Kihei Eviction Laws & Process

Hawaii landlord guide — notices, timelines, court filing & local rules

Eviction Laws in Kihei, Hawaii

Kihei is a sunny South Maui resort-and-condo town of about 22,000 in Maui County — the heart of the island’s vacation-rental and second-home market, with miles of beaches and thousands of condominium units stretching toward the luxury resorts of Wailea. Unlike central Maui’s working hub of Kahului, Kihei’s housing stock is dominated by vacation rentals and second homes: its very high reported “vacancy” reflects transient and seasonal units rather than weak demand, while a hospitality workforce rents long-term at high prices (estimated around $2,700). Maui County has been moving aggressively to convert apartment-zoned vacation rentals into long-term housing, a push that intensified after the 2023 Lahaina wildfire. Maui eviction cases are filed in the Second Circuit at Wailuku.

Hawaii eviction law is set by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code (Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 521) together with the summary-possession procedures in HRS Chapter 666. A landlord must serve the correct written notice before filing. For nonpayment of rent, Hawaii now requires a 10-calendar-day notice paired with an offer of pre-eviction mediation. For a material lease violation, the tenant gets a 10-day notice to cure (HRS § 521-72). To end a month-to-month tenancy without fault, the landlord must give 45 days’ written notice (HRS § 521-71); a tenant ending the tenancy gives 28 days. Conduct threatening irremediable harm can support an immediate notice to quit (HRS § 521-69). Once notice expires, the landlord files a summary possession action in District Court; a prevailing landlord receives a writ of possession enforced by the sheriff. Self-help eviction — lockouts, removing belongings, or cutting utilities — is illegal.

A major recent change: under Act 278 (2025), effective February 5, 2026, the nonpayment notice period was extended from five business days to 10 calendar days, and landlords must offer mediation before filing for nonpayment. This is a two-year pilot (through February 4, 2028); landlords should treat the 10-day notice plus mediation as the current statewide rule for nonpayment.

Kihei & Maui County — Local Rules That Affect Landlords

No Rent Control — Baseline Hawaii Law Applies. Hawaii has no rent control or rent stabilization, and Maui County does not cap rent or rent increases. A month-to-month rent increase requires 45 days’ written notice (15 days week-to-week). Hawaii’s long notice periods and mandatory nonpayment-mediation step still make it a relatively tenant-protective state.

The Second Circuit (Maui) — Where Kihei Landlords File. Kihei landlords file in the District Court of the Second Circuit at Hoapili Hale, 2145 Main Street, Wailuku — the same court that serves Kahului and the rest of Maui County. File where the premises are situated.

Nonpayment of Rent: 10-Day Notice + Pre-Eviction Mediation (Act 278). When rent is unpaid, the landlord serves a written notice giving the tenant 10 calendar days to pay or vacate, informs the tenant of the right to free mediation, and copies a mediation center — on Maui, Mediation Services of Maui. The tenant has 10 calendar days to schedule mediation; if none is scheduled, the landlord may file once the 10 days expire, and if mediation is scheduled the landlord generally waits an additional 10 days. A late fee cannot be charged until rent is at least 5 days overdue (HRS § 521-21).

No-Fault Termination: 45-Day Notice. Ending a month-to-month tenancy where the tenant has not breached requires 45 days’ written notice (HRS § 521-71).

Lease Violations: 10-Day Notice to Cure. A material breach gets a 10-day notice and a chance to fix the problem (HRS § 521-72). If cured, the tenancy continues; if not, the landlord may file.

Vacation Rentals & the Push to Long-Term Housing. Kihei has one of the largest concentrations of vacation rentals in the state, and the legal status of a unit drives everything. A genuine transient stay is not a residential tenancy, but once an occupant has been in place long enough to be a tenant under HRS Chapter 521 — generally a stay of 30 days or more — they can only be removed through a court proceeding, not a checkout. Maui County has been working to phase out many apartment-zoned vacation rentals and return them to long-term housing, an effort that accelerated after the 2023 wildfire; the rules are evolving, so confirm the current status of any short-term-rental permit before relying on that use. Owners converting a vacation rental to long-term housing should put a proper residential lease in place and treat the occupant as a full HRS 521 tenant.

Post-Wildfire Maui Protections. After the August 2023 Lahaina fire, Maui adopted special measures including Act 202 (2024), which established a mediation option for wildfire-displaced tenants, alongside relief programs that placed displaced households in private rentals. Landlords renting to displaced households or through relief programs should confirm the current rules, which have evolved since the disaster.

A Condo & Resort Market. Kihei’s high reported vacancy is mostly transient and second-home inventory, not soft resident demand. The long-term renter base is largely hospitality and resort workers, and demand is seasonal. For long-term landlords, careful screening and clear lease terms matter; for short-term operators, regulatory risk is now the central concern.

General Excise & Transient Accommodations Taxes. Hawaii taxes rental income through the General Excise Tax (GET) with a Maui County surcharge, and short-term rentals additionally owe the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) plus a county TAT. Long-term residential landlords register for GET; short-term operators must handle both — a routine but consequential Maui obligation.

Fair Housing — Hawaii’s Broader Protections. Beyond the federal protected classes, Hawaii law bars housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, ancestry, and HIV/AIDS status, among others, enforced by the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.

Self-Help Eviction Is Illegal. Lockouts, removing belongings, and utility shut-offs are prohibited and expose the landlord to damages. Only the sheriff, under a court-issued writ, can remove a tenant.

Free Legal Help & Mediation. The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii assists qualifying low-income tenants on Maui, Mediation Services of Maui handles island landlord-tenant mediations (including Act 278 nonpayment cases and wildfire-related mediation), and the Hawaii State Judiciary’s District Court self-help resources assist unrepresented parties.

Security Deposits. Under HRS § 521-44, the deposit may not exceed one month’s rent (an additional pet deposit of up to one month may be allowed). The landlord must return it, with an itemized statement of deductions, within 14 days of the end of the tenancy; missing that deadline can forfeit the right to keep any of it. Normal wear and tear is not deductible.

District Court of the Second Circuit (Wailuku) — Where Kihei Landlords File

Kihei landlords file summary possession (eviction) actions in the District Court of the Second Circuit, located at Hoapili Hale, 2145 Main Street, Wailuku, HI 96793. The Second Circuit serves all of Maui County. The filing fee for a summary possession case is approximately $155. After the landlord prevails, the court issues a writ of possession executed by the sheriff. In a nonpayment case, the tenant can halt the writ by paying all rent due plus statutory interest (8 percent per year), court costs, and the landlord’s reasonable attorney’s fees (HRS § 666-14). Because Hawaii requires the Act 278 mediation step for nonpayment — and Maui has additional wildfire-related mediation measures — contested cases here can take longer than a comparable mainland filing. Make sure the occupancy is a residential tenancy rather than a transient stay before relying on the summary possession process. Self-help eviction is illegal — only the sheriff may remove a tenant under a court-issued writ.