Hawaii Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: No statutory presumption window
• Governing authority: HRS § 521-74

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in Hawaii — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

HRS § 521-74 — 禁止因租客善意投诉健康法规违规、政府机构 filed 违规通知、善意请求维修（521-63/64）而报复性涨租/减服务/驱逐。

官方原文用「after [受保护行为]」的开放式措辞（非「within N days/months」），是 flat prohibition + 详细例外（7 个驱逐例外 + 5 个涨租例外）。**无固定推定窗口**。受保护行为 3 类。

HRS § 521-74 ↗

The protection window

Hawaii does not set a statutory presumption window. Whether an action counts as retaliation depends on the facts rather than a fixed clock.

无固定推定窗口（flat prohibition，开放式「after」措辞）。二手站「90 天」「6 个月」推定均系编造。

HRS § 521-74 (no presumption window) ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

无固定推定窗口；主张报复的租客须证明受保护行为与不利行为的因果，但房东须援引例外（521-74(b)/(d)）证明合法理由。

HRS § 521-74(b), (d) ↗

Remedies

Exemptions and limits

7 个驱逐例外（waste/nuisance/非法用途、房东自住、改造拆除、租客过错、健康合规认证、善意售房、先前 periodic 终止通知）与 5 个涨租例外（健康合规认证、税费/成本上涨、资本改善折旧、租客过错、不高于同类租金）（521-74(b)/(d)）。

HRS § 521-74(b), (d) ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
HRS § 521-74	2026-10-16	official text ↗
HRS § 521-74 (no presumption window)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
HRS § 521-74(a)(1)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
HRS § 521-74(a)(2)-(3)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
HRS § 521-74(a)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
HRS § 521-74(b), (d)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
HRS § 521-74(c)	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More Hawaii guides

Hawaii Security Deposit Return · Hawaii Security Deposit Rules · Hawaii Eviction Process · Hawaii Rent Increase Rules · Hawaii Repairs & Habitability

→ All Hawaii tenant rights topics

Common questions