Hawaii Discrimination in Real Property Transactions
The full text of Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 515 — Hawaii’s fair housing statute, covering protected characteristics, reasonable modifications and accommodations, assistance animals, void discriminatory covenants, and enforcement through the civil rights commission.
Chapter 515 is Hawaii’s fair housing statute. It is short — the Code prints twenty numbers and two of them are repealed ranges — and § 515-1 directs that it “be construed according to the fair import of its terms and shall be liberally construed”.
Section 515-3(a) makes it a discriminatory practice for an owner or any other person engaging in a real estate transaction, or a real estate broker or salesperson, 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. A “real estate transaction” is defined in § 515-2 as a sale, exchange, rental or lease of real property, and “real property” expressly includes condominiums and interests in real estate cooperatives.
Where a community association actually sits in this chapter
An association is not usually the party selling or renting a home, so the honest answer about § 515-3(a) is that it reaches an association where the association is engaging in a real estate transaction, and that three provisions reach association conduct more directly than that.
First, the reasonable accommodation duty is expressly recognised in both association statutes. Section 514B-113 closes by saying that nothing in it “shall be construed to diminish the obligation of a condominium association to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities pursuant to section 515-3(a)(9)”, and § 421J-16 says the same for a planned community association. So the accommodation obligation is not something a reader has to argue their way into — the condominium and planned community chapters both name it.
Second, § 515-6 reaches the governing documents themselves. Every provision in an oral agreement or written instrument relating to real property that purports to forbid or restrict conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy or lease to individuals because of a protected characteristic is void (§ 515-6(a)), as is every condition, restriction or prohibition — including a right of entry or possibility of reverter — that directly or indirectly limits use or occupancy on those grounds. Subsection (b) carries one exception: a religion-based limitation on the use of real property held by a religious institution or organisation, or by a religious or charitable organisation it operates, supervises or controls, and used for religious or charitable purposes (§ 515-6(b)). And it is a discriminatory practice not only to insert such a provision but “to honor or attempt to honor such a provision in the chain of title” (§ 515-6(c)). Old covenants that are void on their face are still capable of generating liability if someone acts on them.
Third, § 515-16 is written against “a person”, not against a party to a transaction. It makes it a discriminatory practice to retaliate, threaten or discriminate against someone for exercising a right under the chapter, opposing a discriminatory practice, or making a charge, filing a complaint, testifying, assisting or participating in an investigation, proceeding or hearing; to aid, abet, incite or coerce a discriminatory practice; to interfere with anyone’s exercise of a right under the chapter, or with the commission’s performance of a duty or exercise of a power; to obstruct compliance; to intimidate someone engaged in making others aware of their rights; and — the provision most likely to arise inside a community — to threaten, intimidate or interfere with persons in their enjoyment of a housing accommodation because of a protected characteristic “of the persons, or of visitors or associates of the persons”. An attempt to commit a discriminatory practice, directly or indirectly, is itself a discriminatory practice (§ 515-17).
Disability: modifications, accommodations and assistance animals
Two adjacent paragraphs do different work, and mixing them up is the most common mistake in this area.
Modifications — § 515-3(a)(8). It is a discriminatory practice to refuse to permit, at the expense of the person with a disability, reasonable modifications to existing premises occupied or to be occupied by that person where the modifications may be necessary to afford full enjoyment of the premises. The paragraph then adds a proviso, and the proviso is narrow: a real estate broker or salesperson, where it is reasonable to do so, may condition permission on the person agreeing to restore the interior to its previous condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted. The restoration proviso names brokers and salespeople; it is not written as a general right of anyone who permits a modification.
Accommodations — § 515-3(a)(9). It is a discriminatory practice to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when they may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a housing accommodation. Unlike a modification, an accommodation is a change to how rules operate, and it is not conditioned on the resident paying for it.
Hawaii then legislates the verification question in unusual detail, and the detail runs mostly one way. Where an accommodation involves an assistance animal, reasonable restrictions may be imposed. If the disability is not readily apparent, an owner or other person engaging in a real estate transaction may request information verifying that the person has a disability — which the paragraph defines for that purpose as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity”, narrower than the three-pronged definition in § 515-2. But the same paragraph then forbids three things outright: that person “shall not request medical records or access to health care providers, and shall not inquire as to the diagnosis, nature, or severity of the person’s disability”.
