ROH §39-1.11
Lower rent for a new owner who will live in the apartment
Read the official text at honolulu.gov ↗This rule covers a narrow situation: when someone buys a leasehold apartment and plans to live in it, and the current renegotiated rent is above the legal maximum. The landlord must lower the rent to that maximum, starting when the new owner moves in. The new owner must sign a sworn statement promising to live there while they own it.
landlordstenants
The ordinance, as written (Honolulu County) — Renegotiated lease rent exceeding maximum for new apartment owner-occupant
A copy, taken August 22, 2026. The version published by Honolulu is the one that governs, and it may have changed since. Check it before relying on anything here.
When an apartment owner conveys or transfers the leasehold interest in a residential apartment to another person intending to be an owner-occupant and:
(1) The apartment is under lease during a renegotiated rent period; and
(2) The renegotiated lease rent for the apartment is greater than the applicable maximum.
The renegotiated lease rent for the apartment shall be reduced by the lessor to the maximum rent chargeable under this chapter and such reduction shall be effective as of the date of occupancy by the new owner-occupant. For the renegotiated lease rent to be so reduced, the new owner-occupant shall execute an affidavit stating that the new owner-occupant intends to occupy the apartment as long as owning the apartment.
Published by the City and County of Honolulu through American Legal Publishing.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.