Hawaii Planned Community Associations Act
The full text of Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 421J — the statute governing subdivisions and homeowners’ associations that are not condominiums, covering board removal, proxies, records, assessment liens and mediation.
Chapter 421J is Hawaii’s statute for planned community associations — the subdivisions, master-planned communities and homeowners’ associations that are not condominiums. Its reach is set by date rather than by opt-in: § 421J-1 applies the chapter “to all planned community associations existing as of June 16, 1997 and all planned community associations created thereafter”. And § 421J-1.5 tells a court how to read it: the chapter and any association document subject to it “shall be liberally construed to facilitate the operation of the planned community association”.
Whether your community is inside the chapter turns on the definitions in § 421J-2, and they are broader than the name suggests. An “association” is a nonprofit, incorporated or unincorporated organisation that either has responsibilities imposed and authority granted by a declaration governing a planned community, or is a planned community association as defined under § 607-14, or is a homeowners’ association whose voting membership is made up of ten or more parcel owners or their proxies and in which assessments may be imposed that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the parcel. A “planned community” is either real property other than a condominium, cooperative housing corporation or time share plan that is subject to a planned community association as § 607-14 defines one, or a common interest community — again excluding those three — where a recorded declaration binds owners, an association owns or maintains property or provides services, at least some units are or will be improved by residential dwellings, membership is automatic and non-severable, and owners other than the master developer are obliged to pay mandatory assessments.
The second of those routes is worth following, because it is the simplest. Section 607-14 — Hawaii’s attorneys’ fees statute — supplies its own definition for its own purposes: “‘Planned community association’ for the purposes of this section means a nonprofit homeowners or community association existing pursuant to covenants running with the land.” A community that fits that description is an “association” under § 421J-2 without having to work through the longer common-interest-community test.
Chapter 421J does not displace other law. Section 421J-11 says nothing in it exempts an association or person from compliance with any applicable law, or subjects them to any other applicable law — but where another law and this chapter conflict, this chapter governs.
The board: who serves, and how they are removed
Every board member must be a member of the association, though a developer may appoint or elect directors under special voting rights or a power of appointment reserved to the master developer (§ 421J-3(a)). There may not be more than one representative on the board from any one unit owned by anyone other than the master developer or declarant (§ 421J-3(b)). That is the whole of the qualification test in this chapter — unlike the condominium statute, chapter 421J contains no bar on a tenant, resident manager or employee serving.
Removal is where chapter 421J is unusually detailed, thanks to a 2022 amendment. Under § 421J-3.3(a) the members may remove a director elected by the members with or without cause unless the association documents provide otherwise, and if no replacement is elected at the same meeting the board may fill the vacancy only until the next annual or duly noticed special meeting — “notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the association documents”. A director elected by a class, chapter, unit or geographic grouping may be removed only by that grouping (§ 421J-3.3(b)), and a director may be removed under (a) or (b) only if the votes cast to remove would have been enough to elect them (§ 421J-3.3(c)). Where cumulative voting is authorised at the meeting the protection runs the other way — the director may not be removed if votes sufficient to elect them cumulatively are cast against removal (§ 421J-3.3(d)). Both tests are expressly subject to the attendance-based removal in (i).
The route to a removal vote is either a board recommendation or a members’ petition. The petition must be signed by members representing at least one hundred units, or members owning at least 25% of the total units in the planned community — whichever is less; carry each signer’s printed name, unit, address and signature date; be delivered within seven days after the board posts a notice of intent to distribute proxies including a director election, or a notice of intent to distribute meeting notice; and be submitted within 120 days of the earliest signature (§ 421J-3.3(e)). Once the board recommends removal or a timely petition arrives, the proposed removal must go in the notice of the meeting (§ 421J-3.3(f)). An entire board may be removed the same way (§ 421J-3.3(h)). Separately, if the association documents said so at the start of a director’s term, the board itself may remove a director for missing a specified number of meetings, by a majority of the directors then in office (§ 421J-3.3(i)).
Cumulative voting is available only if the association documents provide for it; § 421J-3.2(b) says that otherwise it “shall not be permitted”. Where it is allowed, a member multiplies their votes by the number of positions and may give the product to one candidate or spread it (§ 421J-3.2(a)).
Meetings and notice
Notice of a regular, annual or special association meeting goes out not less than fourteen days in advance, either as the bylaws provide or by two or more of: hand delivery; U.S. mail to the unit or a designated address; electronic mail to a designated address; or posting the notice in its entirety on a part of the association’s website accessible to all members (§ 421J-3.5(a)). The notice must state the date, time and place, and the agenda items — including the general nature of and rationale for any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, any proposal for a special assessment unless the governing documents already provide the authority, and any proposal to remove a board member (§ 421J-3.5(b)). None of that precludes a member from proposing an amendment (§ 421J-3.5(c)). Meetings may be held remotely notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the association documents, in a manner consistent with § 414D-101(g) or § 414D-102(f) (§ 421J-3.5(e)).
One further duty in the same section is easy to miss. If the board does not intend to use association funds to distribute proxies including a director election — and so does not post the § 421J-4(e) notice — it must still post notice of its intent to distribute written meeting notice, in prominent locations, at least twenty-one days before doing so (§ 421J-3.5(f)).
One point catches people out: § 421J-3.5(d) says its notice requirements do not apply to board or committee meetings. The chapter’s board-meeting rules live in § 421J-5 instead, and they do not set a posted-notice period.
Board meetings other than executive sessions “shall be open to all members to provide input on the matters being discussed”, and members who are not directors may participate in any deliberation or discussion — unless a majority of a quorum of the board votes otherwise (§ 421J-5(a)). The board must meet at least once a year (§ 421J-5(b)). It may reconvene in executive session, with the approval of a majority of a quorum, on three subjects only: personnel; litigation in which the association is or may become involved; and matters necessary to protect the association’s attorney-client privilege — and the general nature of that business must first be announced in the regular session (§ 421J-5(c)). No director may vote by proxy (§ 421J-5(d)).
On conflicts of interest, read § 421J-5(e) carefully. A director with a conflict on an issue before the board must disclose the nature of the conflict before the vote, and the minutes must record that a disclosure was made — but the subsection stops there. It does not say the conflicted director may not vote. The condominium chapter does say that; this one does not.
Committees may be appointed, altered or eliminated by the board, provided the minutes of the meeting where the action was taken report the appointment, identify the members, and describe the matter the committee is to consider (§ 421J-5(f)). Minutes of board meetings must include the recorded vote of each board member present on all motions except those voted on in executive session (§ 421J-5(g)). All association and board meetings are conducted under the most current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (§ 421J-6). The first annual meeting must happen as the association documents provide, but no later than one year after the closing of the first conveyance of a unit to someone other than a developer (§ 421J-14).
Proxies
A proxy must be in writing and is valid only for a specified meeting and its adjournments (§ 421J-4(a)). It may be given to any person or to the board as an entity, may be limited as the member indicates, and is irrevocable only if coupled with a financial interest in the unit or held under a first mortgage of record or an agreement of sale (§ 421J-4(b)). To be valid it must reach the secretary or managing agent by 4:30 p.m. on the second business day before the meeting and carry the association name, meeting date, printed name and signature of the person giving it, the units it covers, and the date given (§ 421J-4(c)).
