[HI] Can a landlord serve a pay-or-quit notice after partial rent is paid and a prior 45-day termination notice was given?

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Queeneth E. Esq

Hello and welcome to this service. My name is Queeneth. I am an attorney with over 8 years of immigration law experience. I will do my best to assist you today. First, I need to ask you a few questions to give you the best answer. (Kindly note that our conversation does not establish an attorney-client relationship.)

Can you please tell me which state or location your rental property is in? Has your tenant communicated any reason for only paying part of the rent, or have they indicated when they plan to pay the remaining balance?

Queeneth E. Esq

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Queeneth E. Esq

Thank you for your patience.

Queeneth E. Esq

You can still serve a nonpayment “pay-or-quit” notice even if the tenant paid only part of the rent. But in Hawaiʻi the timing and notice format changed recently, and the way you handle any further payments matters a lot.

You can serve the notice on the 5th. Hawaiʻi law lets a landlord give a nonpayment termination notice any time after rent is due. So if rent was due on the 1st and the balance is still unpaid on the 5th, you can serve a nonpayment notice for the remaining balance.

It’s no longer a “5-day” notice (as of Feb 5, 2026). Effective Feb 5, 2026, Act 278 changed the nonpayment notice period from 5 business days to 10 calendar days after the tenant receives the notice, and it added a pre-eviction mediation step. Also, the Hawaiʻi courts’ landlord packets/forms now reflect the 10-day cure period and the mediation requirements. Don’t use an old 5-day template right now—use the current court/mediation notice for your island/circuit.

Under Act 278:

You serve the 10-calendar-day nonpayment notice (Sec. 1 (1)(A)).

If the tenant requests/schedules mediation within that 10-day period, you must wait an additional 10 days before filing (total 20 days from receipt of notice in many circuits).

You already served a 45-day termination; a nonpayment notice does not necessarily conflict. Your 45-day notice is the month-to-month termination route. Hawaiʻi courts explain landlords must give at least 45 days’ written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy. You can still pursue nonpayment during the notice period if rent isn’t paid.

The main pitfall is waiver/extension arguments if you accept rent in a way that looks like you agreed to continue the tenancy past your termination date.

Usually, you do not need to return the partial rent if they don’t pay the balance; you credit any money received against what’s owed.

After you serve the nonpayment termination notice (and especially after filing an eviction), accepting more rent—especially partial—can create defenses that you waived the termination or reinstated the tenancy.

Safer practice is: after the notice, accept only full cure amounts (everything demanded) or get legal advice before accepting anything.

Serve the current 10-calendar-day nonpayment/mediation notice for the remaining balance (not the full rent, since you’ve already received partial). Put everything in writing: “Balance due is $X. If not paid within 10 calendar days after receipt, tenancy terminates.”

If they try to pay more after notice, don’t accept partials—either require full cure or get counsel guidance.