If the disability-related need for the animal is not readily apparent, verification that the animal is needed to alleviate one or more symptoms may be requested, and it “may be provided by a letter or other communication from the person’s treating health care professional, mental health professional, or social worker”. In the other direction, the statute closes off a familiar shortcut: “Possession of a vest or other distinguishing animal garment, tag, or registration documents that are commonly purchased online and purporting to identify an animal as a service animal or assistance animal shall not constitute valid verification” (§ 515-3(a)(9)).
The definition is broad. Section 515-3(b) defines an “assistance animal” as one needed to perform disability-related work, services or tasks for a person with a disability or to provide emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of the disability, and adds that assistance animals “may include but are not limited to service animals, therapy animals, comfort animals, or emotional support animals that may have formal training or may be untrained and may include species other than dogs”. Chapter 515 also defines “disability” itself in § 515-2 — a physical or mental impairment substantially limiting one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having one — excluding current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance, or alcohol or drug abuse that threatens the property or safety of others.
Design and construction — § 515-3(a)(10). For covered multifamily housing accommodations for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, it is a discriminatory practice to fail to design and construct them so that (A) they have at least one accessible entrance, unless it is impractical to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site; and (B) where there is an accessible building entrance, the public use and common use portions are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, doors allow passage by persons in wheelchairs, and all premises contain an accessible route into and through the accommodation, with light switches, outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations, bathroom wall reinforcements allowing grab bars to be installed, and kitchens and bathrooms accessible by wheelchair. The impracticability exception is attached to the accessible-entrance requirement in (A). The requirements in (B) do not carry it.
The other discriminatory practices
Beyond the eleven paragraphs of § 515-3(a), the chapter names several more. Financial practices — § 515-5 makes it a discriminatory practice for a person to whom an inquiry or application is made for financial assistance in connection with a real estate transaction, or for construction, rehabilitation, repair, maintenance or improvement of real property, to discriminate against the applicant, to use application forms or keep records indicating an intent to discriminate unless federal law requires them, to discriminate in making or purchasing loans or providing other financial assistance, or to discriminate in selling, brokering or appraising residential real property.
Blockbusting — § 515-7 makes it a discriminatory practice, for the purpose of inducing a real estate transaction from which the person may benefit financially and because of a protected characteristic, to represent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition of owners or occupants in a block, neighbourhood or area, or that such a change will or may lower property values, increase criminal or antisocial behaviour, or cause a decline in school quality.
Advertising and records — § 515-16(7) makes it a discriminatory practice to print, circulate, post, mail or cause to be published a statement, advertisement or sign, or to use an application form, or to make a record or inquiry in connection with a prospective real estate transaction, indicating directly or indirectly an intent to make a limitation or specification or to discriminate on a protected ground. In a proceeding under the chapter, § 515-20 makes such a document purporting to have been made by a person prima facie evidence that the person authorised it.
Exemptions
Section 515-4(a) takes two small-scale rental situations outside § 515-3 entirely: the rental of a housing accommodation in a building containing accommodations for not more than two families living independently, where the owner or lessor lives in one of them; and the rental of a room, or up to four rooms, in a housing accommodation where the owner or lessor lives in it.
Section 515-4(b) permits refusal on the grounds of sex (including gender identity or expression), sexual orientation or marital status, to rent or lease accommodations owned or operated by a religious institution and used for church purposes as that term is used for real property tax exemptions, or that are part of a religiously affiliated higher education housing programme on property the institution owns or controls or operated for its students under Title IX. Separately, § 515-8 provides that it is not a discriminatory practice for a religious institution or organisation, or a charitable or educational organisation operated, supervised or controlled by one, to give preference to members of the same religion in a real property transaction — unless membership in that religion is restricted on account of race, colour or ancestry.
Section 515-4(c) is the one associations ask about most: “Nothing in this chapter regarding familial status or age shall apply to housing for older persons as defined by title 42 United States Code section 3607(b)(2).” Note what that does and does not do — it lifts the familial status and age grounds for qualifying older-persons housing. The other protected characteristics are untouched, and the federal definition, not this chapter, controls whether a community qualifies.