A standard proxy form authorised by the association must offer the same four boxes the condominium statute requires — quorum only, a named individual, the board as a whole voting the majority preference of directors present, or those directors present sharing equally — and a form returned with no box or more than one box checked counts for quorum only (§ 421J-4(d)).
Section 421J-4(e) is the provision that keeps board elections contestable. A board intending to use association funds to distribute proxies that include the election of directors must first post notice of that intent in prominent locations at least 21 days before distributing them. If any owner then requests nomination within seven days, with a statement, the board must mail all owners either a proxy form carrying the names of every owner who requested nomination together with their statements, or a form with no names accompanied by that list and those statements. The statement is black text on white paper and must indicate the owner’s qualifications to serve on the board or reasons for wanting to receive proxies. If the board’s notice says statements are limited to 100 words with a longer version online, an owner may supply both a 100-word statement and a longer electronic file of up to 100 kilobytes, and the association’s mailing must include a link telling owners the longer statements are available. Otherwise the statement runs to one single-sided 8½″ × 11″ page and no online version is required.
Managing agents and resident managers, and their employees, may not solicit proxies for their own use from members of the association that retains them, and may not cast a proxy vote at an association meeting except to establish a quorum (§ 421J-4(h)).
Documents members can see
Section 421J-7 works in four tiers. At no cost: the association documents, the most current financial statement, and the minutes of the most recent board meeting other than executive sessions, on 24-hour loan or during reasonable hours (§ 421J-7(a)). Approved board minutes for the current and prior year: available at no cost or on 24-hour loan, or transmitted to a requesting member “within a reasonable period of time” by the means the member asked for, with the member bearing reasonable duplication and administrative costs — and the association must keep them for at least five years (§ 421J-7(b)).
Financial records — financial statements, general ledgers, receivable and payable ledgers, check ledgers, insurance policies, contracts, invoices, and documents about delinquencies of ninety days or more — are examinable at reasonable hours at a location the board designates, with members paying all costs associated with the examination, and the board may require a good-faith affidavit — and copies must be provided on request against a reasonable fee for duplication, postage, stationery and administrative costs (§ 421J-7(c)). Election materials — proxies, tally sheets, ballots, check-in lists and certificates of election — may be viewed for thirty days after a meeting, and proxies and ballots may be destroyed after that window; copies of tally sheets, check-in lists and certificates of election from the most recent meeting must be provided on request against a reasonable fee (§ 421J-7(d)). Chapter 421J sets no per-page cap on those fees, where § 514B-154(j) caps condominium copies at $1 a page.
For anything else, a member files a written request and the board has sixty calendar days to give written authorisation or a written refusal with an explanation, and may condition approval on reasonable fees. Seven categories may be withheld: personnel records; an individual’s medical records; records about business transactions currently in negotiation; privileged communications; complaints against an individual member; records whose release would violate a law, ordinance, rule or regulation; and similar records (§ 421J-7(e)).
The association must use good faith efforts to keep an accurate, current list of members’ names and addresses; if the list is not given to members directly, the association must develop a reasonable procedure by which owners can solicit votes or proxies or send information to other owners about association matters (§ 421J-8). The board may also restate the association documents by resolution, either to fold in amendments (§ 421J-7.5(a)) or to conform them to law — and it is a conforming restatement under (b) that takes effect “as if adopted by a vote or written consent of the members”, on conditions that it identify each restated portion, state that the restatement is for information and convenience, name the law implemented, and say the restated documents are subordinate to it. A restatement must be recorded if the original was, and on any conflict the restated documents are subordinate to the originals and their amendments (§ 421J-7.5(d)).
Assessments, liens and the priority question
Start with the notice rule, because it is short and often overlooked: the board must notify members in writing at least thirty days before any increase in regular assessments (§ 421J-9).
Now the difference that matters most on this page. Unpaid assessments are a lien on the unit — but chapter 421J does not give that lien a statutory priority. Section 421J-10.5(a) provides that the priority “shall, except as otherwise provided by law, be as provided in the association documents or, if no priority is provided in the association documents, by the recordation date of the liens”, and it adds that an amendment to the association documents governing lien priority may not give an association lien priority over a mortgage lien recorded before the amendment was recorded. If you have read that the association’s lien comes ahead of everything but taxes and prior mortgages, that is the condominium rule in § 514B-146(a) — it is not this chapter.
The mechanics that follow are familiar. A recorded lien expires six years from recordation unless enforcement proceedings begin first, and proceedings must be instituted within six years of the assessment becoming due, tolled during a bankruptcy stay plus thirty days — but note the proviso: “the expiration of a recorded lien shall in no way affect the association’s automatic lien that arises pursuant to this subsection or the association documents”. Only the recorded lien lapses. The lien may be foreclosed by action or by the nonjudicial or power-of-sale procedures in chapter 667 — except that no association may use the nonjudicial or power-of-sale remedies to foreclose a lien arising solely from fines, penalties, legal fees or late fees; that foreclosure must be filed in court under part IA of chapter 667 (§ 421J-10.5(a)).
Chapter 667 then attaches a cure right to an association’s court foreclosure. Section 667-19 applies where the foreclosure by action is initiated under § 421J-10.5, and gives the owner contact information for approved housing and credit counselors at the outset, sixty days after service of the complaint to cure the default in full, and thirty days after service to submit a payment plan. The association “shall not reject a reasonable payment plan” — one providing for timely payment of assessments coming due plus monthly payments sufficient to cure within a reasonable period, with up to twelve months “deemed reasonable” — and the foreclosure is stayed from the date the owner gives written notice of intent to cure or timely submits a plan — not automatically on service — for the sixty-day cure period or the term of the plan (§ 667-19(2) to (5)). Failure to perform the plan strictly lets the association proceed without further delay.
On a voluntary sale, the grantee is jointly and severally liable with the grantor for unpaid assessments up to the time of conveyance, but either may demand a statement from the board of the amount owed, and the grantee is not liable beyond the figure in that statement except for subsequently dishonoured cheques received in the preceding thirty days (§ 421J-10.5(a)).
After a mortgage foreclosure the baseline is that the buyer does not inherit the arrears. Except as subsection (g) or the association documents provide, a mortgagee or other purchaser taking title through foreclosure of the mortgage is not liable for assessments that became due before it acquired title; those become collectible from all owners, and the acquirer starts paying on the earliest of four dates — 36 days after the order confirming sale is filed, 60 days after the court grants the motion to confirm, 30 days after a nonjudicial public sale, or on recordation of the conveyance (§ 421J-10.5(b)).
Owners may not withhold. “Except as provided in section 667-92(c), no unit owner shall withhold any assessment claimed by the association” (§ 421J-10.5(c)). An owner who disputes the amount may demand a written statement, and the statement itself must spell out six things — the regular and special assessments with due dates; penalties, late fees, lien filing fees and other charges; attorneys’ fees and costs; that under Hawaii law an owner has no right to withhold; that the owner has a right to demand mediation about the amount or validity provided the assessment is paid in full and kept current; and that paying in full does not prevent contesting the assessment or getting a refund. Nothing in the section limits an owner’s protection under federal and state fair debt collection law.
The pay-then-dispute route is § 421J-10.5(d): an owner who pays the full amount claimed may sue in court, including small claims court, or require the association to mediate under § 421J-13, with a refund of anything not owed.
