§521-44  Security deposits.  (a)  As
used in this section "security deposit" means money deposited by or
for the tenant with the landlord to be held by the landlord to:



(1)  Remedy tenant defaults for accidental or
intentional damages resulting from failure to comply with section 521-51, for
failure to pay rent due, or for failure to return all keys furnished by the
landlord at the termination of the rental agreement;



(2)  Clean the dwelling unit or have it cleaned at the
termination of the rental agreement so as to place the condition of the
dwelling unit in as fit a condition as that which the tenant entered into
possession of the dwelling unit; and



(3)  Compensate for damages caused by a tenant who
wrongfully quits the dwelling unit.



(b)  The landlord may require as a condition of
a rental agreement a security deposit to be paid by or for the tenant for the
items in subsection (a) and no others, in an amount not in excess of a sum
equal to one month's rent.  The landlord may not require or receive from or on
behalf of a tenant at the beginning of a rental agreement any money other than
the money for the first month's rent and a security deposit as provided in this
section.  The security deposit shall not be construed as payment of the last
month's rent by the tenant, unless mutually agreed upon, in writing, by the
landlord and tenant if the tenant gives forty-five days' notice of vacating the
premises; in entering such agreement, the landlord shall not be deemed to have
waived the right to pursue legal remedies against the tenant for any damages
the tenant causes.  Any such security deposit shall be held by the landlord for
the tenant and the claim of the tenant to the security deposit shall be prior
to the claim of any creditor of the landlord, including a trustee in
bankruptcy, even if the security deposits are commingled.



(c)  At the termination of a rental agreement
in which the landlord required and received a security deposit if the landlord
proposes to retain any amount of the security deposit for any of the purposes
specified in subsection (a), the landlord shall so notify the tenant, in
writing, unless the tenant had wrongfully quit the dwelling unit, together with
the particulars of and grounds for the retention, including written evidence of
the costs of remedying tenant defaults, such as estimates or invoices for
material and services or of the costs of cleaning, such as receipts for
supplies and equipment or charges for cleaning services.  The security deposit,
or the portion of the security deposit remaining after the landlord has claimed
and retained amounts authorized under this section, if any, shall be returned
to the tenant not later than fourteen days after the termination of the rental
agreement.  If the landlord does not furnish the tenant with the written notice
and other information required by this subsection, within fourteen days after
the termination of the rental agreement, the landlord shall not be entitled to
retain the security deposit or any part of it, and the landlord shall return
the entire amount of the security deposit to the tenant.  A return of the
security deposit or the furnishing of the written notice and other required
information in compliance with the requirements of this subsection shall be
presumptively proven if mailed to the tenant, at an address supplied to the
landlord by the tenant, with acceptable proof of mailing and postmarked before
midnight of the fourteenth day after the date of the termination of the rental
agreement or if there is an acknowledgment by the tenant of receipt within the
fourteen-day limit.  All actions for the recovery of a landlord's complete or
partial retention of the security deposit shall be instituted not later than
one year after termination of the rental agreement.



(d)  For the purposes of this section if a
tenant is absent from the dwelling unit for a continuous period of twenty days
or more without written notice to the landlord the tenant shall be deemed to
have wrongfully quit the dwelling unit; provided that the tenant shall not be
considered to be absent from the dwelling unit without notice to the landlord
during any period for which the landlord has received payment of rent.  In
addition to any other right or remedy the landlord has with respect to such a
tenant the landlord may retain the entire amount of any security deposit the
landlord has received from or on behalf of such tenant.



(e)  The landlord shall not require the
delivery of any postdated check or other negotiable instrument to be used for
payment of rent.



(f)  If the landlord who required and received
a security deposit transfers the landlord's interest in the dwelling unit,
whether by sale, assignment, death, appointment of a receiver, or otherwise,
the landlord's successor in interest is bound by this section.  The original
landlord shall provide an accounting of the security deposits received for each
dwelling unit to the landlord's successor at or before the time of the transfer
of the landlord's interest; within twenty days thereafter the landlord's
successor shall give written notice to each tenant of the amount of the
security deposit credited to the tenant.  In the event the landlord's successor
fails to satisfy the requirements of this subsection, it shall be presumed that
the tenant has paid a security deposit equal to no less than one month's rent
at the rate charged when the tenant originally rented the dwelling unit and the
landlord's successor shall be bound by this amount in all further matters
relating to the security deposit.



(g)  If the landlord and the tenant disagree
about the right of the landlord to claim and retain the security deposit or any
portion of it, either the landlord or the tenant may commence an action in the
small claims division of the district court, as provided in chapter 633 and the
rules of court thereunder, to adjudicate the matter.



(h)  In any action in the small claims division
of the district court pursuant to subsection (g) where the court determines
that:



(1)  The landlord wrongfully and wilfully retained a
security deposit or part of a security deposit, the court may award the tenant
damages in an amount equal to three times the amount of the security deposit,
or part thereof, wrongfully and wilfully retained and the cost of suit.



(2)  The landlord wrongfully retained a security
deposit or part of a security deposit, the court shall award the tenant damages
in an amount equal to the amount of the security deposit, or part thereof,
wrongfully retained and the cost of suit.



(3)  The landlord was entitled to retain the security
deposit or a part of it, the court shall award the landlord damages in an
amount equal to the amount of the security deposit, or part thereof, in dispute
and the cost of suit.



(4)  In any such action, neither the landlord nor the
tenant may be represented by an attorney, including salaried employees of the
landlord or tenant. [L 1972, c 132, pt of §1; am L 1974, c 180, §3; am L 1975,
c 101, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 12, §1; am L 1987, c 170, §1 and c 282,
§1; am L 1989, c 169, §1]



 



Case Notes



 



  Cited:  60 H. 52, 587 P.2d 807.



 



Hawaii Legal Reporter Citations



 



  If landlord fails to give the 14-day notice, tenant is
entitled to the security deposit, but landlord is not precluded, upon proof,
from being awarded damages.  77-1 HLR 76-147.



  Filing by tenants of claim for return of deposit is not a
sufficient reason for landlord to fail to give the required notice of retention
of deposit.  77-1 HLR 76-337.



  When tenant remained on premises for three extra days,
landlord's notification period was also extended.  77-1 HLR 76-343.



  A sublessor is required to notify a subtenant of retention of
security deposit.  77-1 HLR 77-295.



  Landlord's notice of retention of deposit though given four
days after the 14-day requirement was in substantial compliance with the
statute since landlord acted in good faith.  77-1 HLR 77-421.



  "Wrongful" retention and "wilful"
retention construed.  77-2 HLR 77-553.