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.
Ewa Gentry, HI
ROH Sec. 16-6.2 requires Ewa Gentry residential swimming pools to be fully enclosed by a compliant fence or protective device designed to prevent unsupervise...
Ewa Gentry, HI
Ewa Gentry follows Honolulu's adoption of the IRC via ROH Chapter 16, incorporating IRC R314 for smoke alarms and R315 for CO alarms. Detectors are required ...
Ewa Gentry, HI
Honolulu uses a minimum-stay rule rather than an annual night cap. Under ROH §21-5.730 (Ord. 22-7), every reservation under 30 consecutive days at a resident...
Ewa Gentry, HI
Ewa Gentry is residentially zoned, so under ROH §21-5.730 (Ord. 22-7) and Ordinance 25-52 DPP will not register sub-30-day STRs here. Registration is reserve...
Ewa Gentry, HI
Ewa Gentry residents may not enter or remain in public parks during posted closure hours under ROH Sec. 10-1.2, though direct traverse of beach parks to reac...
Ewa Gentry, HI
Honolulu has no separate juvenile curfew ordinance, so Ewa Gentry follows HRS Sec. 577-16: children under 16 are prohibited from public places between 10 p.m...
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