Landlords Who Reside Outside of Hawaii Are Required to Have Hawaii Property Managers

Hawaii law requires that a landlord who does not reside in Hawaii but is renting out the landlord’s Hawaii property, or who resides on a different island than where the property is located, must hire a Hawaii property manager who resides on the same island where the landlord’s rental unit(s) is located.

Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 521-43(f) provides: ” (f) Any 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 an agent residing on the same island where the unit is located to act in the owner’s or landlord’s behalf.”

As a result the landlord not only must designate that person on the Hawaii rental agreement, but should also enter into a property management agreement with a Hawaii property manager to manage, operate, control, rent and lease the landlord’s Hawaii real property. Although every agreement is unique, particularly with respect to the duties, responsibilities, and payments, certain elements should be addressed in any Hawaii property management agreement, including but not limited to the following:

• What is the term of the agreement?
• What are the property manager’s specific duties?
• What is the property manager’s authority as an agent?
• What type of record keeping and accounting is property manager required to do?
• How are monies to be handled?
• How often does the property manager report to the landlord?
• What is the property manager’s compensation?
• What is the liability of the property manager?

As you can see, there are a number of issues that a landlord needs to consider when hiring a property manager for the landlord’s Hawaii property. An attorney can assist you in identifying those issues and discussing the risks involved as well as your potential options.

Contact us and we can help you review the proposal from your potential Hawaii property manager.