RELATING TO PROPERTY.

SB2396

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2396

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to property
.

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

PART I

����
SECTION
1.
�
Chapter 521, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read
as follows:

����
"
�521-
�
Absentee owner or landlord; on-island agent
registry; required; penalties.
�
(a)
�
The department shall establish and maintain a
registry of agents that shall contain the information of an on-island agent
designated by an absentee owner or landlord to act on the owner's or landlord's
behalf pursuant to section 521-43(f).

����
(b)
�
The department shall make the registry
available for public access on the office of consumer protections' website.

����
(c)
�
Within days of
an absentee owner or landlord designating an agent, the absentee owner or
landlord shall register with the department:

����
(1)
�
Any agent designated to act on the
owner's or landlord's behalf pursuant to section 521-43(f); and

����
(2)
�
The properties that the agent is
designated to manage on behalf of the absentee owner or landlord.

����
(d)
�
An absentee owner or landlord shall notify
the department within days of any changes in:

����
(1)
�
The identity of an agent or an
agent's contact information; and

����
(2)
�
Any property that an agent is
designated to manage on behalf of the owner or landlord.

����
(e)
�
An absentee owner or landlord that fails to
comply with this section shall be subject to the penalties imposed by section 521-67(b).

����
(f)
�
The department shall adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 to implement this section.

����
(g)
�
For the purposes of this section:

����
"Absentee
owner or landlord" has the same meaning as defined in section 521-43(f).

����
"Department"
means the department of commerce and consumer affairs.
"

����
SECTION

2
.
�
Section 521-43,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (f) to read as
follows:

����
"(f)
�
Any
absentee
owner or landlord [
who
resides without the State or on another island from where the rental unit is located
]
shall designate on the written rental agreement
and continuously maintain

an agent residing on the same island where the unit is located to act [
in
]

on
the
absentee
owner's or landlord's behalf[
.
]
;
provided that an absentee owner or landlord shall not designate the tenant as the
agent.
�
An absentee owner or landlord
shall provide on the rental agreement the agent's name and contact information,
including the agent's phone number, electronic mail address, and mailing
address.
�
In the case of an oral
rental agreement, the information shall be supplied to the tenant, on demand,
in a written statement.

����
For
the purposes of this subsection:

����
"Absentee
owner or landlord" means an owner or landlord who resides outside of the
State or on another island of the State from where the rental unit is located.
"

����
SECTION

3
.
�
Section 521-67,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

����
"
[
[
]�521-67[
]
]
�
Tenant's remedy for failure by landlord to
disclose.
�
(a)
�
If [
the
]
a
landlord fails to
comply with any disclosure requirement specified in section 521-43
, within
the exception of subsection (f),
within ten days after proper demand
therefor by the tenant, the landlord shall be liable to the tenant for $100
plus reasonable attorney's fees.

����
(b)
�
If an absentee owner or landlord fails to
comply with the requirements of section 521-43(f), the absentee owner or landlord
shall be subject to a fine payable to the department of commerce and consumer
affairs in an amount equal to one month's rent or $2,000, whichever is greater,
every thirty days following proper notification of the violation until an
on-island agent is registered with the department.
"

PART II

����
SECTION 4.
�

Section 514B-153, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection
(e) to read as follows:

����
"(e)
�

Any member who resides outside of the States or on another island of
the State from where the member's unit is located shall designate an on-island
agent and shall provide the managing agent, resident manager, or board with the
name and current address of the agent, regardless of whether the unit is a
rental unit.
�
The managing agent,
resident manager, or board shall keep an accurate and current list of members
of the association and their current addresses, and the names and addresses of
the vendees under an agreement of sale[
,
]
or on-island agents,
if
any.
�
The list shall be maintained at a
place designated by the board, and a copy shall be available, at cost, to any
member of the association as provided in the declaration or bylaws or rules and
regulations or, in any case, to any member who furnishes to the managing agent
or resident manager or the board a duly executed and acknowledged affidavit
stating that the list:

����
(1)
�
Will
be used by the owner personally and only for the purpose of soliciting votes or
proxies or providing information to other owners with respect to association
matters; and

����
(2)
�
Shall
not be used by the owner or furnished to anyone else for any other purpose.

����
A board may prohibit commercial
solicitations.

����
Where the condominium project or any units
within the project are subject to a time share plan under chapter 514E, the
association shall only be required to maintain in its records the name and
address of the time share association as the representative agent for the
individual time share owners unless the association receives a request by a
time share owner to maintain in its records the name and address of the time
share owner."

����
SECTION

5
.
�
Statutory
material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION

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

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DCCA;
Registry of Agents; Absentee Owners and Landlords; Penalties; Condominium
Associations

Description:

Requires
the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to establish and maintain a Registry
of Agents designated to manage a property on behalf of an absentee owner or
landlord.
�
Requires an absentee owner or
landlord to register any agents managing a property on their behalf with the
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
�

Prohibits an absentee owner or landlord from designating a tenant as an
agent.
�
Establishes penalties for an
absentee owner or landlord that fails to register an agent with the DCCA or
fails to designate an agent.
�
Requires
member owners of a condominium association who live outside the State or on
another island of the State from where the unit is located to provide the
association's managing agent, resident agent, or board with the contact
information of a designated on-island agent for the unit, which shall be
included on the address list maintained by the association.

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