Hawaii HOA laws

Hawaii HOA and Condo Laws, in Plain English

Hawaii has 2 statutes that govern community associations: Planned Community Associations Act and Condominium Property Act. Here is what each covers, who it applies to, and the rules that come with a sale, with a link to the official text of every one.

A summary for boards and owners, not a substitute for the statute or your attorney. Every act links to its official text, and the association that acts on a rule is responsible for reading it.

The actsWhen a home sellsQuestions

HOA laws

Hawaii

HI
Planned Community Associations Act Condominium Property Act
Resale documentAssociation Documents
Fee capNo fixed dollar cap
Deadline30 days where the statute sets one
Buyer may cancelNo statutory right tied to this document

The Acts, and Who Each One Covers

Community type decides which act applies, and a community created before an act took effect may still be under the older one. The declaration says which.

HRS 421J (Planned Community Associations Act)

HOAs and planned communities

HRS chapter 421J is Hawaii's Planned Community Associations Act, covering homeowner and planned community associations that are not condominiums, including associations that existed before the chapter took effect in 1997 and those formed afterward. It governs the board of directors, membership meetings and voting, association records and document requests, notice of assessment increases, assessment liens, and dispute mediation. The chapter has no dedicated resale disclosure certificate provision, so any fees or turnaround for resale related information are governed by the association's own governing documents and the chapter's general reasonable fee standard for records requests.

  • HRS 421J-7 (Documents of the association)

    This section requires a planned community association, through its board or managing agent, to make governing documents, financial records, and other association records available to members and their authorized agents on request, which in practice supplies the information a seller or buyer needs for a resale. It allows only a reasonable fee for copies and sets response expectations for different categories of records, but it does not carry a specific statutory fee cap or a dedicated resale certificate deadline the way the condominium statute does.

    Official text
Read HRS 421J on the state's site

HRS 514B (Condominium Property Act)

Condominiums

HRS chapter 514B is Hawaii's condominium code, recodified from the former chapter 514A, governing the creation, registration, and sale of condominium projects and the operation of condominium associations statewide. It covers declarations and condominium maps, developer public reports and purchaser protections, association governance including the board, meetings, budgets, and assessments, and association recordkeeping. It also requires the association to furnish resale related disclosures and financial and assessment information to unit owners and their agents, subject to a statutory fee cap and response deadline.

  • HRS 514B-154.5 (Association documents to be provided)

    This section requires a condominium association, through its board, managing agent, or resident manager, to give unit owners and their authorized agents, including a buyer's representative in a resale, access to governing documents, financial records, and the current delinquent assessment status used for resale and payoff disclosures. It sets a statutory deadline for producing the requested documents and a cap on the per page copying fee the association may charge.

    Official text
Read HRS 514B on the state's site

When a Home Sells in Hawaii

Hawaii law has the association furnish association documents to the buyer, under HRS 514B-154.5. The figures below come from the rules Havn applies to every order.

What Hawaii calls the resale document
Association Documents
Fee cap
No fixed dollar cap
Delivery deadline
30 days where the statute sets one
Buyer's right to cancel
No statutory right tied to this document

The full Hawaii resale rules, who pays, and how to order are on the Hawaii association documents page. Every state's cap and deadline sit side by side in the fee and deadline table.

Hawaii HOA Law Questions

Which law governs condominiums in Hawaii?

HRS 514B (Condominium Property Act). HRS chapter 514B is Hawaii's condominium code, recodified from the former chapter 514A, governing the creation, registration, and sale of condominium projects and the operation of condominium associations statewide.

Which law governs HOAs in Hawaii?

HRS 421J (Planned Community Associations Act). HRS chapter 421J is Hawaii's Planned Community Associations Act, covering homeowner and planned community associations that are not condominiums, including associations that existed before the chapter took effect in 1997 and those formed afterward.

Does Hawaii cap the fee for a resale certificate?

No. Hawaii sets no dollar cap on association documents, so the association or its management company sets the fee within the statute.

How long does a Hawaii association have to deliver association documents?

30 days where the statute sets one, counted from the request.

Where can I read the Hawaii statutes?

Each act on this page links to its official text on the state legislature's site. Havn summarizes the law and links to the source rather than restating it.

Nearby States

California HOA laws

Resale fee: no fixed dollar cap · 10 days

Washington HOA laws

Resale fee: $275 · 10 days

Alaska HOA laws

Resale fee: no fixed dollar cap · 10 days

Keep Reading

Guides

Templates

  • HOA Annual Meeting Notice TemplateA free HOA annual meeting notice template: date, place, agenda, the election, quorum, and the proxy or ballot enclosed, written to meet the notice window in your bylaws.
  • HOA Violation Notice TemplateA free HOA violation letter template: the rule cited, what was observed and when, the photo, the cure date, what happens next, and how the owner can respond or request a hearing.
  • HOA Dues Increase and Special Assessment Notice TemplateA free HOA letter template for a dues increase or a special assessment: the new amount and when it starts, why, the payment schedule, how to pay, and where to ask questions.
  • HOA Proxy Form TemplateA free HOA proxy form template: the owner, the home, the proxy holder, the meeting, directed instructions on each item, the expiration, and the signature.

Terms to Know

  • Resale certificateThe disclosure package an HOA or condo association furnishes when a home in the community is sold: what is owed, what is coming, and the documents that govern the home.
  • HOA lienThe association's legal claim on a home for unpaid assessments, created by the declaration and, in most states, by statute.
  • Super lienIn roughly twenty states, a slice of the association's assessment lien that takes priority over the first mortgage, usually a set number of months of assessments.
  • QuorumThe minimum number of owners, or share of the votes, that must be present or represented for a meeting to act.
  • Special assessmentA one-time charge beyond the regular assessment, levied to cover a shortfall or a project the budget and the reserves cannot: a roof, a lawsuit, a storm.

In Havn

  • Self-Managed HOAsEverything a volunteer board needs, for a dollar a home a month.
  • AccountingFund accounting, budgets, bank feeds, payables, and owner statements.
  • CommunicationsMeeting notices, violation letters, and dues notices by email, text, and mail, with delivery logged.

Run a Hawaii community with the rules built in.

HOA management software with a homeowner portal owners actually use. Resale documents are included; the requester pays for each one.

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