Hawaii makes adverse possession very hard to claim. HRS § 657-31 bars an action to recover land after twenty years, but HRS § 657-31.5 limits any adverse-possession claim accruing after November 7, 1978 to parcels of five acres or less and bars claimants who asserted a similar claim within the prior twenty years.
HRS § 657-31 sets the baseline period: 'No person shall commence an action to recover possession of any lands, or make any entry thereon, unless within twenty years after the right to bring the action first accrued.' HRS § 657-31.5 then sharply restricts modern claims: a person may claim adverse possession only 'if the real property which is the subject of the action is five acres or less' and 'the person claiming by adverse possession has not asserted any similar claim, in good faith, within the past twenty years,' excluding claims made before November 7, 1978. A grandfather clause preserves claims completing twenty years before that date. The possessor must still prove open, notorious, hostile, continuous, and exclusive possession.
No specific statutory penalty. A squatter on a parcel larger than five acres (post-1978) or who recently made a similar claim cannot acquire title; the record owner may recover possession through an ejectment or quiet-title action within the 20-year window.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
East Honolulu, HI
HAR 11-46-6(b) requires on-site vehicles and construction equipment to operate with a functioning, unmodified muffler, and Revised Ordinances of Honolulu 41-...
East Honolulu, HI
East Honolulu pool owners in Hawaii Kai, Portlock, and Aina Haina must install code-compliant barriers under ROH Sec. 16-6.2, with public pools in the CDP su...
East Honolulu, HI
Backyard recreational and ceremonial fires in East Honolulu are open burning under the Honolulu Fire Code and require owner permission, a 14-day advance lett...
East Honolulu, HI
East Honolulu is part of the City and County of Honolulu, where a home occupation is a permitted accessory use that needs no separate City home-occupation pe...
East Honolulu, HI
Public parks in East Honolulu, including Koko Head and Hawaii Kai area beach parks, are closed during posted night hours. Entering closed parks is prohibited...
East Honolulu, HI
East Honolulu follows the Hawaii state juvenile curfew under HRS 577-16. Children under 16 cannot be in public places between 10 pm and 4 am without a parent...
See how East Honolulu's squatter's rights & adverse possession rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.