Hawaii HOA fine rules
Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 421J (Planned Community Associations)Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 421J-1 to 421J-17. The chapter contains no fine provision; the fine power with notice and an opportunity to be heard sits in Hawaii's separate condominium act at Haw. Rev. Stat. § 514B-104(a)(11)
Notice before a fine
Hawaii's planned community association statute confers no power to fine and imposes no notice requirement before a fine. Chapter 421J runs from § 421J-1 to § 421J-17 and its twenty-four sections were retrieved in full this session; none authorizes a fine, requires notice before one, prescribes what such a notice must contain, or prescribes a delivery method. Whether a Hawaii planned community association may fine at all, how much, and what steps it must take first are set by the association documents — defined as "the articles of incorporation or other document creating the association, if any, the bylaws of the association, the declaration or similar organizational documents and any exhibits thereto, any rules related to use of common areas, architectural control, maintenance of units, restrictions on the use of units, or payment of money as a regular assessment or otherwise ..., as well as any amendments made to the foregoing documents" (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-2). The chapter does contain one written-notice period, and it concerns collection of assessments rather than fines: "In conjunction with or as an alternative to foreclosure proceedings under subsection (a), where a unit is owner-occupied, the association may authorize its managing agent or board, after sixty days written notice to the unit owner of the unit's share of the assessments, to terminate the delinquent unit's access to the common areas and cease supplying a delinquent unit with any and all services normally supplied or paid for by the association. Any terminated services and privileges shall be restored upon payment of all delinquent assessments, but need not be restored until payment in full is received" (§ 421J-10.5(e)); before doing so "the board shall adopt a written policy providing for such actions and have the policy approved by a majority vote of the unit owners" unless the association documents already permit it (§ 421J-10.5(f)). By contrast, Hawaii's condominium act does regulate fines: a condominium association may "Impose charges and penalties, including late fees and interest, for late payment of assessments and levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association, either in accordance with the bylaws or, if the bylaws are silent, pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board that establishes a fining procedure that states the basis for the fine and allows an appeal to the board of the fine with notice and an opportunity to be heard and providing that if the fine is paid, the unit owner shall have the right to initiate a dispute resolution process as provided by sections 514B-161, 514B-162, or by filing a request for an administrative hearing under a pilot program administered by the department of commerce and consumer affairs" (§ 514B-104(a)(11)).
Time to fix it
Chapter 421J sets no cure period before a fine, and no cure period at all. The only ten-day cure period in Hawaii's common interest community statutes sits in the condominium act and runs against a tenant: the association's landlord-type rights under § 514B-104(b)(3) "may only be exercised if the tenant or unit owner fails to cure the violation within ten days after the association notifies the tenant and unit owner of that violation; provided that no notice shall be required when the breach by the tenant causes or threatens to cause damage to any person or constitutes a violation of section 521-51(1) or 521-51(6)" (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 514B-104(c)). That provision governs condominiums and does not apply to a planned community association under chapter 421J.
