HCC §19-49
Owner pays extra property tax after reclassification
Read the official text at hawaiicounty.gov ↗This section makes the property owner pay extra real property tax when a long-term lease (10+ years) leads to a higher property classification that the tenant did not request. The owner cannot pass this tax to the tenant. The tax is the difference in assessed value times the tax rate before and after the change.
landlordstenants
The ordinance, as written (Hawaiʻi County) — Imposition of real property taxes on reclassification
A copy, taken August 21, 2026. The version published by Hawaiʻi County is the one that governs, and it may have changed since. Check it before relying on anything here.
A portion of real property taxes shall be imposed upon and paid by the owner or owners thereof when: (1) The property of the owner has been leased for a term of ten years or more; (2) The classification of the property has been changed to a classification of a higher use during the life of the lease; and (3) The classification to a higher use has occurred without the lessee petitioning for such higher classification. Taxes which are imposed upon the owners of property under this section shall be paid by the owner of such property without being transferred to the lessee and such tax shall be the difference between the assessed valuation of the property after the classification change times the applicable tax rate less the assessed valuation of the property as it existed prior to the classification change times the applicable tax rate.
Published by the County of Hawaiʻi Office of the County Clerk.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.