Enforcement: two routes and two clocks
The civil rights commission has jurisdiction over discrimination made unlawful by this chapter (§ 515-9(a)). It receives, initiates, investigates, conciliates, holds hearings on and decides complaints under the procedure in chapter 368 — but with chapter 515’s own deadlines layered on: investigations must be completed within one hundred days and a final administrative disposition made within one year of receipt of the complaint, unless impracticable (§ 515-9(a)(1)).
The commission can compel answers to interrogatories, the attendance of witnesses, examination under oath and production of documents at any time after a complaint is filed. Before a finding of reasonable cause, notwithstanding chapter 368, it may issue a notice of right to sue on the complainant’s written request, which must be exercised within ninety days of receipt of the notice or one year after the complaint was filed, whichever is later (§ 515-9(a)(2)).
After a finding of reasonable cause, the commission notifies the parties that an election may be made to file a civil action in lieu of an administrative hearing. The election must be made no later than twenty days after the electing party receives the notice, and the right to sue must then be exercised within ninety days of receipt or one year after filing, whichever is later. And — unusually — “The commission will provide legal representation to the complainant in the event of an election by any party” (§ 515-9(a)(3)). After the civil action is filed the parties may stipulate to remand it for an administrative hearing.
Now the two clocks, which are different and are easy to confuse:
- To file a complaint with the commission: 180 days. Section 368-11(c) provides that no complaint shall be filed after the expiration of one hundred eighty days after the date the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred, or of the last occurrence in a pattern of ongoing discriminatory practice.
- To file a civil action: two years. Section 515-9(b) says nothing in chapter 368 or that section precludes an aggrieved person from filing a civil action for practices made unlawful by chapter 515 “no later than two years after the occurrence or the termination of an alleged discriminatory practice” — and, notwithstanding § 368-12, the commission must issue a right to sue on a complaint filed with it if it determines a civil action alleging similar facts has been filed.
Under chapter 368 the executive director investigates and must issue a reasonable-cause determination within one hundred eighty days of filing unless the commission extends the time; a no-cause determination is notified in writing and tells the complainant they may bring a civil action under § 368-12; a reasonable-cause determination triggers conciliation efforts, and if no acceptable conciliation agreement is secured within 180 days of the filing of the complaint, absent a commission extension, the executive director demands that the respondent cease the practice (§ 368-13). Section 368-12 gives the complainant ninety days after receipt of a notice of right to sue to bring the civil action, and lets the commission intervene where the case is of general importance.
Conciliation agreements have a publicity rule of their own. Notwithstanding § 368-4, a conciliation agreement reached after a finding of cause is subject to commission approval and shall be made public, unless the complainant and respondent agree otherwise and the commission determines that disclosure is not needed to further the chapter’s purposes (§ 515-18(a)). Violating the terms of a conciliation agreement is itself a discriminatory practice (§ 515-18(b)).
What can be ordered
If the commission finds a discriminatory practice, it states findings of fact and conclusions of law and orders the respondent to cease and desist and to take affirmative action (§ 515-13(a)). That affirmative action may include the sale, exchange, lease, rental, assignment or sublease of real property to an individual; extension to all individuals of the full and equal enjoyment of the respondent’s advantages, facilities, privileges and services; reporting on compliance; posting notices in conspicuous places and including them in advertising; cancellation, rescission or revocation of a contract, deed, lease or other instrument transferring the property to someone who had actual knowledge or record notice of a reasonable-cause determination before the transfer; payment to an injured party of profits obtained through a blockbusting violation, subject to the principles of equity; and payment of damages and costs including a reasonable attorney’s fee — where, “[u]nless greater damages are proven, damages may be assessed at $500 for each violation” (§ 515-13(b)).
In a civil action under § 515-9(b), the court’s remedies may include those provided under §§ 368-17 and 515-13, “such as compensatory and punitive damages, legal and equitable relief, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs” (§ 515-9(c)). Section 368-17(a) lists what the commission or a court may order under that chapter, including sale, exchange, lease, rental, assignment or sublease of real property to a person; extension to all persons of full and equal enjoyment; compliance reporting; posted notices; payment of damages for injury or loss including a reasonable attorney’s fee; payment of all or part of the costs of maintaining the action including reasonable attorney’s and expert witness fees, where the commission determines that award to be appropriate; and “[o]ther relief the commission or the court deems appropriate”.