Limits on fines
Hawaii sets no dollar cap on a planned community association fine and no reasonableness standard for one, because chapter 421J does not authorize fines. Fines appear in the chapter only in the collection provisions of § 421J-10.5, where they operate as limits on what the association may do with a fine debt. A fines-only lien cannot be foreclosed without going to court: the association's lien "may be foreclosed by action or by nonjudicial or power of sale foreclosure procedures set forth in chapter 667, by the managing agent or board, acting on behalf of the association and in the name of the association; provided that no association may exercise the nonjudicial or power of sale remedies provided in chapter 667 to foreclose a lien against any unit that arises solely from fines, penalties, legal fees, or late fees, and the foreclosure of any such lien shall be filed in court pursuant to part IA of chapter 667" (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-10.5(a)). Fines are also excluded from the six-month special assessment an association may charge a foreclosure purchaser: for the purposes of § 421J-10.5(g) and (h), "'Regular periodic assessments' does not include: (1) Any special assessment, except for a special assessment imposed on all units as part of a budget adopted pursuant to the association documents; (2) Late charges, fines, or penalties; (3) Interest assessed by the association; (4) Any lien arising out of the assessment; or (5) Any fees or costs related to the collection or enforcement of the assessment, including attorneys' fees and court costs" (§ 421J-10.5(i)). Separately, an owner who disputes what the association claims may not simply withhold it: "Except as provided in section 667-92(c), no unit owner shall withhold any assessment claimed by the association," but an owner who does dispute the amount "may request a written statement clearly indicating" the amounts claimed, including "The amount of any penalty, late fee, lien filing fee, and any other charge included in the assessment" and "The amount of attorneys' fees and costs, if any, included in the assessment," and stating "That a unit owner has a right to demand mediation to resolve disputes about the amount or validity of an association's assessment; provided that the unit owner immediately pays the assessment in full and keeps assessments current" and "That payment in full of the assessment does not prevent the unit owner from contesting the assessment or receiving a refund of amounts not owed" (§ 421J-10.5(c)). "A unit owner who pays an association the full amount claimed by the association may file a claim against the association in court, including small claims court, or require the association to mediate under section 421J-13 to resolve any disputes concerning the amount or validity of the association's claim" (§ 421J-10.5(d)).
Your right to records
"Association documents, the most current financial statement of the association, and the minutes of the most recent meeting of the board of directors (other than minutes of executive sessions) shall be made available for examination by any member at no cost, on twenty-four-hour loan or during reasonable hours" (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-7(a)). Approved minutes of non-executive board meetings "for the current and prior year" must be available at no cost or on twenty-four-hour loan, or transmitted to a member on request "within a reasonable period of time from receipt of the request" by mail, electronic mail or facsimile as the member prefers, with duplication and postage costs borne by the member, and must be "Maintained by the association for at least five years" (§ 421J-7(b)). "Financial statements, general ledgers, accounts receivable ledgers, accounts payable ledgers, check ledgers, insurance policies, contracts, invoices of the association for the duration those records are kept by the association, and any documents regarding delinquencies of ninety days or more shall be made available for examination by members at reasonable hours at a location designated by the board; provided that members shall pay for all costs associated with the examination of these documents. The board may require members to furnish the association with an affidavit stating that the foregoing information is requested in good faith for the protection of the interests of the association, its members, or both" (§ 421J-7(c)). "Members may view proxies, tally sheets, ballots, members' check-in lists, and the certificates of election, if any, for a period of thirty days following any association meeting"; proxies and ballots "may be destroyed following the thirty-day period" (§ 421J-7(d)). For everything else there is a written-request route with a fixed deadline on the board: "Members may file a written request with the board to examine other documents of the association. The board shall give written authorization, or written refusal with an explanation of the refusal, for the examination within sixty calendar days of receipt of the request. The board may condition its approval of any such request upon payment of reasonable fees." Records may be withheld to the extent they concern personnel records, an individual's medical records, "Records relating to business transactions that are currently in negotiation," privileged communications, "Complaints against an individual member of the association," records whose release "could be a violation of any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation," or "Similar records" (§ 421J-7(e)). A separate right covers the membership roll (§ 421J-8).
What this means for homeowners
- Hawaii has a statute for homeowner associations, but it does not regulate fines. Chapter 421J of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, Planned Community Associations, governs Hawaii planned community associations and gives members rights to records, to mediation and to attorney's fees, but it contains no section authorizing a fine, no requirement of notice before a fine, no cure period, no hearing or appeal right for a fine, and no cap on the amount of a fine. Whether a Hawaii planned community association may fine at all, and what process it must follow, is set by that association's own declaration, bylaws and rules — what the chapter calls the "association documents" (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-2) — together with any other law that applies, since "Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to exempt any association or person from compliance with any applicable law, or subject any association or person to any other applicable law; provided that in the event of a conflict between any such law and this chapter, this chapter shall govern" (§ 421J-11).
