RR
Rent Regulations

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521 § 521-34

Authorization to confess judgment prohibited.

In Force
Verified 10/23/2026 · Next check 10/30/2026
effective 10/23/2026HawaiiProhibited Clauses

Operative Text

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521 § 521-34
A tenant may not authorize any person to confess judgment on a claim arising out of a rental agreement of any dwelling unit. An authorization in violation of this section is void. [L 1972, c 132, pt of §1]
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-34, any clause or authorization that would allow someone to enter a court judgment against a tenant without the tenant first having an opportunity to appear and contest the claim is legally void in Hawaii. This rule applies specifically to claims arising from residential rental agreements. The provision ensures that tenants cannot be stripped of their right to be heard in court through a pre-signed legal concession.

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

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-34 means that rental agreements used by Hawaii property owners and managers cannot include any clause asking a tenant to pre-authorize a confession of judgment. Operators who include such a clause will find it unenforceable, and the authorization itself is void by operation of law. Compliant landlords review their lease templates to ensure no such provisions appear, regardless of whether they were drafted in another jurisdiction where such clauses may be permitted.

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. § 521-34 protects tenants by making any confession-of-judgment authorization in a residential lease void and unenforceable. If a landlord attempts to use such a clause to obtain a court judgment without giving a tenant the chance to respond, that authorization has no legal effect under Hawaii law. Tenants who believe such a clause has been used against them may wish to consult a tenant-rights organization or legal aid provider to understand the options available for challenging any judgment obtained through such means.

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
Click on timeline segments to view historical versions.

References Out

No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.

References In

Rules and statutes that cite this regulation

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-51
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-71
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-42
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-51
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-52
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-70
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-70
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-42
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-42
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-62
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-43
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-51
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-53
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-52
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-72
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-52
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-51
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-53
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-63
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-42
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-51
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-80
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-80
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-51
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-68
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-71
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44

Related Rules

§ 28
Waivers of Secs. 23 to 27 void and unenforceable
§ 966.6
§ 966.6 Prohibited lease provisions.
§ 12
Stay of proceedings; validity of waiver in lease

Source Information

Source:https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0521/HRS_0521-0034.htm
Snapshot SHA:
Fetched:Oct 23, 2026, 07:04 AM UTC
Raw bytes:Download from R2 →