Two further consequences sit at the end of the chapter. Thirty days after an order issues, unless an appeal is pending, the commission may publish the name of a person determined to have engaged in a discriminatory practice (§ 515-13(d)). And where the respondent was performing under a state or county contract and the practice was authorised, requested, commanded, performed or knowingly or recklessly tolerated by its board of directors or by an officer or executive agent acting within the scope of employment, the commission certifies that to the contracting agency (§ 515-13(c)) — which may then terminate the contract or a portion of it, absolutely or on condition of a compliance programme, and help the State and counties refrain from further contracts until the commission is satisfied (§ 515-19).
How chapter 515 fits with the rest of Hawaii law
Both association statutes point here by name. Section 514B-113 and § 421J-16 each void a governing-document provision allowing the discriminatory practices listed in § 515-3(a)(1) to (7) against a resident holding a valid medical cannabis certificate — unless the documents ban smoking tobacco and the cannabis is smoked — and each closes by preserving the association’s obligation to provide reasonable accommodations under § 515-3(a)(9).
Chapter 368 supplies the procedure. Chapter 515 gives the civil rights commission jurisdiction and adds its own deadlines, but the machinery — who may file, investigation, the reasonable-cause determination, conciliation, the notice of right to sue and the remedies a court may order — is in chapter 368. The 180-day filing deadline that matters most to a complainant is § 368-11(c), not anything in chapter 515.
Federal fair housing law runs alongside this chapter, not through it. Chapter 515 cites a specific federal provision twice — § 515-4(c) adopts the housing-for-older-persons definition at 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(2), and § 515-4(b)(2) refers to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — and defers to federal law generically once more, in § 515-5(2)’s carve-out for records federal law requires. Beyond those two references this page does not describe federal law, which is administered by HUD rather than by the commission.
This page is the statute, not a summary of it. The full text of chapter 515 as the Code prints it is below, including the two numbers the Code retains as repealed ranges, with each section’s source note. The chapter 368 provisions quoted above are cited but not reproduced here.
Contents · 17 sections ▾
- § 515-1 Construction
- § 515-2 Definitions
- § 515-3 Discriminatory practices
- § 515-4 Exemptions
- § 515-5 Discriminatory financial practices
- § 515-6 Restrictive covenants and conditions
- § 515-7 Blockbusting
- § 515-8 Religious institutions
- § 515-9 Enforcement
- § 515-10 Repealed
- § 515-13 Remedies
- § 515-14 Repealed
- § 515-16 Other discriminatory practices
- § 515-17 Attempts
- § 515-18 Conciliation agreements
- § 515-19 Public contractors
- § 515-20 Prima facie evidence
This chapter shall be construed according to the fair import of its terms and shall be liberally construed.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, pt of §1; HRS §515-1
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Age" means over the age of majority or emancipated minors.
"Commission" means the civil rights commission.
"Disability" means having a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, having a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. The term does not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance or alcohol or drug abuse that threatens the property or safety of others.
"Discriminatory practice" means a practice designated as discriminatory under the terms of this chapter.
"Familial status" means the status of: a parent having legal custody of and domiciled with a minor child or children, a person who is domiciled with a minor child or children and who has written or unwritten permission from the legal parent, a person who is pregnant, or any person who is in the process of securing legal custody of a minor child or children.
"Gender identity or expression" includes a person's actual or perceived gender, as well as a person's gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression, regardless of whether that gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth.
"Housing accommodation" includes any improved or unimproved real property, or part thereof, which is used or occupied, or is intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home or residence of one or more individuals.
"National origin" includes the national origin of an ancestor.
"Person" refers to the definition of section 1-19 and includes a legal representative, partnership, receiver, trust, trustee, trustee in bankruptcy, the State, or any governmental entity or agency.
