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HB811 • 2026

RELATING TO RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY.

RELATING TO RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY.

Land
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
MATAYOSHI, CHUN, LEE, M., MARTEN, QUINLAN, TAKAYAMA
Last action
2025-12-08
Official status
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Rules for Fixing Zoning Violations in Hawaii

This bill sets penalties, including fines and possible foreclosure, for property owners who do not fix zoning violations on their properties.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes a minimum fine of $1,000 per day for property owners who fail to remediate zoning violations within the time frame set by county agencies.
  • Adds a lien to the property if fines exceed $5,000 and are unpaid.
  • Allows county planning or permitting agencies to start foreclosure proceedings if the owner does not pay off the lien and begin fixing the violation within 30 days.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Property owners who receive notices of zoning violations from county agencies in Hawaii.

Terms To Know

lien
A legal claim on a property that gives the lien holder (like a creditor) the right to take possession of the property if certain obligations are not met, such as paying off a debt.
foreclosure
The process by which a lender takes control of and sells a borrower's property when the borrower has failed to make payments on time.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This bill does not specify what happens if only part of a zoning violation is fixed.
  • It is unclear how this bill will be enforced or how it will affect existing violations before its approval.

Bill History

  1. 2025-12-08 D

    Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

  2. 2025-01-21 H

    Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 2

  3. 2025-01-21 H

    Introduced and Pass First Reading.

  4. 2025-01-17 H

    Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY.
Residential Real Property; Counties; Zoning Violation; Penalties
Establishes penalties for failure to remediate violations, including fines and, under certain circumstances, foreclosure on the real property.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB811

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

811

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to residential real property
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that owners of real
property have certain responsibilities.
�

The legislature also finds that some property owners are unwilling or
unable to fulfill these basic obligations.

����
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act
is to
specify that a property owner who receives a
notice of violation of any county zoning ordinance, rule, or regulation and
fails to remediate the violation, to the county planning or permitting agency's
satisfaction and within the agency's specified time frame, shall be fined a
minimum of $1,000 per day, subject to a lien if the fines exceed $5,000, and
subject to foreclosure proceedings if the property owner does not satisfy the
lien
and commence remediation of the violation
within thirty
days of notice.

����
SECTION 2.
�

Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section
to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

����
"
�46-
�
Penalties for unaddressed zoning
violations.
�
The penalties for a violation of
any county zoning ordinance, rule, or regulation shall be as follows
:

����
(1)
�
An owner of
real property who fails to remediate all conditions that gave rise to issuance
of the notice of violation, to the county planning or permitting agency's
satisfaction and within the agency's specified time frame, shall be assessed by
the agency a fine of no less than $1,000 for each day the violation persists;

����
(2)
�
If fines
assessed to the owner of real property exceed $5,000, then the notice of
violation shall constitute a lien upon the real property within thirty days;
and

����
(3)
�
If
within
thirty days of receiving notice

of the lien, the owner of real property fails to:

���������
(A)
�
Satisfy
the lien specified in paragraph (2); and

���������
(B)
�
Commence
and diligently conduct remediation of all conditions that gave rise to issuance
of the notice of violation, to the county planning or permitting agency's
satisfaction,

���������
then the applicable county
planning
or permitting agency shall commence foreclosure proceedings, judicial or
nonjudicial, on the real property without delay.
"

����
SECTION
3.
�
If any provision of this Act, or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this Act are severable.

����
SECTION
4.
�
This Act does not affect rights and
duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
begun before its effective date.

����
SECTION
5.
�
New statutory material is
underscored.

����
SECTION 6.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Residential Real Property; Counties; Zoning Violation;
Penalties

Description:

Establishes
penalties for failure to remediate violations, including fines and, under
certain circumstances, foreclosure on the real property.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.