- Hawaii draws a sharp line between planned community associations and condominiums, and the fine protections sit on the condominium side. Chapter 421J defines a "planned community" as "Real property, other than a condominium or a cooperative housing corporation or a time share plan, that is subject to a planned community association as defined under section 607-14" or a "common interest community, other than a condominium or a cooperative housing corporation or a time share plan," having the four characteristics listed in § 421J-2. Hawaii condominiums are governed instead by chapter 514B, under which the association may "Impose charges and penalties, including late fees and interest, for late payment of assessments and levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association, either in accordance with the bylaws or, if the bylaws are silent, pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board that establishes a fining procedure that states the basis for the fine and allows an appeal to the board of the fine with notice and an opportunity to be heard and providing that if the fine is paid, the unit owner shall have the right to initiate a dispute resolution process as provided by sections 514B-161, 514B-162, or by filing a request for an administrative hearing under a pilot program administered by the department of commerce and consumer affairs" (§ 514B-104(a)(11)); the condominium act adds a tenant fine power exercisable "After giving notice to the tenant and the unit owner and an opportunity to be heard" (§ 514B-104(b)(2)) and a ten-day tenant cure period for landlord-type remedies (§ 514B-104(c)). Chapter 421J excludes condominiums from the definition of a planned community and, unlike the uniform act adopted in some other states, contains no clause providing that a condominium may nonetheless be part of a planned community. In practice the two acts can therefore apply to two different associations at the same address: a condominium association inside a larger master-planned development is governed by chapter 514B, while the master association that assesses the whole development is governed by chapter 421J, and each association's fine powers follow its own act. Which act reaches a particular association turns on the definitions in § 421J-2 and § 514B-3 rather than on the name the association uses.
- What chapter 421J does give a member is a route to mediation and a fee-shifting rule, both of which reach enforcement disputes. "At the request of any party, any dispute concerning or involving one or more members and an association, its board of directors, managing agent, manager, or one or more other members relating to the interpretation, application, or enforcement of this chapter or the association documents, shall first be submitted to mediation" (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-13(a)); the exceptions are actions seeking equitable relief involving threatened property damage or health or safety, actions to collect assessments, personal injury claims, and certain claims over $2,500 where mediation would defeat insurance coverage (§ 421J-13(b)), and "If any mediation under this section is not completed within two months from commencement, no further mediation shall be required unless agreed to by the association and the member" (§ 421J-13(c)). On fees, costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the association in "Enforcing any provision of the association documents or this chapter" are payable on demand by the person proceeded against, "provided that if the association is not the prevailing party, all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by any such person or persons as a result of the action of the association, shall be promptly paid on demand to the person by the association" (§ 421J-10(a)); and if a member who is not the prevailing party sued the association, the association's fees are awarded against the member "unless the action was filed in small claims court, or, prior to filing the action in a higher court, the owner has first submitted the claim to mediation pursuant to section 421J-13, and made a good faith effort to resolve the dispute under any of those procedures" (§ 421J-10(b)).
- Coverage of chapter 421J has no date cutoff and no size threshold on the community, but it does turn on the association's own founding documents. "This chapter shall apply to all planned community associations existing as of June 16, 1997 and all planned community associations created thereafter" (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-1), and "This chapter and any association document subject thereto shall be liberally construed to facilitate the operation of the planned community association" (§ 421J-1.5). An "association" for this purpose is a nonprofit, incorporated or unincorporated organization "Upon which responsibilities are imposed and to which authority is granted in a declaration that governs a planned community," or a planned community association as defined under § 607-14, or a homeowners' association in which "The voting membership is made up of ten or more parcel owners or their proxies, or a combination thereof" and "Assessments may be imposed that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the parcel" (§ 421J-2). The Hawaii courts have twice held an association outside the chapter for failing that definition; among the case notes the State prints under § 421J-2 is one recording that "Where homeowners' association did not qualify as an association because it was not granted authority in a declaration satisfying the statutory definition of 'association' in this section, trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees and costs pursuant to §421J-10" (annotation to § 421J-2, citing 112 H. 356 (App.), 145 P.3d 899 (2006)).
Verified 2026-08-05
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