Two enforcement powers round it out. After sixty days’ written notice, an association may cut off a delinquent owner-occupied unit’s access to the common areas and stop supplying services the association normally supplies or pays for, restored on payment in full (§ 421J-10.5(e)) — but only after the board adopts a written policy approved by a majority vote of unit owners, or by written consent of a voting interest equal to a quorum, unless the association documents already permit it (§ 421J-10.5(f)). And where a delinquent unit is bought at foreclosure, the board may specially assess up to six months of unpaid regular periodic assessments — though a purchaser who held a mortgage not subordinate to the association’s lien and acquired the unit through its own foreclosure is not liable for that special assessment, while a person who later buys from that mortgagee is (§ 421J-10.5(g), (h)).
Section 421J-10.6 lets the board collect from a tenant. If an owner who rents out the unit is thirty days or more in default on regular assessments, the board may demand and receive from the tenant or rental agent, each rental period, an amount sufficient to pay what the owner owes — capped at the rent then due. The tenant’s payment discharges that much of the rent obligation, is a complete defence to that extent in an action by the owner for non-payment of rent (§ 421J-10.6(d)), and “any contractual provision to the contrary shall be void as a matter of law”. The board must first send the owner written notice by both first-class and certified mail stating the exact amount claimed and the board’s intent to collect it from rent, and the owner may not retaliate against the tenant. The demand is unavailable where a commissioner or receiver has been appointed, a mortgagee is in possession pending foreclosure, or the tenant is under a court order to pay a third party. Where this section conflicts with chapter 521, this section wins — but if the tenant is entitled to a rent offset under chapter 521, the tenant may deduct it from what is owed to the association, up to the limits chapter 521 states (§ 421J-10.6(f)). And, as with the cut-off power, the board must have an owner-approved written policy first (§ 421J-10.6(g)).
Amending the documents, fees, and disputes
Where an association document says it may be amended by a vote at a meeting, § 421J-12(a) permits the same result by written consent of the same percentage without a meeting. Where neither the documents nor any applicable law provides a procedure, § 421J-12(b) supplies default thresholds: three-fourths of the votes members may cast for a declaration, and two-thirds for other association documents — excluding articles of incorporation and anything the board may adopt or amend itself. A requirement that an owner “sign” an amendment is satisfied by a written consent signed by the owner (§ 421J-12(c)).
Fee-shifting under § 421J-10 turns on who prevails. Costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees the association incurs in collecting delinquent assessments, foreclosing a lien, or enforcing the association documents or the chapter are payable on demand by the person concerned — but if the association is not the prevailing party, it pays that person’s costs and fees instead, and in a foreclosure the reasonableness of the fees is for the court to determine (§ 421J-10(a)). A member who prevails against the association, its officers, directors or board is awarded reasonable and necessary expenses, costs and fees, subject to a demand-first rule in derivative actions (§ 421J-10(b)). A member who does not prevail pays the association’s fees — unless the action was filed in small claims court, or — before filing in a higher court — the owner first submitted the claim to mediation under § 421J-13 and made a good faith effort to resolve it. That exception is the practical reason to mediate first. The board may also authorise the use of a collection agency (§ 421J-10(c)).
One general limit on attorneys’ fees does not bite here. Section 607-14 caps the fees taxable in actions in the nature of assumpsit and on written contracts providing for a fee at twenty-five per cent of the judgment. Its closing paragraph then carves out associations: “Nothing in this section shall limit the recovery of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs by a planned community association and its members in actions for the collection of delinquent assessments, the foreclosure of any lien, or the enforcement of any provision of the association’s governing documents”, or affect a prevailing party’s right to recover more than 25% under a statute specifically allowing all reasonable fees. Note that the carve-out runs both ways — it names the association and its members.
Mediation under § 421J-13 is the chapter’s dispute mechanism, and at the request of any party a dispute between members and the association, its board, managing agent or manager, or between members, about the interpretation, application or enforcement of the chapter or the association documents, “shall first be submitted to mediation”. Four kinds of dispute are outside that: actions seeking equitable relief involving threatened property damage or health and safety; actions to collect assessments; personal injury claims; and actions against the association, board or its people for more than $2,500 where pursuing mediation would make insurance coverage unavailable. If a mediation is not completed within two months of commencement, no further mediation is required unless the association and the member agree (§ 421J-13(c)).
There is no arbitration provision in chapter 421J. The condominium chapter has one; this one does not.
Two rights specific to living in a planned community
Personal agriculture. Section 421J-17 is short and unusually direct: “No association shall prohibit or unreasonably restrict the use of a unit owner’s enclosed yard area for personal agriculture” — provided the use does not violate the association’s existing master landscape plan or other restrictive covenants applicable to the unit, and provided the yard area is designated for the owner’s exclusive use. “Personal agriculture” means cultivating lawful edible plant crops for personal use or donation, and “reasonable restrictions” are those reasonably necessary to protect neighbours’ use and enjoyment that do not unreasonably increase the cost of growing or reduce its efficiency. The association keeps the ability to require that dead plant material and weeds be cleared — except straw, mulch, compost and other organic material meant to encourage vegetation and retain moisture.
Medical cannabis. Section 421J-16 voids a provision in any association document that allows the discriminatory practices listed in § 515-3(a)(1) to (7) against a person residing in a unit who holds a valid certificate for the medical use of cannabis under § 329-123 — unless the association document prohibits smoking tobacco and the cannabis is used by smoking. Nothing in it diminishes the association’s duty to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities under § 515-3(a)(9).
Finally, § 421J-15 requires the board to establish a policy giving reasonable access to persons authorised to serve civil process, in compliance with § 634-21.5.
How chapter 421J fits with the rest of Hawaii law
Solar, EV charging and clotheslines sit in chapter 196, not here. Chapter 421J says nothing about any of them — but §§ 196-7, 196-7.5 and 196-8.5 each define “private entity” to include “any association of homeowners, community association”, so they reach planned communities directly. Section 196-7(a) provides that no person may be prevented “by any covenant, declaration, bylaws, restriction, deed, lease, term, provision, condition, codicil, contract, or similar binding agreement, however worded” from installing a solar energy device on a single-family residential dwelling or townhouse they own, and voids any contrary provision. Section 196-7(b) bars a private entity from imposing conditions that make the device more than 25% less efficient or increase installation, maintenance and removal costs by more than 15%, and from charging any fee for placement. The right comes with conditions: the device must comply with the entity’s rules, be registered with the entity within thirty days of installation, and — if placed on a common or limited common element — have the entity’s prior consent, which must be given if the owner agrees in writing to the design specification, a licensed contractor, and a certificate of insurance naming the entity as additional insured within fourteen days of approval (§ 196-7(c)); the owner and each successive owner then carry the cost of damage, insurance and removal for repairs (§ 196-7(d)). Section 196-7.5(c) and (d) impose the same conditions for EV charging. Section 196-8.5 does the same for clotheslines — restrictions on placement and use are allowed, an outright prohibition is not. Section 196-7.5 covers electric vehicle charging systems at the parking stalls of multi-family dwellings and townhouses, where a private entity may require reimbursement for electricity used but may not charge a placement fee.
