Free Hawaii Late Rent Notice
Hawaii statutory ten-calendar-day notice to pay rent or quit under HRS §521-68, as amended by Act 278, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 and effective February 5, 2026. Required precondition for a summary possession action. The repealed text required five business days; a notice built on that figure does not comply.
Free Hawaii Late Rent Notice — overview
⚠ Hawaii Statutory Requirement
Hawaii Revised Statutes §521-68 requires a written notice giving the tenant not less than ten calendar days after receipt to pay before the rental agreement is terminated, and requires the landlord to provide a copy of that notice to a state-funded mediation centre. Act 278, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 made both changes effective February 5, 2026, replacing the five-business-day period the section carried until February 4, 2026.
This Hawaii late rent notice is the statutory precondition for a summary possession action for nonpayment. HRS §521-68, as rewritten by Act 278 of the 2025 session and effective February 5, 2026, requires the notice to state a time not less than ten calendar days after receipt, to contain the eight items listed in subsection (b) including a bold-type mediation warning, and to be copied to a state-funded mediation centre. If mediation is scheduled within the ten days and the tenant participates, the landlord may not file until twenty calendar days after receipt. The notice must be in writing, state the current rent due after applying all rent paid from all sources, and demand payment within the stated period or possession.
Generate the Hawaii Notice
Complete the fields below to generate a Hawaii-compliant ten-calendar-day late rent notice. The notice must be in writing, and a copy must go to a state-funded mediation centre under HRS §521-68(c) before a summary possession action can be filed.
Hawaii Cure-or-Quit Period: HRS §521-68(a) requires the notice to give the tenant not less than ten calendar days after receipt to pay the amount owed. Ten days is a floor — the notice is bound by whatever longer period it states.
1. Notice Header (From / To / Property)
2. Notice Content
⚠ Hawaii Cure Period
The ten calendar days run from RECEIPT, not from the date the notice is signed. A notice posted in a conspicuous place on the dwelling unit is deemed received on the date of posting; a notice mailed by U.S. Postal Service, properly addressed with appropriate postage, is deemed received two business days after the postmark unless returned undeliverable. Hawaii adds no five-day mail extension. Filing before the period expires — or before twenty calendar days where mediation was scheduled and the tenant participated — exposes the case, although HRS §521-68(e) lets a court permit the landlord to cure a defect it finds unintentional or immaterial.
3. Signature
About the Hawaii Late Rent Notice
The Hawaii late rent notice is the statutory pay-or-quit notice required under Hawaii Revised Statutes §521-68 before a summary possession action for nonpayment may be filed. Act 278 of the 2025 session rewrote the section effective February 5, 2026: the notice must now allow not less than ten calendar days after receipt, must contain the eight items in subsection (b), and must be copied to a state-funded mediation centre. capitol.hawaii.gov still prints the repealed five-business-day version above the current one, marked “Section effective until February 4, 2026,” which is why so many templates in circulation are wrong.
Subsection (b) requires the notice to state: the name and contact information of the landlord or the landlord’s agent; the address of the dwelling unit; the name and contact information of all tenants on the rental agreement; the current amount of rent due as of the date of the notice, after applying all rent paid from all sources; notice that a copy is being provided to a state-funded mediation centre; notice that the landlord may file for summary possession if the rent is unpaid and mediation is not scheduled within the ten days; a bold-type warning in substantially the form the statute sets out; and notice that the landlord will engage in mediation if it is scheduled. The Judiciary is directed to publish a form landlords may use. Best practice: deliver personally where possible, keep the postmark or a date-stamped photograph of any posting, and retain the mediation-centre verification, which HRS §521-68(d) requires the summary possession complaint to include.
Hawaii Statutory Requirements
- Statute: HRS §521-68 (Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, Chapter 521)
- Notice period: not less than ten calendar days after receipt (HRS §521-68(a), eff. February 5, 2026; the repealed text said five business days)
- Required notice contents: eight items under HRS §521-68(b), including the bold-type mediation warning
- Mediation: a copy of the notice must go to a state-funded mediation centre (HRS §521-68(c)); the complaint must include the centre’s verification (HRS §521-68(d))
- Eviction (summary possession) in Hawaii District Court, in the circuit where the premises are situated (HRS §666-6)
Delivery Methods and Deemed Receipt in Hawaii
HRS §521-68(a) states its own delivery rules and does not impose a ranked ladder. There is no requirement to attempt personal delivery first, no substituted-service tier, no requirement that a mailing follow a posting, and no five-day mail extension.
- Personal delivery — strongest method; received on delivery
- Posting — “posting the same in a conspicuous place on the dwelling unit”; the statute provides the notice “shall be deemed received on the date of the posting”. No accompanying mailing is required
- U.S. mail — a notice mailed by United States Postal Service, properly addressed and with appropriate postage, “shall be deemed to have been received two business days after the date of the postmark, unless the letter is returned to the landlord or landlord’s agent as undeliverable”
- Certified mail — not required by the statute, but the return receipt is useful proof
Common Mistakes (Hawaii-Specific)
- Using the repealed five-business-day period — the single most common Hawaii error; Act 278 replaced it with ten calendar days effective February 5, 2026
- Filing before the period expires — or before twenty calendar days where mediation was scheduled and the tenant participated
- Never sending the notice to a mediation centre — HRS §521-68(c) makes it mandatory and §521-68(d) makes the centre’s verification a required attachment to the complaint
- Omitting one of the eight statutory notice items, especially the bold-type mediation warning in §521-68(b)(7)
- Counting from the signature date rather than from deemed receipt
- Missing total amount due or wrong amount — notice may be invalid
- Failing to identify all tenants on the lease
- Charging non-rent items as rent (late fees vary by jurisdiction; some states require separate notice)
- Not retaining proof of service for court
Best Practices
- Personal delivery whenever possible — strongest service in Hawaii
- Photo/witness document service for court proof
- Use certified mail with return receipt if mailing
- Specify the cure deadline as a calendar date counted from deemed receipt, not from the date the notice was signed
- Send the copy to a state-funded mediation centre at the same time you deliver the notice, and keep the verification the centre supplies
- Retain all copies + proof of service for Hawaii eviction filing
- Consult Hawaii landlord-tenant attorney before initiating eviction
Related Resources
- Hawaii late fee laws
- Hawaii eviction notice laws
- Hawaii landlord tenant laws
- Hawaii habitability laws
- Hawaii security deposit laws
- Eviction notice laws by state
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⚖ Legal Disclaimer
This Hawaii late rent notice template is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Hawaii landlord-tenant law (Hawaii Revised Statutes §521-68) governs the specific notice requirements, cure period, and service methods. State law may change. For tenant rights information, visit HUD Tenant Rights. Consult a qualified Hawaii landlord-tenant attorney before initiating any eviction proceeding.