"Real estate broker or salesperson" means a person, whether licensed or not, who, for or with the expectation of receiving a consideration, lists, sells, purchases, exchanges, rents, or leases real property, or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate any of these activities, or who purports to be engaged in these activities, or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by a mortgage or other encumbrance upon real property, or who is engaged in the business of listing real property in a publication; or a person employed by or acting on behalf of any of these.
"Real estate transaction" includes the sale, exchange, rental, or lease of real property.
"Real property" includes buildings, structures, real estate, lands, tenements, leaseholds, interests in real estate cooperatives, condominiums, and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, or any interest therein.
"Sexual orientation" means having a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality, having a history of any one or more of these preferences, or being identified with any one or more of these preferences. "Sexual orientation" shall not be construed to protect conduct otherwise proscribed by law.
"Steering" includes the practice of directing persons who seek to enter into a real estate transaction toward or away from real property in order to deprive them of the benefits of living in a discrimination-free environment.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §2; HRS §515-2; am L 1976, c 159, §3; am L 1982, c 204, §8; am L 1983, c 124, §17; am L 1984, c 105, §1; am L 1989, c 386, §§4, 21; am L 1990, c 275, §2; am L 1992, c 33, §5 and c 171, §2; am L 2005, c 214, §2
(a) It is a discriminatory practice for an owner or any other person engaging in a real estate transaction, or for a real estate broker or salesperson, 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:
(1) To refuse to engage in a real estate transaction with a person;
(2) To discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection with a real estate transaction;
(3) To refuse to receive or to fail to transmit a bona fide offer to engage in a real estate transaction from a person;
(4) To refuse to negotiate for a real estate transaction with a person;
(5) To represent to a person that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is available; fail to bring a property listing to the person's attention; refuse to permit the person to inspect real property; or steer a person seeking to engage in a real estate transaction;
(6) To offer, solicit, accept, use, or retain a listing of real property with the understanding that a person may be discriminated against in a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection with a real estate transaction;
(7) To solicit or require as a condition of engaging in a real estate transaction that the buyer, renter, or lessee be tested for human immunodeficiency virus infection, the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome;
(8) To refuse to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability, reasonable modifications to existing premises occupied or to be occupied by the person if modifications may be necessary to afford the person full enjoyment of the premises; provided that a real estate broker or salesperson, where it is reasonable to do so, may condition permission for a modification on the person agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted;
(9) To refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when the accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a housing accommodation; provided that if reasonable accommodations include the use of an assistance animal, reasonable restrictions may be imposed; provided further that if the disability is not readily apparent, an owner or other person engaging in a real estate transaction may request information that verifies that the person has a disability, defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. An owner or other person engaging in a real estate transaction shall not request medical records or access to health care providers, and shall not inquire as to the diagnosis, nature, or severity of the person's disability. If the disability-related need for an assistance animal is not readily apparent, an owner or other person engaging in a real estate transaction may request verification that the assistance animal is needed to alleviate one or more symptoms of the person's disability. Verification may be provided by a letter or other communication from the person's treating health care professional, mental health professional, or social worker. Possession of a vest or other distinguishing animal garment, tag, or registration documents that are commonly purchased online and purporting to identify an animal as a service animal or assistance animal shall not constitute valid verification;
(10) In connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily housing accommodations for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, to fail to design and construct housing accommodations in such a manner that:
(A) The housing accommodations have at least one accessible entrance, unless it is impractical to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site; and
(B) With respect to housing accommodations with an accessible building entrance:
(i) The public use and common use portions of the housing accommodations are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities;
(ii) Doors allow passage by persons in wheelchairs; and
(iii) All premises within covered multifamily housing accommodations contain an accessible route into and through the housing accommodations; light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls are in accessible locations; reinforcements in the bathroom walls allow installation of grab bars; and kitchens and bathrooms are accessible by wheelchair; or
(11) To discriminate against or deny a person access to or membership or participation in any multiple listing service, real estate broker's organization, or other service, organization, or facility involved either directly or indirectly in real estate transactions, or to discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of access, membership, or participation.