Chapter 414D is where most of the corporate machinery lives. Chapter 421J does not set quorum rules, officer duties or a director’s standard of care; most Hawaii planned community associations are incorporated as nonprofits, and § 421J-3.5(e) already routes remote meetings to §§ 414D-101(g) and 414D-102(f). Section 421J-11 keeps other applicable law in force, with this chapter governing on a conflict.
Chapter 515 is Hawaii’s fair housing statute. Section 421J-16 borrows its list of discriminatory practices, and it expressly preserves the association’s obligation to provide reasonable accommodations under § 515-3(a)(9).
Chapter 667 supplies the foreclosure machinery. Section 421J-10.5 sends association foreclosures there, and chapter 667 answers back with § 667-19’s cure and payment-plan rights and an entire Part VI, the Association Alternate Power of Sale.
If your community is a condominium, read chapter 514B instead. The two chapters run in parallel for long stretches and then diverge — on lien priority, on arbitration, on whether a conflicted director may vote, on board-meeting notice, on records deadlines and copy fees, on budgets and reserves. Reading the familiar one instead of the governing one is the most common way to get a Hawaii association question wrong.
This page is the statute, not a summary of it. The full text of all 24 sections is below, exactly as the Hawaii Revised Statutes print them, with each section’s source note. Case notes and cross references are not reproduced.
Contents · 24 sections ▾
- § 421J-1 Scope
- § 421J-1.5 Interpretation
- § 421J-2 Definitions
- § 421J-3 Board of directors
- § 421J-3.2 Cumulative voting for directors
- § 421J-3.3 Removal of directors elected by members or directors
- § 421J-3.5 Notice required; regular, annual, and special meetings
- § 421J-4 Proxies
- § 421J-5 Meetings of the board of directors; committee or subcommittee
- § 421J-6 Robert's Rules of Order
- § 421J-7 Documents of the association
- § 421J-7.5 Restatement of association documents
- § 421J-8 Membership list
- § 421J-9 Notification of assessment increases
- § 421J-10 Attorneys' fees and expenses of enforcement
- § 421J-10.5 Association fiscal matters; lien for assessments
- § 421J-10.6 Association fiscal matters; collection of unpaid assessments from tenants or rental agents
- § 421J-11 Applicability of other laws
- § 421J-12 Amendment of association documents when no procedure provided
- § 421J-13 Mediation of disputes
- § 421J-14 First annual meeting of association
- § 421J-15 Service of process
- § 421J-16 Medical cannabis; discrimination
- § 421J-17 Personal agriculture allowed
This chapter shall apply to all planned community associations existing as of June 16, 1997 and all planned community associations created thereafter.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
This chapter and any association document subject thereto shall be liberally construed to facilitate the operation of the planned community association.
Source.—L 2008, c 70, pt of §2
As used in this chapter, unless otherwise indicated by the context:
"Assessment" means funds collected by an association from association members to operate and manage the association, maintain property within the planned community for the common use or benefit of association members, or provide services to association members. The term also means expenditures made by, or financial liabilities of, the association for operation of the property and includes any allocations to reserves.
"Association" means a nonprofit, incorporated, or unincorporated organization:
(1) Upon which responsibilities are imposed and to which authority is granted in a declaration that governs a planned community;
(2) That is a planned community association as defined under section 607-14; or
(3) That is a homeowners' association, in which:
(A) The voting membership is made up of ten or more parcel owners or their proxies, or a combination thereof; and
(B) Assessments may be imposed that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the parcel.
"Association documents" means the articles of incorporation or other document creating the association, if any, the bylaws of the association, the declaration or similar organizational documents and any exhibits thereto, any rules related to use of common areas, architectural control, maintenance of units, restrictions on the use of units, or payment of money as a regular assessment or otherwise in connection with the provisions, maintenance, or services for the benefit of some or all of the units, the owners, or occupants of the units or the common areas, as well as any amendments made to the foregoing documents.
"Board of directors" or "board" means the executive board or other body, regardless of name, designated in the association documents to act on behalf of the association.
"Common area" means real property within a planned community which is owned or leased by the association or is otherwise available for the use of its members or designated as common area in or pursuant to the declaration.
"Declaration" means any recorded association document, however denominated, that imposes obligations on the owners of the units with respect to maintenance or operational responsibilities for the common area, architectural control, maintenance of units, or restrictions on the use of units. A declaration includes any amendment or supplement to the instruments described in this definition.
"Member" means the person or persons owning a unit or having the right of occupancy of a unit under a recorded lease having a term of twenty or more years from its commencement date; or anyone included in the definition of a member under the association documents, including the developer, whether or not the developer owns a unit.
"Person" means an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, trust or other legal entity, or any combination thereof.
"Planned community" means one of the following:
(1) Real property, other than a condominium or a cooperative housing corporation or a time share plan, that is subject to a planned community association as defined under section 607-14; or
(2) A common interest community, other than a condominium or a cooperative housing corporation or a time share plan, which includes all of the following characteristics:
(A) Real property subject to a recorded declaration placing restrictions and obligations on the owners of the real property that are enforced or enforceable by a separate entity, the association, established for that purpose whether or not mentioned in the declaration, and:
(i) That owns and maintains certain property within the planned community for the common use or benefit, or both, of the owners of units within the planned community;
(ii) That is obligated to maintain certain property it does not own within the planned community for the common use or benefit, or both, of the owners of units within the planned community; or
(iii) That is obligated to provide services to any such owners or units;
(B) Individual owners own separate units that are part of a planned community at least some of which are improved by or are to be improved by residential dwellings;
(C) Owners have automatic and non-severable membership in an association by virtue of ownership of units within the planned community; and
(D) Owners, other than a master developer or declarant, are obligated by any association document to pay mandatory assessments by virtue of ownership of a unit within the planned community.
"Recorded" means recorded or filed in the bureau of conveyances of the State or in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court of the State, as appropriate.
"Unit" means a physical portion of the planned community designated for separate ownership or occupancy.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1; am L 2001, c 68, §1; am L 2008, c 70, §3; am L 2012, c 182, §2(2); am L 2017, c 101, §2
(a) Every member of the board of directors shall be a member of the association. However, a developer may appoint or elect directors pursuant to any special voting rights or power of appointment reserved to the master developer.
(b) The board of directors shall be composed of the number and group of persons specified in the association documents. There shall not be more than one representative on the board of directors from any one unit that is owned by any person other than the master developer or declarant.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
(a) If the association documents provide for cumulative voting by members, members may so vote, by multiplying the number of votes the members are entitled to cast by the number of positions for whom they are entitled to vote, and cast the product for a single candidate or distribute the product among two or more candidates. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes under this section, up to the total number of positions to be filled, shall be deemed elected, and shall be given the longest term.
(b) Unless otherwise provided in the association documents, cumulative voting shall not be permitted.
(c) A director elected by cumulative voting may be removed by the members with or without cause if the requirements of section 421J-3.3 are met.
Source.—L 2022, c 69, pt of §1
(a) The members may remove a director elected by the members with or without cause unless otherwise provided in the association documents. If the removal is successful, the replacement director shall be elected for the remainder of the removed director's term in accordance with all applicable requirements and procedures in the association documents and this chapter. If the replacement director is not elected at the meeting in which the removal occurred, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the association documents, the board may fill vacancies to serve until the next annual or duly noticed special meeting of the association.
