Hawaii HOA laws & resources.

Laws & regulations impacting Hawaii associations.

Hawaii runs on two association chapters, and which one governs turns on what your community is — not on when it was created or on anything it elected. Chapter 514B reaches every condominium in the State; chapter 421J reaches planned community associations, and a “planned community” expressly excludes a condominium. Corporate law, fair housing and foreclosure sit around them — together with the federal laws that apply nationwide. HOPB hosts the full text of every one of these Hawaii statutes, each with a plain-language guide.

Hawaii HOA law guideThe Hawaii statutes governing community associations, indexed — and the points where the condominium and planned community chapters diverge.

Five things are worth knowing about how Hawaii’s HOA law works:

• Which chapter governs is not a date question and not an opt-in. The Condominium Property Act “applies to all condominiums created within this State”, and amendments to it “apply to all condominiums, regardless of when the amendment is adopted” (§ 514B-21(a)) — there is no cut-off date and nothing to elect. The Planned Community Associations Act applies “to all planned community associations existing as of June 16, 1997 and all planned community associations created thereafter” (§ 421J-1), and whether your community is inside it turns on § 421J-2, which also excludes a condominium, a cooperative housing corporation and a time share plan in terms. The condominium chapter’s definitions — “common elements”, “common expenses”, “limited common element” and the rest — are in § 514B-3.
• The two chapters run in parallel and then diverge — and reading the familiar one instead of the governing one is how most Hawaii association questions get answered wrongly. Chapter 421J has no statutory lien priority (§ 421J-10.5(a)), no arbitration provision at all, and a conflicted director who must disclose but is not barred from voting (§ 421J-5(e)). All three differ in chapter 514B. Records rights and their deadlines differ too — both are set out under HOA information below.
• Your association is also a corporation — and that chapter is read second, not first. Most Hawaii associations are incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporations Act, but “In the event of any conflict between the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of chapter 421J, 514B, or 514E, the provisions of chapter 421J, 514B, or 514E shall supersede and control the provisions of this chapter.” (§ 414D-311). Where it does apply it supplies what the association chapters do not: the standard of care § 514B-106(a) imports for condominium boards (§ 414D-149(a)), a shield for a director serving without remuneration “unless the person was grossly negligent” (§ 414D-149(f)), and a derivative suit by members holding 5% of the voting power or fifty members, whichever is less (§ 414D-90) — a remedy neither association chapter creates.
• Fair housing protects residents. Discrimination in Real Property Transactions is Hawaii’s fair housing statute, parallel to the federal Fair Housing Act. Section 515-3(a) makes it a discriminatory practice to do any of eleven listed things because of race; sex, including gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; color; religion; marital status; familial status; ancestry; disability; age; or human immunodeficiency virus infection. Definitions are in § 515-2. Both association chapters name the duty in terms — §§ 514B-113 and 421J-16 each close by preserving the association’s obligation to provide reasonable accommodations under § 515-3(a)(9), under which a vest, tag or online-purchased registration “shall not constitute valid verification” and an assistance animal may be untrained and need not be a dog (§ 515-3(b)). The complaint deadlines and the enforcement route are under state agencies below.
• Around the edges. Both association chapters create the assessment lien; chapter 667 enforces it, and a substantial part of that chapter — including Part VI, the Association Alternate Power of Sale — is written specifically for associations. Solar devices, EV charging and clotheslines (§§ 196-7, 196-7.5 and 196-8.5), personal agriculture in a planned community (§ 421J-17), attorneys’ fees under § 607-14, collecting from a tenant, and the three ways an association loses the right to sue are collected on the related-laws page.

HOA contact information and documents.

• The Hawaii Homeowners’ Association Directory — visit HOPB’s HOA Directory and select Hawaii to reach the state’s corporate registry, where you can search under the community’s name or subdivision to find an association’s contact information, list of officers, and corporation documents.
• Association records. What you can demand depends on which chapter governs you, and the deadlines differ.
  • Condominium. Two sections work together. Section 514B-154 puts the most current financial statement in any interested unit owner’s hands at no cost or on twenty-four-hour loan, and approved board minutes for the current and prior year either available for examination on the same terms or transmitted within fifteen days of a request by the means the owner indicated; financial statements, ledgers, insurance policies, contracts, invoices and delinquencies of ninety days or more are open for examination at convenient hours, subject to a good-faith affidavit the board may require and to owners paying administrative costs beyond eight hours a year. Section 514B-154.5 then lists fifteen categories that must be made available to any unit owner and the owner’s authorised agents — the declaration, bylaws, house rules and public reports; chronological records of receipts and expenditures; monthly delinquency statements; management contracts; the membership list on affidavit; the current financial statement; association and board minutes; and the general ledger, receivable and payable ledgers, check ledgers, insurance policies, contracts and invoices. Everything on it except the catch-all fifteenth category is due no later than thirty days after a written request; for that one the board owes a written authorisation or a written refusal with an explanation within thirty calendar days. Any fee may not exceed $1 per page, except for pages larger than 8½″ × 14″. Records must be stored on the island where the project is (§ 514B-152), and board minutes must record each member’s vote on every motion outside executive session (§ 514B-126(a)).
  • Planned community. Section 421J-7 gives association documents, the current financial statement and the most recent board minutes at no cost, on 24-hour loan or during reasonable hours; approved minutes for the current and prior year, which the association must keep for five years; financial records at a place the board designates, with members paying the costs of examination; and election materials for thirty days after a meeting. For anything else, a written request gets a written authorisation or a written refusal with an explanation within sixty calendar days.
  • Incorporated associations. Section 414D-302 adds a corporate right: seven categories of record on five business days’ written notice, and excerpts from the permanent records, accounting records and the membership list where the demand is made in good faith and for a proper purpose, described with reasonable particularity. Copying charges may not exceed the estimated cost of production (§ 414D-303(c)).
• Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances document search↗ — find an association’s declaration, bylaws, condominium map, amendments, lien notices and other recorded documents. “Recorded” means recorded or filed in the bureau of conveyances or in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court, as appropriate (§ 421J-2). Recording matters: a true copy of the bylaws must be recorded in the same manner as the declaration, and no amendment to the bylaws is valid unless the amendment is duly recorded (§ 514B-108(a)).
• Hawaii business entity search↗ — look up an association’s corporate status, officers and annual reports. An association that has been administratively dissolved “continues its corporate existence but may not carry on any activities except those necessary to wind up and liquidate its affairs” (§ 414D-249(c)), and reinstatement within two years “relates back to and takes effect as of the effective date of the administrative dissolution” (§ 414D-250(d)).
• Getting a process server in. Every board of an association governed by chapter 514B or 421J must establish a policy providing reasonable access to persons authorised to serve civil process, where entry is inaccessible to the general public (§ 634-21.5(a)). A condominium board must identify its designees in its biennial registration; a planned community association must keep a printed copy of the policy available at all times at the principal point of entry (§ 634-21.5(d)).