Hawai‘i State Law Library System

Landlord-Tenant Reference Guide

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This reference guide identifies selected sources on landlord-tenant issues in Hawai‘i. Resources listed in this guide are available at all of the court libraries in the Hawai‘i State Law Library System, unless otherwise noted. This finding aid is not exhaustive, and is meant to be used as a starting point for research on this topic.

Notes: The information in brackets [ ] indicates the call number. SCLL=Supreme Court Law Library on Oahu, 2d=Maui, 3d=Hilo, K=Kona, 5th=Kauai.
The Library staff is prohibited by law from giving legal advice. Please consult an attorney if you need such services.

Primary Sources | Secondary Sources | Agencies & Organizations | Internet Resources | Seminars | Electronic Resources

Primary Sources (Laws, Rules, Selected Forms)

1. Chapter 521-Landlord-Tenant Code in:
   

   • Hawai‘i Revised Statutes
     [KFH30 1993 A22]

   • Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Annotated
     [KFH30 A4]

2. Title 42, Chapter 45-Fair Housing in:
   

   • United States Code
     [KF62 2000 A2] Available at SCLL

   • United States Code Annotated
     [KF65 U5] Available at SCLL, 2d, 3d, 5th

   • United States Code Service
     [KF65 U8] Available at SCLL & K

3. Rules of the District Court of the State of Hawai‘i in:
   

   • Hawai‘i Rules of Court
     [KFH529 A2]

   • Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Annotated: Court Rules Annotated
     [KFH30 A4 Rules]

   • Hawai‘i Court Rules-State
     [KFH529 W52]

4. Landlord-Tenant Claims
   

   Brief summaries of the law regarding selected landlord-tenant issues, from the Hawai‘i State Judiciary website. Includes links to forms for all Hawaii District Courts.

5. LegalForms
   

   Selected Landlord-Tenant forms available from the Hawaii State Public Library System website.
   Under the "A-Z" tab, select "Legal Forms". HSPLS card and PIN number required.

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Secondary Sources

1. Encyclopedias:
   

   • American Jurisprudence, 2d. [KF154 A42]
     Subject Heading: Landlord and Tenant

   • Corpus Juris Secundum [KF154 C81]
     Subject Heading: Landlord and Tenant

   • Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law [REF KF387 G13]
     Available at SCLL & Hawaii State Public Library System Gale Virtual Reference Library
     Subject Heading: Real Estate, Landlord/Tenant Rights

   • West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, 2d [KF154 W52]
     Available at SCLL & Hawaii State Public Library System Gale Virtual Reference Library
     Subject Heading: Landlord and Tenant

2. Manuals:
   

   • Hawaii District Court Landlord-Tenant Manual [Desk KFH117 H34 2001]

   • Evictions and the Landlord/Tenant Law in Hawaii [RefRm KFH117 C41 1998]
     Available at SCLL, 2d, 3d, 5th

3. Finding Aids/Indexes:
   

   • Hawaii Digest [KFH57 H31] and Westlaw
     Topic: Landlord-Tenant
     Key Numbers: §§1-395, 233k1-399

   • Hawai‘i CARD Network (Select SCLL)
     Keywords: Landlord, Tenant

   • LegalTrac (electronic periodical index)
     Search subject terms: Landlord and Tenant

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Agencies and Organizations

1. Honolulu District Court Civil Division
   1111 Alakea Street, Third Floor
   Honolulu, HI 96813
   (808) 538-5151

2. 2nd Circuit Court Service Center
   2145 Main Street
   Wailuku, HI 96793
   (808) 244-2706

3. Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
   Landlord-Tenant Information
   (808) 586-2634 (7:45 am – Noon)
   (808) 587-1234 (Consumer Dial - Residential Landlord-Tenant Code Messages)

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Internet Resources

• Nolo.com
  Under the “Property and Money” tab, click on “Landlords and Property Management”.

• Findlaw.com
  Click the “Real Estate” tab and choose between “Tenants’ Rights” and “Landlord”.

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Seminars

• Hawai‘i State Judiciary - "Lunch ‘n’ Learn the Law"

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Electronic Resources

These resources are available for public use at the Hawai‘i State Law Libraries at no charge. Printing is 15¢ per page.

• Westlaw: A web-based electronic database used to find cases, state and federal laws, court rules, administrative regulations, and major current law review articles.
• Shepard’s: Used to determine whether a case, statute, or regulation is “good law” and provides references to later cases and other legal resources. You must have a legal citation, not a case name, already in hand to use this service.
• Michie's Hawaii Primary Law: Web-based searching for Hawai'i Appellate Court Opinions from 1847 to the present, Hawai'i Court Rules Annotated, and Hawai'i Revised Statutes Annotated
• Hein-On-line: Provides full text articles from more than 500 legal periodicals with coverage from the inception of each journal through the current year. Searchable database.
• Premise: A CD-ROM database available for searching Hawai‘i and federal cases, Hawai‘i laws and court rules, and legal encyclopedias.
• LegalTrac: An electronic periodical index that uses keywords and subject headings to search for law review and legal journal articles.

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