Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-35 (2026)

Attorney's fees

✓ current as of July 2026

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§521-35 Attorney's fees. (a) A rental agreement may provide for the payment by the tenant of the costs of a suit, for unpaid rent, and reasonable attorney's fees not in excess of twenty-five per cent of the unpaid rent after default and referral to an attorney not a salaried employee of the landlord or the landlord's assignee.

(b) A rental agreement may further provide that reasonable attorney's fees and costs may be awarded to the prevailing party in all other matters arising under this chapter.

(c) A provision in violation of this section is unenforceable. [L 1972, c 132, pt of §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 103, §1]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases, 2009–2020 · leading case: Cedillos v. Masumoto., 363 P.3d 278 (Haw. 2015).

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Cedillos v. Masumoto., 363 P.3d 278 (Haw. 2015). · cites it 2× “Notably, the rental agreement did not include an attorney’s fee provision, and therefore fees were unavailable under HRS § 521-35 (2006) (permitting rental agreements to include an attorney’s fee provision within certain parameters).”

Morris v. Seidl, 466 P.3d 883 (Haw. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “5 (2016) because the case was not decided on the merits and her claims in this case were not frivolous or made in bad faith; (2) the District Court erred in not limiting its award of attorneys' fees to twenty-five percent of the judgment under HRS § 607-14 (2016); and (3) the…”

Pac. Heights Partners v. Tseng, 214 P.3d 1168 (Haw. App. 2009). · cites it 3× “Upon careful review of the record and the briefs submitted by the parties and having given due consideration to the arguments advanced and the issues raised by the parties, we resolve Tseng's point of error as follows: Tseng failed to point where in the record she objected to…”

Wakefield v. Bardellini, 476 P.3d 773 (Haw. App. 2020). “§ 521-35 & section T.1. of Lease: $261.04 (25% of unpaid rent)" and 8 HRS § 607-14 provides, in relevant part: § 607-14 Attorneys' fees in actions in the nature of assumpsit, etc.”

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