Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521 § 521-46
Application screening fee.
Operative Text
(a) When a landlord or the landlord's agent receives a request from an applicant to rent a dwelling unit, the landlord or the landlord's agent may charge the applicant an application screening fee at the time the application is processed for the dwelling unit to cover the costs of obtaining information about the applicant; provided that a landlord or the landlord's agent shall only charge an application screening fee for an applicant who is eighteen years of age or older or an emancipated minor. Information sought by the landlord or the landlord's agent charging the fee may include personal reference checks, tenant reports, criminal background checks, and credit reports produced by any consumer credit reporting agency. (b) Upon request by the applicant, a landlord or the landlord's agent shall provide to the applicant a: (1) Receipt for payment of the application screening fee; and (2) Breakdown of costs covered by the application screening fee. (c) A landlord or the landlord's agent shall return to the applicant any amount of the application screening fee that is not used for the purposes authorized by this section within thirty days after the landlord has submitted screening requests. (d) For the purposes of this section: "Consumer credit reporting agency" has the same meaning as in section 489P-2. "Credit report" has the same meaning as in section 489P-2. [L 2023, c 200, §1]
Hawaii Revised Statutes § 521-46 governs how landlords may collect and use application screening fees from prospective tenants. A landlord or their agent may charge this fee—covering costs such as credit reports, background checks, and reference checks—only to applicants who are 18 or older or are emancipated minors. If any portion of the fee goes unused for the authorized screening purposes, the landlord must return that unused amount to the applicant within 30 days of submitting the screening requests.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-46, compliant operators collect application screening fees only from adult applicants (18 or older) or emancipated minors, and only to cover legitimate screening costs such as credit reports, criminal background checks, and personal reference checks. When an applicant requests it, landlords and their agents provide both a receipt for the fee and an itemized breakdown of what it covers. Any unused portion of the fee is returned to the applicant within 30 days of submitting the screening requests, so maintaining clear records of screening expenditures is a standard practice for operators following this provision.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-46 gives rental applicants the right to request a receipt and an itemized breakdown of any application screening fee charged to them. If a landlord collects more than is actually spent on authorized screening activities, the excess must be returned within 30 days of when the landlord submitted the screening requests. Applicants who believe a landlord has not complied with these requirements may consider contacting a local tenant-rights organization or Hawaii's state housing authorities 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.
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