(b) If a director is elected by a class, chapter, or other organizational unit, or by region or other geographic grouping, the director may be removed only by the members of that class, chapter, unit, or grouping.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (i), a director may be removed under subsection (a) or (b) only if the number of votes cast to remove the director would be sufficient to elect the director at a meeting to elect directors.
(d) If cumulative voting is authorized at the meeting, the director may not be removed if the number of votes, or if the director was elected by a class, chapter, unit, or grouping of members, the number of votes of that class, chapter, unit, or grouping, sufficient to elect the director under cumulative voting is against the director's removal.
(e) A director elected by members may be removed by the members at any regular or special meeting; provided that:
(1) The board of directors recommends removal of the director; or
(2) A member delivers to the secretary of the association or managing agent a petition for removal of the director that:
(A) Is signed by members representing at least one hundred units or members who own at least twenty-five per cent of the total number of units in the planned community, whichever is less;
(B) Contains the printed name, identification of the unit, address of the signing members, and dates of their signatures;
(C) Is delivered within seven days after the posting of a notice of intent to distribute proxies that includes the election of directors in accordance with section 421J-4(e), or within seven days after the posting of a notice of intent to distribute a notice of a meeting under section 421J-3.5(f); and
(D) Is submitted within one hundred twenty days of the earliest signature.
(f) If the board of directors recommends removal, or if a timely petition is delivered to the secretary of the association or managing agent, the secretary or managing agent shall include the proposed removal in the notice of the meeting.
(g) In computing whether a director is protected from removal under subsections (b) through (d), it shall be assumed that the votes against removal of the director are cast in an election for the number of directors to the class to which that director belonged at the meeting at which the removal is proposed.
(h) An entire board of directors may be removed pursuant to subsections (a) through (c).
(i) If, at the beginning of a director's term on the board, the association documents provide that the director may be removed for missing a specified number of board meetings, the board may remove the director for failing to attend the specified number of meetings. The director may be removed only if a majority of the directors then in office vote for the removal.
Source.—L 2022, c 69, pt of §1
(a) Not less than fourteen days in advance of any regular, annual, or special meeting of an association, the secretary or other officer specified in the bylaws shall give written notice of the meeting to each member of the association as provided in the bylaws of the association or by two or more of the following means:
(1) Hand delivery;
(2) United States mail sent to the mailing address of each unit or to another mailing address designated in writing by the association member;
(3) Electronic mail to the electronic mailing address designated in writing by the association member; or
(4) Posting of the meeting notice in its entirety on a portion of the association's website that is accessible to all members.
(b) Notice pursuant to subsection (a) shall state:
(1) The date, time, and place of the meeting; and
(2) The items on the agenda, including the general nature of and rationale for any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws; any proposal for a special assessment, unless the authority for a special assessment is otherwise provided for in the association's governing documents; and any proposal to remove a member of the board.
(c) The requirements of this section shall not be interpreted to preclude any association member from proposing an amendment to the declaration or bylaws.
(d) The requirements of this section shall not be interpreted to apply to any board meetings or committee meetings of a planned community association.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the association documents, the association may conduct an annual, regular, or special meeting remotely in a manner consistent with section 414D-101(g) or 414D-102(f), as applicable.
(f) If the board of directors does not intend to use association funds to distribute proxies that include the election of directors and therefore does not post notice pursuant to section 421J-4(e), the board shall post notice in prominent locations within the planned community of its intent to distribute written notice of an association meeting at least twenty-one days in advance of distributing written notice under subsection (a).
Source.—L 2013, c 188, §2; am L 2021, c 83, §1; am L 2022, c 69, §4
(a) A proxy shall be in writing and shall be valid for only a specified meeting of the association and any adjournments of that meeting.
(b) A member of the association may give a proxy to any person or the board of directors as an entity, and the proxy may be limited as indicated by the member. No proxy shall be irrevocable unless:
(1) The proxy is coupled with a financial interest in the unit; or
(2) The proxy is held pursuant to a first mortgage of record encumbering a unit or an agreement of sale affecting a unit.
(c) To be valid, a proxy shall:
(1) Be delivered to the secretary of the association or the managing agent, if any, no later than 4:30 p.m. on the second business day prior to the date of the meeting to which it pertains; and
(2) Contain at least the name of the association, the date of the meeting of the association, the printed name and signature of the person or persons giving the proxy, the unit or units for which the proxy is given, and the date that the proxy is given.
(d) If a proxy is a standard proxy form authorized by the association, the proxy shall contain boxes wherein the owner may indicate that the proxy is given:
(1) For quorum purposes only;
(2) To the individual whose name is printed on a line next to this box;
(3) To the board of directors as a whole and that the vote be made on the basis of the preference of the majority of the directors present at the meeting; or
(4) To those directors present at the meeting and the vote to be shared with each board member receiving an equal percentage;
provided that if the proxy is returned with no box or more than one of the boxes in paragraphs (1) through (4) checked, the proxy shall be counted for quorum purposes only.
(e) Any board of directors that intends to use association funds to distribute proxies that include the election of directors shall first post notice of its intent to distribute proxies in prominent locations within the project at least twenty-one days prior to its distribution of proxies; provided that if the board receives within seven days of the posted notice a request by any owner for nomination to the board accompanied by a statement, the board shall mail to all owners either:
(1) A proxy form containing the names of all owners who have requested nomination to the board accompanied by their statements; or
(2) A proxy form containing no names, but accompanied by a list of names of all owners who have requested nomination to the board and their statements.
The statement shall be limited to black text on white paper and shall indicate the owner's qualifications to serve on the board or reasons for wanting to receive proxies. If the board's notice of intent to distribute proxies states that the statement shall not exceed one hundred words, but a longer statement shall be available on the Internet, then: the owner may provide a written statement, not to exceed one hundred words, together with a longer statement in an electronic file not to exceed one hundred kilobytes; and the mailing of the written statements by the association shall include an internet link informing owners that longer statements shall be available on the Internet. In all other instances, the statement shall not exceed one single-sided eight and one-half inches by eleven inches page and the association shall not be required to make a longer statement available on the Internet.
(f) Nothing in this section shall affect the holder of any proxy under a first mortgage of record encumbering an apartment or under an agreement of sale affecting an apartment.
(g) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of proxies for filling vacancies that occur after the notice of the annual meeting has been distributed.
(h) No managing agent or resident manager, or employee thereof, shall solicit, for use by the managing agent or resident manager, any proxies from any member of the association that retains the managing agent or employs the resident manager, nor shall the managing agent or resident manager cast any proxy vote at any association meeting except for the purpose of establishing a quorum.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1; am L 2001, c 191, §1; am L 2016, c 238, §1; am L 2017, c 101, §3
(a) All meetings of the board of directors, other than executive sessions, shall be open to all members to provide input on the matters being discussed. Members who are not on the board of directors may participate in any deliberation or discussion, other than during executive sessions, unless a majority of a quorum of the board of directors votes otherwise.
(b) The board of directors shall meet at least once each year.
(c) The board of directors, with the approval of a majority of a quorum of its members, may adjourn any meeting and reconvene in executive session to discuss and vote upon matters concerning personnel, litigation in which the association is or may become involved, or as may be necessary to protect the attorney-client privilege of the association. The general nature of any business to be considered in executive session shall be first announced in the regular session.
(d) No board member shall vote by proxy at board meetings.