(b) For purposes of this section, "assistance animal" means an animal that is needed to perform disability-related work, services, or tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability or provide emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person's disability. "Assistance animals" may include but are not limited to service animals, therapy animals, comfort animals, or emotional support animals that may have formal training or may be untrained and may include species other than dogs.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §3; HRS §515-3; am L 1971, c 124, §1; am L 1975, c 109, §5; am L 1976, c 159, §4; am L 1984, c 105, §2; gen ch 1985; am L 1987, c 365, §1 and c 370, §1; am L 1989, c 391, §2; am L 1990, c 67, §8 and c 275, §3; am L 1991, c 178, §2; am L 1992, c 33, §4 and c 171, §3; am L 1993, c 140, §2; am L 1997, c 311, §1; am L 2005, c 214, §3; am L 2011, c 31, §2 and c 175, §8; am L 2022, c 154, §2
(a) Section 515-3 does not apply:
(1) To the rental of a housing accommodation in a building which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families living independently of each other if the owner or lessor resides in one of the housing accommodations; or
(2) To the rental of a room or up to four rooms in a housing accommodation by an owner or lessor if the owner or lessor resides in the housing accommodation.
(b) Nothing in section 515-3 shall be deemed to prohibit refusal because of sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or marital status, to rent or lease housing accommodations:
(1) Owned or operated by a religious institution and used for church purposes as that term is used in applying exemptions for real property taxes; or
(2) That are part of a religiously affiliated institution of higher education housing program that is operated on property that the institution owns or controls or that is operated for its students pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, P.L. 92-318.
(c) Nothing in this chapter regarding familial status or age shall apply to housing for older persons as defined by title 42 United States Code section 3607(b)(2).
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §4; HRS §515-4; gen ch 1985; am L 1990, c 275, §4; am L 1992, c 171, §4; am L 1993, c 140, §1; am L 2005, c 214, §4; am L 2011, c 31, §3; am L 2019, c 111, §36
It is a discriminatory practice for a person, a representative of such person, or a real estate broker or salesperson, to whom an inquiry or application is made for financial assistance in connection with a real estate transaction or for the construction, rehabilitation, repair, maintenance, or improvement of real property, 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:
(1) To discriminate against the applicant;
(2) To use a form of application for financial assistance or to make or keep a record or inquiry in connection with applications for financial assistance that indicates, directly or indirectly, an intent to make a limitation, specification, or discrimination unless the records are required by federal law;
(3) To discriminate in the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling, or the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance secured by residential real estate; or
(4) To discriminate in the selling, brokering, or appraising of residential real property.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §5; HRS §515-5; am L 1971, c 124, §2; am L 1976, c 159, §5; am L 1989, c 391, §3; am L 1990, c 275, §5; am L 1992, c 33, §5 and c 171, §5; am L 2005, c 214, §5
(a) Every provision in an oral agreement or a written instrument relating to real property that purports to forbid or restrict the conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease thereof to individuals 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, is void.
(b) Every condition, restriction, or prohibition, including a right of entry or possibility of reverter, that directly or indirectly limits the use or occupancy of real property on the basis of race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, or human immunodeficiency virus infection is void, except a limitation, on the basis of religion, on the use of real property held by a religious institution or organization or by a religious or charitable organization operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious institution or organization, and used for religious or charitable purposes.
