Hawaii Mobile Home Park Lease Law: What Operators Need to Include

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Hawaii?

Start with the honest reality: Hawaii has no mobile-home-park tenancy act. There is no state statute dedicated to manufactured-housing communities or lot rentals the way California, Florida, and Oregon have. Mobile home parks are essentially nonexistent in the islands. Honolulu Civil Beat reported that Hawaii does not do mobile home parks, noting the entire state bought just four new manufactured homes in 2013, dead last in the nation.

Because there is no park-specific law, any rare lot or space rental is governed by the general Hawaii Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, HRS Chapter 521, the same code that covers apartments and houses. Your lease must satisfy Chapter 521's written-disclosure rules in HRS section 521-43 and must avoid the clauses the code voids or limits in sections 521-31, 521-33, 521-34, and 521-35.

There is no park-specific entrance-fee, resale, relocation, or rent-notice statute to layer on top. Build the lease to Chapter 521 and confirm with Hawaii counsel before you rely on any park-style clause you have used on the mainland.

Required disclosures and written terms under HRS section 521-43

HRS section 521-43 requires the landlord, or anyone authorized to sign the rental agreement, to disclose to the tenant in writing, at or before the start of the tenancy, the name and address of (1) each person authorized to manage the premises, and (2) each owner, or person authorized to act for the owner, for service of process and for receiving and receipting rents, notices, and demands.

The same section requires landlords to give their general excise tax (GET) number to all tenants so the tenant can file for the low-income tax credit. Keep this information current; it stays enforceable against any successor landlord, owner, or manager.

Practical points: furnish the tenant a copy of the signed agreement, and if the owner or landlord lives out of state or on a different island from the space, designate an agent on the same island to act on the owner's behalf. If you fail to make the section 521-43 disclosures, the statute makes that non-disclosing person the landlord's agent for service of process and for performing the landlord's obligations.

Prohibited and limited lease clauses under HRS Chapter 521

Do not include a rights-waiver clause. HRS section 521-31 provides that, except where the chapter allows it, a tenant or landlord may not waive or agree to forego rights or remedies under the chapter.

Do not include an exculpation or indemnity clause. HRS section 521-33 voids any provision that exempts or limits the landlord, or requires the tenant to indemnify the landlord, from liability for damages caused by the acts or omissions of the landlord or its agents, servants, or employees.

Do not include a confession-of-judgment clause. HRS section 521-34 states a tenant may not authorize anyone to confess judgment on a claim arising out of a rental agreement, and any such authorization is void.

Handle attorney's fees carefully. HRS section 521-35 allows a fee clause for an unpaid-rent suit only up to 25 percent of the unpaid rent (after default and referral to an attorney who is not a salaried employee of the landlord), plus reasonable prevailing-party fees in other matters under the chapter. A clause that exceeds these limits is unenforceable.

Why there is no mobile-home-park statute to follow in Hawaii

Unlike most states, Hawaii never enacted a mobile-home or manufactured-housing park tenancy law. The Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, HRS Chapter 521, is the operative statute, and Hawaii's DCCA points renters and landlords to Chapter 521 for residential rentals generally.

The reason is practical: land costs, zoning, and county rules have kept traditional parks from taking root, so there was never an industry to regulate. Do not assume mainland park concepts, such as entrance fees, statutory park-rule enforcement, statutory resale or relocation rights, or a park-specific rent-increase notice, have a Hawaii counterpart. They generally do not.

If you operate a rare space or lot rental, treat it as an ordinary Chapter 521 tenancy for the land, and remember the tenant may separately own the home. Get counsel on how habitability (HRS section 521-42, landlord to supply and maintain fit premises) and other Chapter 521 duties apply to a land-only rental.

Lease requirements at a glance in Hawaii

• Governing law
  No mobile-home-park act; the general Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, HRS Chapter 521, governs any lot or space rental.
• Manager and owner disclosure
  Disclose in writing, at or before move-in, the name and address of the property manager and the owner or agent for service of process and rents (section 521-43).
• GET number
  Give every tenant the landlord's general excise tax number so they can claim the low-income tax credit (section 521-43).
• Copy and on-island agent
  Furnish a copy of the signed agreement; out-of-state or off-island owners must name an agent on the same island (section 521-43).
• No rights waiver
  A clause making the tenant waive Chapter 521 rights or remedies is invalid (section 521-31).
• No exculpation or indemnity
  A clause shielding the landlord from, or shifting to the tenant, liability for the landlord's acts or omissions is void (section 521-33).
• No confession of judgment
  A clause authorizing someone to confess judgment on a rental-agreement claim is void (section 521-34).
• Attorney's fees capped
  Fee clauses for unpaid-rent suits are limited to 25 percent of unpaid rent; anything beyond section 521-35's limits is unenforceable.

Operator best practices in Hawaii

• Build a relationship with a Hawaii MHP attorney
  Because no park statute exists, have Hawaii counsel review any space or lot lease and confirm how Chapter 521 applies before you rely on mainland park clauses.
• Use a Chapter 521 lease, not a mainland park form
  Start from a Hawaii residential agreement and strip out park-specific clauses that have no basis in Hawaii law.
• Put all section 521-43 disclosures in the signed lease
  Name the manager, the owner or service-of-process agent, and the GET number directly in the agreement and keep them current.
• Scrub prohibited clauses
  Remove waiver, exculpation, indemnity, and confession-of-judgment language, and conform any attorney-fee clause to the section 521-35 cap.
• Give the tenant a signed copy and a rent receipt
  Provide a copy of the agreement at signing and a written receipt for each rent payment, consistent with Chapter 521.
• Separate the land from the home
  If the tenant owns the manufactured home, document that the tenancy covers the lot only, and get counsel on habitability and utility duties for a land-only rental.
• Verify current statute text
  Confirm sections 521-31, 521-33, 521-34, 521-35, and 521-43 on capitol.hawaii.gov or the DCCA handbook before finalizing, since section wording can be amended.