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Rent Regulations

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515 § 515-17

Attempts.

In Force
Verified 10/23/2026 · Next check 10/30/2026
effective 10/23/2026HawaiiFair Housing & Anti-Discrimination

Operative Text

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515 § 515-17
An attempt to commit, directly or indirectly, a discriminatory practice is a discriminatory practice. [L 1967, c 193, §17; HRS §515-17]
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-17, Hawaii's fair housing law reaches beyond completed acts of discrimination to cover attempts as well. Whether the discriminatory conduct is carried out directly or through an indirect means, the attempt itself is treated as a full discriminatory practice under the statute. This means that an incomplete or unsuccessful effort to discriminate carries the same legal weight as a completed one.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on October 23, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-17 means that property owners and managers cannot avoid liability simply because a discriminatory act was not carried out to completion. Compliant operators generally ensure that their policies, instructions to staff, and communications with third parties do not reflect any intent to discriminate, since even preliminary steps toward a discriminatory outcome can constitute a violation. Training staff to recognize and avoid conduct that could be construed as an attempt to discriminate is a common practice among operators seeking to stay within the law.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-17 provides that tenants and applicants do not need to show that a discriminatory act was fully completed in order to have a potential claim — an attempt is enough. If a tenant believes a landlord took steps toward discriminating against them, even if the effort was unsuccessful or indirect, that conduct may still constitute a discriminatory practice under Hawaii law. General enforcement paths include filing a complaint with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission or consulting a tenant-rights organization to understand available options.

General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.

Generated October 23, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

Effective Timeline

Current
Oct 23, 2026
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References Out

No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.

References In

Rules and statutes that cite this regulation

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-9
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-9
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-4
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-8
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-4
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-8
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-7
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-13
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-3
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-13
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-3

Related Rules

§ 5.106
§ 5.106 Equal access in accordance with the individual's gender identity in community planning and development programs.
§ 5.109
§ 5.109 Equal participation of faith-based organizations in HUD programs and activities.
§ 2
Policies; recommendations

Source Information

Source:https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0515/HRS_0515-0017.htm
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