(c) It is a discriminatory practice to insert in a written instrument relating to real property a provision that is void under this section or to honor or attempt to honor such a provision in the chain of title.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §6; HRS §515-6; am L 1971, c 124, §3; am L 1976, c 159, §6; am L 1989, c 391, §4; am L 1990, c 275, §6; am L 1992, c 33, §5 and c 171, §6; am L 2005, c 214, §6
It is a discriminatory practice for a person, representative of a person, or a real estate broker or salesperson, for the purpose of inducing a real estate transaction from which the person, representative, or real estate broker or salesperson may benefit financially, 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:
(1) To represent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition of the owners or occupants in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located; or
(2) To represent that this change will or may result in the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or antisocial behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §7; HRS §515-7; am L 1971, c 124, §4; am L 1976, c 159, §7; gen ch 1985; am L 1990, c 275, §7; am L 1992, c 33, §5 and c 171, §7; am L 2005, c 214, §7
It is not a discriminatory practice for a religious institution or organization or a charitable or educational organization operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious institution or organization to give preference to members of the same religion in a real property transaction, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color, or ancestry.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §8; HRS §515-8; am L 1971, c 124, §5; am L 1992, c 171, §8
(a) The civil rights commission has jurisdiction over the subject of real property transaction practices and discrimination made unlawful by this chapter. The commission has the following powers:
(1) To receive, initiate, investigate, seek to conciliate, hold hearings on, and pass upon complaints alleging violations of this chapter in accordance with the procedure established in chapter 368, except that investigations shall be completed within one hundred days and a final administrative disposition shall be made within one year of the date of the receipt of the complaint, unless impracticable to do so;
(2) At any time after a complaint is filed, to require answers to interrogatories, compel the attendance of witnesses, examine witnesses under oath or affirmation, and require the production of documents relevant to the complaint. Before a finding of reasonable cause, chapter 368 to the contrary notwithstanding, the commission may issue a notice of right to sue upon written request of the complainant which must be exercised within ninety days of receipt of the notice or one year after the filing of the complaint, whichever is later. The commission may make rules authorizing any individual designated to exercise these powers in the performance of official duties;
(3) Chapter 368 to the contrary notwithstanding, after a finding of reasonable cause, to notify the complainant, respondent, or an aggrieved person on whose behalf the complaint was filed, that an election may be made to file a civil action in lieu of an administrative hearing. The election must be made not later than twenty days after receipt by the electing party of the notice. The electing party shall be provided with a notice of right to sue which must be exercised within ninety days of receipt of that notice or one year after the filing of the complaint, whichever is later. The commission will provide legal representation to the complainant in the event of an election by any party. After the filing of a civil action, the parties may stipulate to have the matter remanded for an administrative hearing;
(4) To furnish technical assistance requested by persons subject to this chapter to further compliance with the chapter or an order issued thereunder;
(5) To make studies appropriate to effectuate the purposes and policies of this chapter and to make the results thereof available to the public;
(6) To render at least annually a comprehensive written report to the governor and to the legislature. The report may contain recommendations of the commission for legislative or other action to effectuate the purposes and policies of this chapter; and
(7) In accordance with chapter 91, to adopt rules to effectuate the purposes and policies of this chapter, including rules requiring the inclusion in advertising material of notices prepared or approved by the commission.
(b) Nothing in chapter 368 or this section shall be deemed to preclude an aggrieved person from filing a civil action for discriminatory practices made unlawful by this chapter no later than two years after the occurrence or the termination of an alleged discriminatory practice; provided that, notwithstanding section 368-12, the commission shall issue a right to sue on a complaint filed with the commission if it determines that a civil action alleging similar facts has been filed.
(c) In a civil action filed under subsection (b), the remedies ordered by the court may include remedies as provided under sections 368-17 and 515-13 such as compensatory and punitive damages, legal and equitable relief, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §9; HRS §515-9; am L 1982, c 204, §8; am L 1983, c 124, §17; am L 1989, c 386, §13; am L 1992, c 171, §9; am L 2012, c 85, §1
Repealed. Retained here because the Code still prints the number.
Source.—L 1989, c 386, §§22 to 24
(a) If the commission determines that the respondent has engaged in a discriminatory practice, the commission shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall issue an order requiring the respondent to cease and desist from the discriminatory practice and to take such affirmative actions as in the judgment of the commission will carry out the purposes of this chapter. A copy of the order shall be delivered to the respondent, the complainant, the attorney general, and to such other public officers and persons as the commission deems proper.
(b) Affirmative action ordered under this section may include, but is not limited to:
(1) Sale, exchange, lease, rental, assignment, or sublease of real property to an individual;
(2) Extension to all individuals of the full and equal enjoyment of the advantages, facilities, privileges, and services of the respondent;
(3) Reporting as to the manner of compliance;
(4) Posting notices in conspicuous places in the respondent's place of business in form prescribed by the commission and inclusion of such notices in advertising material;
(5) Cancellation, rescission, or revocation of a contract, deed, lease, or other instrument transferring real property, which is the subject of a complaint of a discriminatory practice, to a person who had actual knowledge or record notice, prior to the transfer or the execution of the legally binding obligation to make the transfer, that a determination of reasonable cause had been made with respect to the discriminatory practice;
(6) Payment to an injured party of profits obtained by the respondent through a violation of section 515-7, subject to the principles of equity;
(7) Payment to the complainant of damages for an injury caused by the discriminatory practice and costs, including a reasonable attorney's fee. Unless greater damages are proven, damages may be assessed at $500 for each violation.
