Maui County, Hawaii Eviction Risk: Moderate

Maui County carries an average eviction-risk score of 5.3/10 (Moderate) across its 30 cities, placing it at rank 1 of 4 Hawaii eviction laws counties, meaning it is the least landlord-friendly county in the state, with all three peer counties scoring lower. That headline figure, however, masks real variation on the ground: individual city scores range from 4.7 to 5.8, a 2.4-point spread that has a direct bearing on tenant-turnover exposure and collection risk. With an average rent of $1,931 and an average rent-burden rate of 33.6%, a meaningful share of the rental population is financially stretched, which elevates the probability that a rent shortfall turns into a formal filing.

Statewide structural factors compound the picture. Hawaii eviction laws is not a rent-control state, and state law preempts local rent-control ordinances, so landlords face no price-cap risk from county government. Just-cause eviction is also not required under state law. Those are genuine structural advantages. The counterweight is an island economy where replacement tenants are expensive to recruit and the cost of a contested eviction can absorb months of rent revenue, making tenant screening and early intervention more consequential here than in lower-cost markets on the mainland.

The cities inside Maui County

The highest-risk pocket in the county is Hana, scoring 5.8/10, the single riskiest community among all 30 cities tracked. Close behind are Haiku-Pauwela at 5.5/10 (population 9,178) and Waihee-Waiehu at 5.1/10 (population 10,988), both of which sit well above the county average. Kaanapali also scores 5.6/10, while Kihei, the county's second-largest community at 21,567 residents, comes in at 5.9/10. Landlords with units in any of these five communities should weight tenant screening and lease-compliance procedures accordingly.

The risk picture looks considerably different on the lower end. Makawao scores 5.2/10, the most landlord-friendly reading among the larger cities in the county, and Pukalani eviction risk follows at 5.4/10. Kahului, the county's most populous city at 28,288 residents, scores 5.1/10, essentially at the statewide middle. These variations confirm that risk in Maui County is hyper-local: a landlord portfolio spanning multiple communities can carry very different risk profiles even within the same county boundary.

State-level laws that apply here

All residential tenancies in Maui County are governed by the Hawaii eviction laws Residential Landlord-Tenant Code, HRS § 521. Notice requirements depend on the reason for termination: 5 days for non-payment of rent, 10 days for a lease violation subject to cure, and 30 days for an end-of-term or no-cause termination. For anyone new to the state, the full Hawaii eviction laws eviction process, from notice through writ of possession, runs 30 to 60 days for uncontested cases and 75 to 150 days when a tenant contests. Landlords considering the economics should review Hawaii eviction costs carefully: court filing fees run $155 to $265, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $200, and attorney fees, while optional, typically range from $750 to $3,500, meaning a contested case can approach the high end of those ranges before a writ is even issued.

There is no statewide rent cap formula in effect, and the state's preemption statute prevents counties from enacting their own rent-control rules. Just-cause eviction is not required. Landlords must provide 48 hours advance notice before entering a unit under HRS § 521, and the anti-retaliation statute at HRS § 521-74 applies statewide. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Hawaii eviction laws law, though all other fair-housing enforcement runs through the Hawaii eviction laws Civil Rights Commission.

With a county-wide poverty rate of 9.7% and a renter share of 34.2% of households, Maui County's rental market is concentrated and financially sensitive; the city-by-city grid above shows where that exposure is highest, from Hana's 5.8/10 down to Makawao's 5.2/10.