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.
Mililani Mauka, HI
ROH Sec. 16-6.2 requires Mililani Mauka residential pools to be fully enclosed by a compliant fence or protective device to prevent unsupervised access by yo...
Mililani Mauka, HI
ROH Sec. 21-4.40 limits fill-retaining walls in Mililani Mauka yards to six feet and combines terraced wall heights, important on the community's sloped Cent...
Mililani Mauka, HI
ROH Sec. 21-4.60 defines fences to include wrought iron, wire, wood, vinyl, and plastic, but the Mililani Mauka HOA design code narrows the palette considera...
Mililani Mauka, HI
ROH Sec. 21-4.30 governs what Mililani Mauka neighbors can build in required yards along shared property lines, with the city relying on yard and height sect...
Mililani Mauka, HI
Public parks in Mililani Mauka close during posted night hours under ROH Sec. 10-1.2, and the Community Association's recreation centers have their own separ...
Mililani Mauka, HI
Mililani Mauka is covered by HRS Sec. 577-16, which prohibits children under 16 from public places between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. unaccompanied; Honolulu has no ...
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