(c) In the case of a respondent who is found by the commission to have engaged in a discriminatory practice in the course of performing under a contract or subcontract with the State or a county, or agency thereof, if the discriminatory practice was authorized, requested, commanded, performed, or knowingly or recklessly tolerated by the board of directors of the respondent or by an officer or executive agent acting within the scope of the officer's or agent's employment, the commission shall so certify to the contracting agency. Unless the commission's finding of a discriminatory practice is reversed in the course of judicial review, the finding of discrimination is binding on the contracting agency.
(d) Thirty days after an order is issued under this section, unless an appeal by the respondent is pending, the commission may publish or cause to be published the name of a person who has been determined to be engaged in a discriminatory practice.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §13; HRS §515-13; am L 1972, c 107, §3(b); am L 1982, c 204, §8; gen ch 1985; am L 1989, c 386, §14
Repealed. Retained here because the Code still prints the number.
Source.—L 1989, c 386, §§25, 26
It is a discriminatory practice for a person, or for two or more persons to conspire:
(1) To retaliate, threaten, or discriminate against a person because of the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or protected by this chapter, or because the person has opposed a discriminatory practice, or because the person has made a charge, filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this chapter;
(2) To aid, abet, incite, or coerce a person to engage in a discriminatory practice;
(3) To interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or protected by this chapter or with the performance of a duty or the exercise of a power by the commission;
(4) To obstruct or prevent a person from complying with this chapter or an order issued pursuant to this chapter;
(5) To intimidate or threaten any person engaging in activities designed to make other persons aware of, or encouraging such other persons to exercise rights granted or protected by this chapter;
(6) To threaten, intimidate or interfere with persons in their enjoyment of a housing accommodation because of the race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, or human immunodeficiency virus infection of the persons, or of visitors or associates of the persons; or
(7) To print, circulate, post, or mail, or cause to be published a statement, advertisement, or sign, or to use a form of application for a real estate transaction, or to make a record or inquiry in connection with a prospective real estate transaction, that indicates, directly or indirectly, an intent to make a limitation or specification, or to discriminate 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.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §16; HRS §515-16; am L 1982, c 204, §8; gen ch 1985; am L 1989, c 386, §15; am L 1992, c 171, §10; am L 1993, c 140, §3; am L 2011, c 31, §4
An attempt to commit, directly or indirectly, a discriminatory practice is a discriminatory practice.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §17; HRS §515-17
(a) Section 368-4 to the contrary notwithstanding, any conciliation agreement which results after a finding of cause shall be subject to the approval of the commission and shall be made public unless the complainant and respondent otherwise agree and the commission determines that disclosure is not required to further the purposes of this chapter.
(b) It is a discriminatory practice for a party to a conciliation agreement made under this chapter to violate the terms of the agreement.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §18; HRS §515-18; am L 1992, c 171, §11
Upon receiving a certification made under section 515-13(c), a contracting agency may take appropriate action to:
(1) Terminate a contract or portion thereof previously entered into with the respondent, either absolutely or on condition that the respondent carry out a program of compliance with this chapter; and
(2) Assist the State and all counties, and agencies thereof, to refrain from entering into further contracts, or extensions or other modifications of existing contracts, with the respondent until the commission is satisfied that the respondent will carry out policies in compliance with this chapter.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §19; HRS §515-19; am L 1982, c 204, §8; am L 1989, c 386, §16
In a proceeding under this chapter, a written, printed, or visual communication, advertisement, or other form of publication, or written inquiry, or record, or other document purporting to have been made by a person is prima facie evidence that it was authorized by the person.
Source.—L 1967, c 193, §20; HRS §515-20; gen ch 1985
General information, not legal advice. Statutory text is reproduced from the Hawaii Revised Statutes as published by the Hawaii State Legislature, current through the 2025 Regular Session and may not reflect the most recent amendments.