-51 provides as follows:

Each tenant shall at all times during the tenancy:

(1) Comply with all applicable building and housing laws materially affecting health and safety;
(2) Keep that part of the premises which the tenant occupies and uses as clean and safe as the conditions of the premises permit;
(3) Dispose from the tenant's dwelling unit all rubbish, garbage, and other organic or flammable waste in a clean and safe manner;
(4) Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits;
(5) Properly use and operate all electrical and plumbing fixtures and appliances in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant;
(6) Not permit any person on the premises with the tenant's permission to willfully destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises which include the dwelling unit or the facilities, equipment, or appurtenances thereto, nor oneself do any such thing;
(7) Keep the dwelling unit and all facilities, appliances, furniture, and furnishings supplied therein by the landlord in fit condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted; and
(8) Comply with all obligations, restrictions, rules, and the like which are in accordance with section 521-52 and which the landlord can demonstrate are reasonably necessary for the preservation of the property and protection of the persons of the landlord, other tenants, or any other person.

H.R.S. 521-51.

Furthermore, if a tenant fails to comply with these duties, the landlord has the following option:

(a) If the tenant is in material noncompliance with section 521-51, the landlord, upon learning of any such noncompliance and after notifying the tenant in writing of the noncompliance and allowing a specified time not less than ten days after receipt of the notice, for the tenant to remedy the noncompliance:

(1) May terminate the rental agreement and bring a summary proceeding for possession of the dwelling unit or any other proper proceeding, action, or suit for possession if the tenant is in material noncompliance with section 521- 51(1); or
(2) May remedy the tenant's failure to comply and bill the tenant for the actual and reasonable cost of such remedy if the noncompliance can be remedied by the landlord by cleaning, repairing, replacing a damaged item, or the like, which bill shall be treated by all parties as rent due and payable on the next regular rent collection date or, if the tenancy has terminated, immediately upon receipt by the tenant.

H.R.S. 521-69 (emphasis added).

As such, the tenant is responsible for keeping the premises in "fit condition". The tenant is also responsible for using all of the electrical, plumbing fixtures, and appliances properly and keep them clean. If any defective condition results from improper care or usage by the tenant, he/she is responsible for fixing such conditions, not the landlord.

Labels: Hawaii Real Estate Litigation

The Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, Chapter 521, is the governing law in Hawaii for the Landlord-Tenant relationship (and found in Hawaii Revised Statutes (H.R.S.) 521). H.R.S. 521-8 defines "Landlord" as "the owner, lessor, sublessor, assigns or successors in interest of the dwelling unit...". H.R.S. 521-8. "Tenant" is "any person who occupies a dwelling unit for dwelling purposes under a rental agreement." Id.

A landlord owes certain legal obligations to its tenant(s). First, the "landlord shall, at the beginning of the term, deliver possession of the dwelling unit to the tenant..." H.R.S. 521-41. Further legal obligations include the following:

(a) The landlord shall at all times during the tenancy:

(1) Comply with all applicable building and housing laws materially affecting health and safety;
(2) Keep common areas of a multi-dwelling unit premises in a clean and safe condition;
(3) Make all repairs and arrangements necessary to put and keep the premises in a habitable condition;
(4) Maintain all electrical, plumbing, and other facilities and appliances supplied by the landlord in good working order and condition, subject to reasonable wear and tear;
(5) Except in the case of a single family residence, provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for the removal of normal amounts of rubbish and garbage, and arrange for the frequent removal of such waste materials; and
(6) Except in the case of a single family residence, or where the building is not required by law to be equipped for the purpose, provide for the supplying of running water as reasonably required by the tenant.

Prior to the initial date of initial occupancy, the landlord shall inventory the premises and make a written record detailing the condition of the premises and any furnishings or appliances provided. Duplicate copies of this inventory shall be signed by the landlord and by the tenant and a copy given to each tenant. In an action arising under this section, the executed copy of the inventory shall be presumed to be correct. If the landlord fails to make such an inventory and written record, the condition of the premises and any furnishings or appliances provided, upon the termination of the tenancy shall be rebuttably presumed to be the same as when the tenant first occupied the premises.

H.R.S. 521-42 (emphasis added).

Moreover, "the landlord, upon written notification by the tenant of any defective condition on the premises...shall commence repairs of the condition within twelve business days of the notification with a good faith requirement that the repairs will be completed as soon as possible." H.R.S. 521-64(c). If a landlord fails to commence such repairs, "the tenant may immediately do or have done the necessary work in a competent manner and upon submission to the landlord of receipts amounting to at least the sums deducted, deduct from the tenant's rent no more that $500 for the tenant's actual expenditures for work done to correct the defective condition." H.R.S. 521-64(d).

Labels: Hawaii Real Estate Litigation