(e) A director who has a conflict of interest on any issue before the board shall disclose the nature of the conflict of interest prior to a vote on that issue at the board meeting, and the minutes of the meeting shall record the fact that a disclosure was made.
(f) The board may appoint committees or subcommittees to review and consider any specific matters, and may alter or eliminate the committees or subcommittees; provided that the board in the minutes of the meeting at which the action was taken to appoint the committee or subcommittee shall:
(1) Report that the committee or subcommittee was appointed;
(2) Identify the members of the committee or subcommittee; and
(3) Describe the matter that the committee or subcommittee is to review and consider.
(g) Minutes of the meetings of the board of directors shall include the recorded vote of each board member present on all motions except motions voted upon in executive session.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1; am L 2006, c 312, §2; am L 2008, c 191, §1
All association and board of directors meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the most current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
(a) Association documents, the most current financial statement of the association, and the minutes of the most recent meeting of the board of directors (other than minutes of executive sessions) shall be made available for examination by any member at no cost, on twenty-four-hour loan or during reasonable hours.
(b) The minutes of board meetings other than executive sessions, once approved, for the current and prior year shall be:
(1) Available for examination by any member at no cost or on twenty-four-hour loan; or
(2) Transmitted to any member requesting copies of the minutes, by the board, the managing agent, or the association's representative, within a reasonable period of time from receipt of the request; provided that:
(A) The minutes shall be transmitted by mail, electronic mail transmission, or facsimile, as requested by the member, if the member indicates a preference at the time of the request; and
(B) Reasonable costs of duplication, postage, stationery, and other administrative costs associated with handling the request shall be borne by the requesting member; and
(3) Maintained by the association for at least five years.
(c) Financial statements, general ledgers, accounts receivable ledgers, accounts payable ledgers, check ledgers, insurance policies, contracts, invoices of the association for the duration those records are kept by the association, and any documents regarding delinquencies of ninety days or more shall be made available for examination by members at reasonable hours at a location designated by the board; provided that members shall pay for all costs associated with the examination of these documents. The board may require members to furnish the association with an affidavit stating that the foregoing information is requested in good faith for the protection of the interests of the association, its members, or both. Copies of these documents shall be provided to any member upon the member's request if the member pays a reasonable fee for duplication, postage, stationery, and other administrative costs associated with handling the request.
(d) Members may view proxies, tally sheets, ballots, members' check-in lists, and the certificates of election, if any, for a period of thirty days following any association meeting; provided that members may be charged for any costs associated with the examination of the documents. The board may require members to furnish to the association an affidavit stating that the foregoing information is requested in good faith for the protection of the interests of the association, its members, or both. Proxies and ballots may be destroyed following the thirty-day period. Copies of tally sheets, members' check-in lists, and the certificates of election from the most recent association meeting shall be provided to any member upon the member's request if the member pays a reasonable fee for duplication, postage, stationery, and other administrative costs associated with handling the request.
(e) Members may file a written request with the board to examine other documents of the association. The board shall give written authorization, or written refusal with an explanation of the refusal, for the examination within sixty calendar days of receipt of the request. The board may condition its approval of any such request upon payment of reasonable fees. Without limitation, books and records kept by or on behalf of an association may be withheld from inspection and copying to the extent that they concern:
(1) Personnel records;
(2) An individual's medical records;
(3) Records relating to business transactions that are currently in negotiation;
(4) Communications that are privileged because of attorney-client privilege or any other applicable privilege of the association;
(5) Complaints against an individual member of the association;
(6) Any records, the release of which could be a violation of any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation; or
(7) Similar records.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1; am L 2006, c 312, §3
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, an association, by a resolution adopted by the board, may at any time restate the association documents of the association to include amendments to the association documents.
(b) An association, by a resolution adopted by the board, may at any time, restate the association documents of the association to amend the association documents as necessary to conform with this chapter or any other applicable law, ordinance, or rule; provided that any association documents restated pursuant to this section shall:
(1) Identify each portion so restated;
(2) Contain a statement that those portions have been restated solely for purposes of information and convenience;
(3) Identify the law, ordinance, or rule implemented by the amendment; and
(4) Contain a statement that, in the event of any conflict, the restated association documents shall be subordinate to the cited law, ordinance, or rule.
The restated association documents shall be effective for all purposes as if adopted by a vote or written consent of the members.
(c) Upon the adoption of a resolution pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), the restated association documents shall state all of the operative provisions of the original association documents, together with a statement that the restated association documents correctly state the corresponding provisions of the association documents, and that the restated association documents supersede the original association documents and any relative amendments.
(d) A restated association document shall be recorded if the original document was recorded and the restated association documents shall supersede the original association documents and any relative amendments. In the event of any conflict, the restated association documents shall be subordinate to the original association documents and any relative amendments.
Source.—L 2008, c 70, pt of §2
The association shall use good faith efforts to keep an accurate and current list of the names and addresses of association members. If the list is not provided directly to members, the association shall develop a reasonable procedure by which owners may solicit votes or proxies or provide information to other owners with respect to association matters. The board may require members to furnish the association with an affidavit stating that the use of the list is requested in good faith for the protection of the association, its members, or both.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
The board of directors shall notify members in writing of any increase in regular assessments at least thirty days prior to the increase.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
(a) All costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by or on behalf of the association for:
(1) Collecting any delinquent assessments against any unit or the owner of any unit;
(2) Foreclosing any lien on any unit; or
(3) Enforcing any provision of the association documents or this chapter;
against a member, occupant, tenant, employee of a member, or any other person who in any manner may use the property, shall be promptly paid on demand to the association by such person or persons; provided that if the association is not the prevailing party, all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by any such person or persons as a result of the action of the association, shall be promptly paid on demand to the person by the association. The reasonableness of any attorney's fees paid by a person or by an association as a result of an action pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be determined by the court.
(b) If any member is the prevailing party in any action against an association, any of its officers or directors, or its board of directors to enforce any provision of the association documents or this chapter, then all reasonable and necessary expenses, costs, and attorneys' fees incurred by the member shall be awarded to the member; provided that no such award shall be made in any derivative action unless:
(1) The member first shall have demanded and allowed reasonable time for the board of directors to pursue an enforcement action; or
(2) The member demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that a demand for enforcement made to the board of directors would have been fruitless.
If a member is not the prevailing party in any court action against an association, any of its officers or directors, or its board of directors, to enforce any provision of the association documents or this chapter, then all reasonable and necessary expenses, costs, and attorneys' fees incurred by the association shall be awarded to the association, unless the action was filed in small claims court, or, prior to filing the action in a higher court, the owner has first submitted the claim to mediation pursuant to section 421J-13, and made a good faith effort to resolve the dispute under any of those procedures.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the board of directors from authorizing the use of a collection agency.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
(a) All sums assessed by the association, but unpaid for the share of the assessments chargeable to any unit, shall constitute a lien on the unit. The priority of the association's lien shall, except as otherwise provided by law, be as provided in the association documents or, if no priority is provided in the association documents, by the recordation date of the liens; provided that any amendment to the association documents that governs the priority of liens on the unit shall not provide that an association lien shall have priority over a mortgage lien that is recorded before the amendment is recorded. A lien recorded by an association for unpaid assessments shall expire six years from the date of recordation unless proceedings to enforce the lien are instituted prior to the expiration of the lien; provided that the expiration of a recorded lien shall in no way affect the association's automatic lien that arises pursuant to this subsection or the association documents. Any proceedings to enforce an association's lien for any assessment shall be instituted within six years after the assessment became due; provided that if the owner of a unit subject to a lien of the association files a petition for relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. §101 et seq.), the period of time for instituting proceedings to enforce the association's lien shall be tolled until thirty days after the automatic stay of proceedings under section 362 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. §362) is lifted.
