Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions in Hawaii

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Hawaii's deposit rules live in one section of its Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44.

Deadline to return the deposit

The security deposit, minus any lawful deductions, "shall be returned to the tenant not later than fourteen days after the termination of the rental agreement" (§ 521-44(c)). That's the whole trigger — termination of the rental agreement — with no separate forwarding-address or damages-determination step required first. Mailed delivery counts as timely if it's "postmarked before midnight of the fourteenth day." Any lawsuit to recover a wrongfully withheld deposit has to be filed "not later than one year after termination of the rental agreement."

Itemized statement required?

Yes, whenever the landlord wants to keep any part of the deposit. The landlord must notify the tenant in writing with the particulars and grounds for retention and written cost evidence, such as estimates, invoices, or receipts — and this notice is due within the same 14-day window as the return itself. Skip it, and "the landlord shall not be entitled to retain the security deposit or any part of it," full stop (§ 521-44(c)).

What can be deducted

The statute limits deposits to five purposes: unpaid rent; damage from the tenant's failure to meet the Code's maintenance duties, or unreturned keys/fobs/openers/mailbox keys; cleaning needed to restore the unit to "as fit a condition as that which the tenant entered into possession of"; damage caused by a tenant who wrongfully quits; pet-caused damage (if a pet deposit was collected); and unpaid utility charges the landlord billed and paid on the tenant's behalf (§ 521-44(a)). Notably, the statute's own text never uses the phrase "normal wear and tear" — it simply doesn't authorize a deduction outside this closed list.

Maximum deposit amount

One month's rent for the ordinary security deposit, plus — separately — a pet deposit of up to another month's rent if the tenant actually has a pet residing on the premises. That pet deposit "shall not be required... from any tenant who does not have a pet animal," and can't be charged at all for a disability assistance animal (§ 521-44(b)). Beyond these two deposits and the first month's rent, "the landlord may not require or receive from or on behalf of a tenant at the beginning of a rental agreement any money other" (§ 521-44(b)).

Interest on the deposit?

No. Nothing in § 521-44 requires interest on a held deposit.

Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding

Two separate mechanisms apply. First, missing the 14-day notice-and-return deadline is an automatic forfeiture: the landlord "shall not be entitled to retain the security deposit or any part of it," no fault or bad faith required (§ 521-44(c)). Second, if the dispute reaches the small claims division of district court, the outcome turns on the court's finding: if the landlord "wrongfully and wilfully retained" the deposit, the court "may award the tenant damages in an amount equal to three times the amount... wrongfully and wilfully retained and the cost of suit"; if the retention was wrongful but not willful, the court "shall award the tenant damages in an amount equal to the amount... wrongfully retained and the cost of suit" — no multiplier; and if the landlord was actually entitled to keep the money, the court awards the landlord that same disputed amount plus costs (§ 521-44(h)). Notably, "neither the landlord nor the tenant may be represented by an attorney" in that small-claims action.

Separate account or bond required?

No. The statute only requires the deposit to be "held by the landlord for the tenant," with the tenant's claim ranking ahead of the landlord's OTHER creditors — including a bankruptcy trustee — "even if the security deposits are commingled" with the landlord's own money (§ 521-44(b)). This is a bankruptcy-priority protection, not an affirmative duty to keep the money in a separate account.

What trips people up

A long, unexplained absence can cost you the whole deposit before you even move out. If you're away from the unit for 20 or more continuous days without giving the landlord written notice, the statute deems you to have "wrongfully quit" — and the landlord "may retain the entire amount" of the deposit on that basis alone (§ 521-44(d)), separate from the normal 14-day return process.

The 14-day clock is genuinely short — don't expect a grace period. Unlike many states that allow 30, 45, or 60 days, Hawaii's deadline runs from termination of the rental agreement with no extra step built in.

A treble-damages award isn't automatic just because the landlord kept your money. You get three times the amount only if a court finds the retention was both wrongful AND willful; an ordinary wrongful (but good-faith) retention only gets you the amount itself plus court costs.

Common questions

How long does my Hawaii landlord have to return my deposit? 14 days after the rental agreement terminates.

Is there a cap on my deposit? Yes — one month's rent, plus a separate pet deposit of up to another month's rent if you have a pet.

Can I get triple my deposit back if the landlord kept it wrongly? Only if a court finds the retention was both wrongful and willful. A wrongful but non-willful retention only entitles you to the amount itself plus costs.

Statutes and sources

• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44(a) — defines a security deposit and the five purposes it may be used for. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0044.htm (accessed 2026-08-13)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44(b) — the one-month deposit cap, the separate pet-deposit cap, and the creditor-priority protection. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0044.htm (accessed 2026-08-13)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44(c) — the 14-day return/notice deadline and automatic forfeiture for missing it. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0044.htm (accessed 2026-08-13)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44(d) — the 20-day-absence deemed-wrongful-quit rule. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0044.htm (accessed 2026-08-13)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44(h) — the small-claims damages tiers (treble/actual/landlord-entitled) and the no-attorney-representation rule. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0044.htm (accessed 2026-08-13)