Hawaii HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Consider Hawaii, where HRS Chapter 421J, Planned Community Associations, governs planned-community associations — and DCCA identifies that chapter as the HOA chapter for planned communities.1 A separate statute, HRS Chapter 514B, Condominiums, the Condominium Property Act, governs condominium associations.2 DCCA lists HRS Chapter 514A as repealed as of July 1, 2020, while Chapter 514B carries transition language for certain condominium property regimes previously registered or created under Chapter 514A.3,4 Association entities may also intersect with HRS Chapter 414D when they organize as Hawaii nonprofit corporations.5
Association litigation starts in Hawaii trial courts, including circuit courts, and appellate review generally moves through the Intermediate Court of Appeals, with further review or transfer in the Hawaii Supreme Court.6,7,8 Here is something to note: Hawaii does not run a general state agency responsible for cooperative or homeowner association governance under HRS Chapter 421J, but DCCA's Real Estate Branch and Real Estate Commission administer condominium registration, education, and related regulatory functions.9,10
Recent enacted activity has focused on condominium budgets, document access, property insurance, and repair financing.11 Recent appellate activity concentrates on condominium foreclosure damages and unit-access disputes.12,13 Put it all together, and Hawaii sits closer to a condominium-centered regulatory model than to a broad planned-community HOA regime.14
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Hawaii Planned Community Associations Act, HRS Chapter 421J. DCCA lists Chapter 421J as the planned-community association statute and notes that the Real Estate Branch holds no jurisdiction over Chapter 421J governance.15
- Hawaii Condominium Property Act, HRS Chapter 514B. The operative condominium statute for association governance, registration, budgets, records, liens, insurance, and dispute provisions.16
- Hawaii Judiciary, trial and appellate courts. The Judiciary identifies the Supreme Court and Intermediate Court of Appeals as appellate courts, and the circuit, family, and district courts as trial courts.17
- DCCA Real Estate Branch / Real Estate Commission. REB assists the Commission with real estate licensees and with condominium project, association, managing-agent, and condominium hotel operator registration.18
- DCCA Office of Consumer Protection. OCP accepts consumer complaints through DCCA's consumer portal and handles unfair or deceptive practice complaints.19
4. Hawaii's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Hawaii's 2024–2025 enactments target condominium budget summaries, document access, property insurance and repair financing, and C-PACER eligibility for AOAOs.
HB 70 · Act 157 · 2025 Regular Session
Start with this one. Act 157 amended condominium budget-summary rules by requiring the summary to contain the information specified in HRS §514B-148(a) without referring owners to other budget sections, and it allows unit owners to seek injunctive relief for compliance.[20]
| Property managers | Budget packets need a standalone §514B-148(a) summary. |
| HOA board members | Boards should approve templates that do not depend on cross-references. |
| Community association attorneys | Counsel should update form notices and injunction-risk analysis. |
| Homeowners | Owners gain a clearer route to challenge deficient budget summaries. |
SB 385 · Act 161 · 2025 Regular Session
Act 161 requires condominium associations to provide electronic copies of governing documents, as amended or restated, to a unit owner or authorized agent on request at no cost, while limiting certain administrative fees.[21]
| Property managers | Governing-document files need current electronic versions ready for delivery. |
| HOA board members | Boards should confirm that document-access policies match Act 161. |
| Community association attorneys | Counsel should review fee schedules and agent-authorization procedures. |
| Homeowners | Owners and agents gain lower-cost access to governing documents. |
SB 1044 · Act 296 · 2025 Regular Session
Act 296 expands the Hawaii Property Insurance Association, reactivates the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, creates a Condominium Loan Program and Condominium Loan Revolving Fund for specified building work, bars new loans after June 30, 2027, and abolishes the loan fund on June 30, 2047.[22]
| Property managers | Insurance applications, repair scopes, and reserve data need tighter coordination. |
| HOA board members | Boards should evaluate HHRF eligibility and repair-loan tradeoffs. |
| Community association attorneys | Loan documents, insurance authority, and assessment authority need review. |
| Homeowners | Insurance relief may pair with repair financing and future assessments. |
HB 2801 · Act 41 · 2024 Regular Session
Act 41 moved C-PACER administration to the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority and made condominium associations eligible for qualifying commercial property assessed financing, subject to consent rules for condominium-project assessments.[23]
| Property managers | Capital-project planning may include C-PACER as a financing option. |
| HOA board members | Boards need owner-consent tracking before condominium assessments. |
| Community association attorneys | Counsel should test C-PACER terms against declarations and HRS Chapter 514B. |
| Homeowners | Large infrastructure projects may run on property-assessed financing. |
Recent Court Rulings
Two recent Hawaii appellate decisions sharpen association practice: wrongful-foreclosure damages math, and the proof burden when an AOAO enters a unit for safety upgrades.
