Hawaii Eviction Notice Forms

All Districts	By District
Notice to Quit	First (1st) Circuit – O’ahu Complaint Summons Writ of Possession Second (2nd) Circuit – (Maui, Molokai Lanai) Complaint Summons Writ of Possession Third (3rd) Circuit – (Hawai’i) Complaint Summons Writ of Possession Fourth (4th) Circuit – (Kaua`i) Complaint Summons Writ of Possession

Property owners must exercise their state’s legal eviction process to remove tenants. They may not try to remove tenants on their own.

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Step 1. Notice

First, the landlord has to personally give the tenant written notice that the tenant must leave. The notice has to state the reason for the eviction and give the tenant a specified time to correct the violation. However, if the lease has expired, no notice is required.

For nonpayment of rent, the tenant will have five days to repay, for a lease violation, the tenant will have 10 days to correct the violation, and for all other reasons, the tenant has 45 days’ notice if the lease is month to month.

Step 2. Complaint and Summons

If the tenant does not vacate the premises or correct the problem within the allotted time, the owner may proceed with the eviction by filing a Complaint for Summary Possession. The court will serve a Summons on the tenant that will indicate what the owner is asking the court to do and when the tenant must appear. These documents can be served personally or posted on the tenant’s door if the tenant is not home.

Step 3. First Hearing

The answer date in the summons shows when you must appear in court. The court requires the tenant to answer the violations the owner made in the complaint. Tenants may argue against the complaint, or they may enter a “general denial” without answering the complaint in detail. However, if the complaint is for nonpayment of rent and the tenant admits to this, the judge may order the tenant to vacate immediately.

If the tenant does not appear at court, the judge will enter a default judgment in favor of the landlord. Similarly, if the landlord does not show, the judge will dismiss the complaint.

A default judgment allows the landlord to obtain a Writ of Possession, whereby the sheriff’s office can remove the tenant if he or she won’t vacate the property.

Step 4. Trial

If the tenant answers at the hearing, there will be an eviction trial scheduled to occur within two weeks (although the judge may refer your case to an alternative dispute resolution process).

The parties should bring any relevant documents and witnesses to support their cases. The judge will issue a Writ of Possession if the landlord wins. There will be a separate hearing to determine how much money the tenant owes the landlord if the landlord is also suing for damages.