Return of security deposits subject to rental regulations

By June Watanabe

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 10, 2012

~~<p>Question: I signed a month-to-month lease for a room in a home in Hawaii Kai but decided to move almost immediately. I offered to take photos, advertise the room and help the owners find another tenant, and I did. I gave them only 15 days’ notice but found a replacement tenant who moved in the same day I moved out. The owners did not lose one day’s rent. But when I asked for the security deposit back, they told me that because I didn’t give a full 30 days’ notice, they were going to keep half the $900 deposit, despite the fact that I didn’t damage the property in any way. Is it legal for them to keep this money, based on the situation?</p>
<p>Answer: Call the state Office of Consumer Protection’s Landlord-Tenant Line to speak to someone who can better ascertain whether you have grounds to challenge the owners’ action.</p>
~~

Question: I signed a month-to-month lease for a room in a home in Hawaii Kai but decided to move almost immediately. I offered to take photos, advertise the room and help the owners find another tenant, and I did. I gave them only 15 days’ notice but found a replacement tenant who moved in the same day I moved out. The owners did not lose one day’s rent. But when I asked for the security deposit back, they told me that because I didn’t give a full 30 days’ notice, they were going to keep half the $900 deposit, despite the fact that I didn’t damage the property in any way. Is it legal for them to keep this money, based on the situation?

Answer: Call the state Office of Consumer Protection’s Landlord-Tenant Line to speak to someone who can better ascertain whether you have grounds to challenge the owners’ action. Login for more...