Stephen P.H. Wong v. Association of Apartment Owners of Harbor Square
Here is what the Hawaii Supreme Court did. It held that damages for wrongful AOAO foreclosure by an association lacking authority equal positive equity, if any, plus lost use, minus assessments owed, and it affirmed summary judgment because the owner did not establish lost-use damages.[24]
| Property managers | Foreclosure files should preserve authority, debt, equity, and possession records. |
| HOA board members | Underwater status does not remove all wrongful-foreclosure exposure. |
| Community association attorneys | Damages analysis should include lost-use proof and assessment offsets. |
| Homeowners | Lost-use evidence can matter even when mortgage debt exceeds value. |
Association of Apartment Owners of Regency Park v. Harder
The ICA vacated part of a final judgment and fee award because the AOAO had not shown that in-unit fire-alarm installation was legally required or that no practicable alternative existed, while affirming other rulings and remanding.[25]
| Property managers | Safety-upgrade records should address alternatives and access limits. |
| HOA board members | Code compliance does not end the need for project-specific proof. |
| Community association attorneys | Summary-judgment motions need evidence on necessity and alternatives. |
| Homeowners | Unit-access disputes may turn on the association's proof burden. |
Regulatory Developments
Hawaii's regulatory signal comes from the Insurance Division, which issued a hurricane data call tied to Act 296's HHRF reactivation for condominium and townhouse AOAOs.
Hawaii Insurance Division
The Hawaii Insurance Commissioner required authorized insurers writing residential hurricane coverage in Hawaii to complete a data call worksheet, cited Act 296's HHRF reactivation for Condominium and Townhouse AOAOs, and stated that the Insurance Division was assessing whether HHRF effects could inform the single-family hurricane market.[26]
| Property managers | Insurance renewal data may become more central to market monitoring. |
| HOA board members | Boards should track HHRF and carrier-market developments. |
| Community association attorneys | Coverage communications should account for changing Insurance Division review. |
| Homeowners | Hurricane insurance availability remains a live state policy issue. |
Active Policy Debates
Policy debate remains focused on condominium owner education and possible dispute-resolution infrastructure. The 2026 session included SB 2433 on Condominium Education Trust Fund owner education and HB 2580 on a proposed DCCA condominium ombudsman office, with the most recent actions reviewed showing SB 2433 in conference activity and HB 2580 at referral stage rather than enacted law.27,28
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly's Hawaii coverage will grow as new bills, rulings, and agency materials change the compliance position for planned-community associations and condominium AOAOs. Federal frameworks also apply to Hawaii associations where their subject matter is triggered — including the FHA,29 the ADA,30 the FDCPA,31 the SCRA,32 and the OTARD rule.33 Federal coverage will live at /federal/ once we build that section.
Footnotes
- HRS Chapter 421J, Planned Community Associations ↩
- HRS Chapter 514B, Condominiums ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, REB Hawaii Revised Statutes ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, HRS Chapter 514B, Condominiums, updated Jan. 16, 2025 ↩
- HRS Chapter 414D, Hawaii Nonprofit Corporations Act ↩
- Hawaii Judiciary, How the Courts are Structured ↩
- Hawaii Judiciary, The Intermediate Court of Appeals ↩
- Hawaii Judiciary, Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, REB Hawaii Revised Statutes ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, Condominium 2025 Legislative Session Update ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, Condominium 2025 Legislative Session Update ↩
- Hawaii Supreme Court, Wong v. Association of Apartment Owners of Harbor Square, No. SCAP-22-0000552 ↩
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, Association of Apartment Owners of Regency Park v. Harder, No. CAAP-20-0000373 ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, REB Hawaii Revised Statutes ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, REB Hawaii Revised Statutes ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, HRS Chapter 514B, Condominiums, updated Jan. 16, 2025 ↩
- Hawaii Judiciary, How the Courts are Structured ↩
- DCCA Real Estate Branch, Condominium 2025 Legislative Session Update ↩
- DCCA Office of Consumer Protection, Consumer Complaint Portal ↩
- Hawaii State Legislature, HB70, 2025 Regular Session, Relating To Condominium ↩
- Hawaii State Legislature, SB385, 2025 Regular Session, Relating To Condominiums ↩
- Hawaii State Legislature, SB1044, 2025 Regular Session, Relating To The Stabilization Of Property Insurance ↩
- Hawaii State Legislature, HB2801, 2024 Regular Session, Relating To Commercial Property Assessed Financing ↩
- Hawaii Supreme Court, Wong v. Association of Apartment Owners of Harbor Square, No. SCAP-22-0000552 ↩
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, Association of Apartment Owners of Regency Park v. Harder, No. CAAP-20-0000373 ↩
- Hawaii Insurance Division, Commissioner's Memorandum 2026-4PC, Hurricane Insurance Data Call ↩
- Hawaii State Legislature, SB2433, 2026 Regular Session, Relating To Condominiums ↩
- Hawaii State Legislature, HB2580, 2026 Regular Session, Relating To Condominium Associations ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Law, Regulations, and Standards ↩
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 12 CFR Part 1006, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Regulation F ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, A Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