The lien of the association may be foreclosed by action or by nonjudicial or power of sale foreclosure procedures set forth in chapter 667, by the managing agent or board, acting on behalf of the association and in the name of the association; provided that no association may exercise the nonjudicial or power of sale remedies provided in chapter 667 to foreclose a lien against any unit that arises solely from fines, penalties, legal fees, or late fees, and the foreclosure of any such lien shall be filed in court pursuant to part IA of chapter 667. In any association foreclosure, the unit owner shall be required to pay a reasonable rental for the unit, if so provided in the association documents or the law, and the plaintiff in the foreclosure shall be entitled to the appointment of a receiver to collect the rental owed by the unit owner or any tenant of the unit. If the association is the plaintiff, it may request that its managing agent be appointed as receiver to collect the rental from the tenant. The managing agent or board, acting on behalf of the association and in the name of the association, may bid on the unit at foreclosure sale and acquire and hold, lease, mortgage, and convey the unit thereafter as the board deems reasonable. Action to recover a money judgment for unpaid assessments shall be maintainable without foreclosing or waiving the lien securing the unpaid assessments owed.
In the case of a voluntary conveyance, the grantee of a unit shall be jointly and severally liable with the grantor for all unpaid assessments against the latter for the grantor's share of the common expenses up to the time of the grant or conveyance, without prejudice to the grantee's right to recover from the grantor the amounts paid by the grantee. Any such grantor or grantee is entitled to a statement from the board, either directly or through its managing agent or resident manager, setting forth the amount of the unpaid assessments against the grantor. The grantee is not liable and the unit conveyed is not subject to a lien for any unpaid assessments against the grantor in excess of the amount set forth in the statement, except as to the amount of subsequently dishonored checks mentioned in the statement as having been received within the thirty-day period immediately preceding the date of such statement.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (g) or in the association documents, when the mortgagee of a mortgage of record or other purchaser of a unit obtains title to the unit as a result of foreclosure of the mortgage, the acquirer of title and the acquirer's successors and assigns shall not be liable for the share of the assessments by the association chargeable to the unit that became due prior to the acquisition of title to the unit by the acquirer. The unpaid share of assessments shall be deemed to be assessments collectible from all of the unit owners, including the acquirer and the acquirer's successors and assigns. The mortgagee of record or other purchaser of the unit shall be deemed to acquire title and shall be required to pay the unit's share of assessments beginning:
(1) Thirty-six days after the order confirming the sale to the purchaser has been filed with the court;
(2) Sixty days after the hearing at which the court grants the motion to confirm the sale to the purchaser;
(3) Thirty days after the public sale in a nonjudicial power of sale foreclosure conducted pursuant to chapter 667; or
(4) Upon the recording of the instrument of conveyance;
whichever occurs first; provided that the mortgagee of record or other purchaser of the unit shall not be deemed to acquire title under paragraph (1), (2), or (3), if transfer of title is delayed past the thirty-six days specified in paragraph (1), the sixty days specified in paragraph (2), or the thirty days specified in paragraph (3), when a person (other than the mortgagee of record or other purchaser of the unit) who appears at the hearing on the motion or a party to the foreclosure action (other than the mortgagee of record or other purchaser of the unit) requests reconsideration of the motion or order to confirm sale, objects to the form of the proposed order to confirm sale, appeals the decision of the court to grant the motion to confirm sale, or the debtor or mortgagor declares bankruptcy or is involuntarily placed into bankruptcy. In any such case, the mortgagee of record or other purchaser of the unit shall be deemed to acquire title upon recordation of the instrument of conveyance.
(c) Except as provided in section 667-92(c), no unit owner shall withhold any assessment claimed by the association. A unit owner who disputes the amount of an assessment may request a written statement clearly indicating:
(1) The amount of regular and special assessments included in the assessment, including the due date of each amount claimed;
(2) The amount of any penalty, late fee, lien filing fee, and any other charge included in the assessment;
(3) The amount of attorneys' fees and costs, if any, included in the assessment;
(4) That under Hawaii law, a unit owner has no right to withhold assessments for any reason;
(5) That a unit owner has a right to demand mediation to resolve disputes about the amount or validity of an association's assessment; provided that the unit owner immediately pays the assessment in full and keeps assessments current; and
(6) That payment in full of the assessment does not prevent the unit owner from contesting the assessment or receiving a refund of amounts not owed.
Nothing in this section shall limit the rights of a unit owner to the protection of all fair debt collection procedures mandated under federal and state law.
(d) A unit owner who pays an association the full amount claimed by the association may file a claim against the association in court, including small claims court, or require the association to mediate under section 421J-13 to resolve any disputes concerning the amount or validity of the association's claim. If the unit owner and the association are unable to resolve the dispute through mediation, either party may file for relief with a court; provided that a unit owner may only file for relief in court if all amounts claimed by the association are paid in full on or before the date of filing. If the unit owner fails to keep all association assessments current during the court hearing, the association may ask the court to temporarily suspend the proceedings. If the unit owner pays all association assessments within thirty days of the date of suspension, the unit owner may ask the court to recommence the proceedings. If the unit owner fails to pay all association assessments by the end of the thirty-day period, the association may ask the court to dismiss the proceedings. The unit owner shall be entitled to a refund of any amounts paid to the association that are not owed.
(e) In conjunction with or as an alternative to foreclosure proceedings under subsection (a), where a unit is owner-occupied, the association may authorize its managing agent or board, after sixty days written notice to the unit owner of the unit's share of the assessments, to terminate the delinquent unit's access to the common areas and cease supplying a delinquent unit with any and all services normally supplied or paid for by the association. Any terminated services and privileges shall be restored upon payment of all delinquent assessments, but need not be restored until payment in full is received.
(f) Before the board or managing agent may take the actions permitted under subsection (e), the board shall adopt a written policy providing for such actions and have the policy approved by a majority vote of the unit owners, as provided in the association documents, who are present in person or by proxy or as otherwise permitted by the association documents, at an annual or special meeting of the association or by the written consent of a voting interest equal to a quorum of the unit owners unless the association documents already permit the process.
(g) Subject to this subsection and subsection (h), the board may specially assess the amount of the unpaid regular periodic assessments for assessments against a person who, in a judicial or nonjudicial power of sale foreclosure, purchases a delinquent unit; provided that:
(1) A purchaser who holds a mortgage on a delinquent unit, which mortgage is not subordinate to the priority of lien by the association, and who acquires the delinquent unit through a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure proceeding, including purchasing the delinquent unit at a foreclosure auction, shall not be obligated to make, nor be liable for, payment of the special assessment as provided for under this subsection; and
(2) A person who subsequently purchases the delinquent unit from the mortgagee referred to in paragraph (1) shall be obligated to make, and shall be liable for, payment of the special assessment provided for under this subsection; and provided further that the mortgagee or subsequent purchaser may require the association to provide, at no charge, a notice of the association's intent to claim a lien against the delinquent unit for the amount of the special assessment, prior to the subsequent purchaser's acquisition of title to the delinquent unit. The notice shall state the amount of the special assessment, how that amount was calculated, and the legal description of the unit.
