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How long is squatters' rights in Hawaii?

Twenty years under HRS section 657-31, and only on land of five acres or less. On a larger parcel a squatter cannot rely on adverse possession under Hawaii's statute, however long they stay.

If someone is living in your home now, the clock matters far less than getting them out lawfully, and that is where we can help.

Someone in your home? Get them outStart with one building
Statutory period
20 years
What's different here
only on land of five acres or less
Statute
HRS §§ 657-31, 657-31.5

Someone living in your home in Hawaii? Dardaris helps you get them out.

Changing the locks or cutting the power turns the law against you. We hand it to people who remove squatters lawfully, for a living.

If they are moving in right now, call the police first. Once they have settled in, it takes a formal process, and that is where we come in.

Your contact at Dardaris

 

Book a callWrite to us

Dardaris is not a law firm and removes nobody itself. If you hire the specialist we introduce, they pay us a referral fee, and you deal with them under their own terms. We pass your details on only once you agree.

  1. Tell us what is happening, by email or on a call. Talking to us costs nothing.
  2. We put you in touch with a removal specialist who works through the court and the sheriff, never around them.
  3. Once the home is free, Dardaris manages the letting for you.

Hawaii's period is set by HRS section 657-31: an action to recover land must be brought within twenty years after the right to bring it first accrued. When that time runs out, the person in possession can rely on it. Section 657-31.5 then narrows who can rely on adverse possession. The land must be five acres or less, and the person must not have asserted a similar claim in good faith within the past twenty years. Claims that had already run twenty years before November 7, 1978 are preserved.

Neither section makes a deed or a tax payment a condition. As elsewhere, the possession itself must be actual, open, notorious, hostile, exclusive and continuous, and a person who wants title asks a court to quiet it under HRS chapter 669. The owner does not lose land because someone moved in, and a squatter does not gain it by staying quietly.

A 2026 bill, House Bill 2197, proposed a process for owners to have law enforcement remove unauthorized occupants of dwellings, and a new squatting offense. This page describes only the statutes above, so check the bill's current status with the Hawaii State Legislature before relying on a faster route. Otherwise treat removal of a settled occupant as a court matter, and call the police for a trespass in progress.

Where Hawaii sits against the rest of the United States, in years

Of 50 places in the United States on these pages, 39 have a shorter clock and 3 a longer one or none at all.

Sources checked

From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible

The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.

  1. Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
  2. Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
  3. After 20 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.

Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.

Letting a home in Hawaii? Start from a free leaseFill in a Hawaii residential lease with the deposit, late fee, entry and notice rules Hawaii law sets, then download it as PDF or Word. No account needed.Write the Hawaii lease

The record a court asks for, kept as you go

Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.

Start with one building
  • Every lease, with who signed it and when
  • Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
  • Every document, filed against the building it concerns

Frequently asked questions

What are the squatting laws in Hawaii?

Hawaii's adverse possession rules are HRS §§ 657-31 and 657-31.5: 20 years, on land of five acres or less. Squatting itself is trespassing, and a squatter who has settled in is removed through the courts, never by changing the locks or cutting the utilities.

How long is squatters' rights in Hawaii?

Twenty years, counted from when the owner's right to sue first accrued. HRS § 657-31, with the five-acre limit in HRS § 657-31.5.

What applies to an ordinary squatter with no deed in Hawaii?

The statutes name no deed or tax requirement, but they limit adverse possession to land of five acres or less and bar a claimant who has asserted a similar claim in good faith within the past twenty years. On a larger parcel a squatter cannot rely on it, and until a court quiets title the person is a trespasser.

What is Hawaii's five-acre rule?

HRS § 657-31.5 lets a person rely on adverse possession beyond the limitation period only if the land is five acres or less. A claim that had already run twenty years before November 7, 1978 is preserved.

Is there a recent squatter removal law in Hawaii?

A 2026 bill, House Bill 2197, proposed an owner-request removal process and a squatting offense. Check its current status with the Hawaii State Legislature before relying on it, because this page describes only the statutes above.

Can I remove a squatter in Hawaii without a court order?

Not once they have established residency. Changing the locks, removing belongings or shutting off utilities is illegal self-help eviction, even against a squatter with no lease. Call the police at once if you catch someone moving in, before they have settled. After that, removal goes through the courts.

Can someone help me get squatters out of my home in Hawaii?

Yes. Removal specialists do it through the court and the sheriff. Changing the locks or cutting the power would put you in the wrong. Dardaris can put you in touch with one, and once the home is free, manage the letting for you.

Elsewhere in the United States

The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.

This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.