Hawaii Security Deposit Law: Limits, Deadlines & Penalties (HRS § 521-44)

Haw. Rev. Stat. 521-44 limits a security deposit to "an amount not in excess of a sum equal to one month's rent," plus a separately agreed pet deposit that also may not exceed one month's rent (service animals are exempt). To keep any portion, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing "together with the particulars of and grounds for the retention," including written evidence of costs such as estimates, invoices, or cleaning receipts. The remaining deposit must be "returned to the tenant not later than fourteen days after the termination of the rental agreement." Permitted deductions cover unpaid rent, tenant defaults, cleaning, and pet damage, but not ordinary wear and tear. If a landlord wrongfully and wilfully retains a deposit, a court may award the tenant three times the amount wrongfully retained plus costs of suit.

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. 521-44(h), where a landlord "wrongfully and wilfully retained a security deposit," the court may award the tenant "damages in an amount equal to three times the amount" wrongfully and wilfully retained, plus the cost of suit.