(h) The amount of the special assessment assessed under subsection (g) shall not exceed the total amount of unpaid regular periodic assessments that were assessed during the six months immediately preceding the completion of the judicial or nonjudicial power of sale foreclosure.
(i) For purposes of subsections (g) and (h), the following definitions shall apply, unless the context requires otherwise:
"Completion" means:
(1) In a nonjudicial power of sale foreclosure, when the affidavit required under section 667-33 is recorded; and
(2) In a judicial foreclosure, when a purchaser is deemed to acquire title pursuant to subsection (b).
"Regular periodic assessments" does not include:
(1) Any special assessment, except for a special assessment imposed on all units as part of a budget adopted pursuant to the association documents;
(2) Late charges, fines, or penalties;
(3) Interest assessed by the association;
(4) Any lien arising out of the assessment; or
(5) Any fees or costs related to the collection or enforcement of the assessment, including attorneys' fees and court costs.
Source.—L 2012, c 182, pt of §2(1); am L 2014, c 65, §2
(a) If a unit owner rents or leases the unit and is in default for thirty days or more in the payment of the unit's share of the regular assessments, the board, for as long as the default continues, may demand in writing and receive each month, or any other period of time for rental payment as provided in the lease, from any tenant occupying the unit or rental agent renting the unit, an amount sufficient to pay all sums due from the unit owner to the association, including interest, if any, but the amount shall not exceed the tenant's rent due at the time of demand. The tenant's payment under this section shall discharge that amount of payment from the tenant's rent obligation, and any contractual provision to the contrary shall be void as a matter of law.
(b) Before taking any action under this section, the board shall give to the delinquent unit owner written notice of the board's intent to collect the rent owed. The notice shall:
(1) Be sent both by first-class and certified mail;
(2) Set forth the exact amount the association claims is due and owing by the unit owner; and
(3) Indicate the intent of the board to collect such amount from the rent, along with any other amounts that become due and remain unpaid.
(c) The unit owner shall not take any retaliatory action against the tenant for payments made under this section.
(d) The payment of any portion of the unit's share of regular assessments by the tenant pursuant to a written demand by the board is a complete defense, to the extent of the amount demanded and paid by the tenant, in an action for nonpayment of rent brought by the unit owner against a tenant.
(e) The board may not demand payment from the tenant pursuant to this section if:
(1) A commissioner or receiver has been appointed to take charge of the unit pending a mortgage foreclosure;
(2) A mortgagee is in possession of the unit pending a mortgage foreclosure; or
(3) The tenant is served with a court order directing payment to a third party.
(f) In the event of any conflict between this section and any provision of chapter 521, the conflict shall be resolved in favor of this section; provided that if the tenant is entitled to an offset of rent under chapter 521, the tenant may deduct the offset from the amount due to the association, up to the limits stated in chapter 521. Nothing herein precludes the unit owner or tenant from seeking equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction or seeking a judicial determination of the amount owed.
(g) Before the board may take the actions permitted under subsection (a), the board shall adopt a written policy providing for the actions and have the policy approved by a majority vote of the unit owners, as provided in the association documents, who are present in person or by proxy or as otherwise permitted by the association documents, at an annual or special meeting of the association or by the written consent of a voting interest equal to a quorum of the unit owners unless the association documents already permit the process.
Source.—L 2012, c 182, pt of §2(1)
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to exempt any association or person from compliance with any applicable law, or subject any association or person to any other applicable law; provided that in the event of a conflict between any such law and this chapter, this chapter shall govern.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
(a) Whenever an association document provides that it may be amended by the vote of association members at a meeting, the association document may also be amended by the written consent of the same percentage of association members without a meeting.
(b) Whenever neither an association document nor any applicable law provide procedures for amendment of that document, the association document may be amended by the vote or written consent of association members representing three-fourths of the votes which association members are entitled to cast with respect to a declaration and two-thirds of the votes which association members are entitled to cast with respect to other association documents; provided that this section shall not apply to articles of incorporation or any association documents which by their terms or as a matter of law may be adopted or amended by the board of directors. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede or override any provision of any association documents related to amendments, or any provision of any law pertaining to associations or corporations.
(c) For purposes of this section, a requirement in any association document that an owner must sign an amendment to that document shall be satisfied by the receipt of a written consent signed by the owner.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1; am L 2008, c 70, §4
(a) At the request of any party, any dispute concerning or involving one or more members and an association, its board of directors, managing agent, manager, or one or more other members relating to the interpretation, application, or enforcement of this chapter or the association documents, shall first be submitted to mediation.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall be interpreted to mandate the mediation of any dispute involving:
(1) Actions seeking equitable relief involving threatened property damage or the health or safety of association members or any other person;
(2) Actions to collect assessments;
(3) Personal injury claims; or
(4) Actions against an association, a board of directors, or one or more directors, officers, agents, employees, or other persons for amounts in excess of $2,500 if insurance coverage under a policy of insurance procured by the association or its board of directors would be unavailable for defense or judgment because mediation was pursued.
(c) If any mediation under this section is not completed within two months from commencement, no further mediation shall be required unless agreed to by the association and the member.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
The first annual meeting of the association shall take place as provided in the association documents, but not later than one year after the closing of the first conveyance of a unit to a person other than a developer.
Source.—L 1997, c 132, pt of §1
The board shall establish a policy to provide reasonable access to persons authorized to serve civil process in compliance with section 634-21.5.
Source.—L 2009, c 158, §§2, 8; am L 2011, c 65, §1
A provision in any association document allowing for any of the discriminatory practices listed in section 515-3(a)(1) to (7) against a person residing in a unit who has a valid certificate for the medical use of cannabis as provided in section 329-123 in any form is void, unless the association document prohibits the smoking of tobacco and the medical cannabis is used by means of smoking. Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish the obligation of a planned community association to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities pursuant to section 515-3(a)(9).
Source.—L 2015, c 242, §3; am L 2017, c 170, §2; am L 2023, c 17, §11
(a) No association shall prohibit or unreasonably restrict the use of a unit owner's enclosed yard area for personal agriculture; provided that the use is not in violation of the association's existing master landscape plan or other restrictive covenants applicable to the unit.
(b) This section shall apply only to enclosed yard areas that are designated for the exclusive use of the unit owner.
(c) This section shall not:
(1) Apply to provisions in an association document that impose reasonable restrictions on the use of a unit owner's enclosed yard area for personal agriculture; or
(2) Prohibit an association from applying rules and regulations requiring that dead plant material and weeds, with the exception of straw, mulch, compost, and other organic materials intended to encourage vegetation and retention of moisture in the soil, be regularly cleared from the enclosed yard area.
(d) For purposes of this section:
"Personal agriculture" means a use of land where an individual cultivates lawful edible plant crops for personal use or donation.
"Reasonable restrictions" means restrictions that are reasonably necessary to protect neighbor unit owners or residents' use and enjoyment of their property and do not unreasonably increase the cost of engaging in personal agriculture or unreasonably decrease its efficiency.
Source.—L 2022, c 133, §1
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.