On average, HART workers earn about $6,000 a month

Question: Can you please find out how many people are employees of HART and the range of their salaries?

Answer: The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation employs 108 people, whose monthly salaries range from $2,406 to $21,437; the average monthly salary is $6,068, said HART Director of Communications Jeanne Mariani-Belding, who checked with the transit agency’s Human Resources director for the most current numbers.

“According to our HR director, this is probably equal to or less than average salaries in comparable organizations in the city staffed with professionals, such as the Department of Design and Construction, the Department of Transportation Services or the Department of Planning and Permitting,” said Mariani-Belding.

These figures include only people who work directly for HART, not all the jobs created by the ongoing construction of the elevated rail system that will traverse from East Kapolei to Honolulu.

A quick check of the HART website shows that the agency is recruiting engineers, project managers, planners, architects and other professionals. The salary range for each open position is listed with the job ad. For more information see 808ne.ws/1PZE7Lp.

Q: My landlord is ripping me off. I am not the first tenant she’s done this to. She has a five-bedroom house in Aiea that she rents out by the room and then keeps the security deposits after people move back to the mainland or leave for better places. She is not responding to my calls, texts or emails. I even sent a representative over there to get my money back and got no response. How can I get my security deposit back now that I have already moved out? How can I make sure she doesn’t do this to anyone else? It’s really terrible and it makes Hawaii look bad.

A: It sounds like you should start by calling the state Office of Consumer Protection’s Landlord-Tenant Center hotline, to learn more about your rights and responsibilities under the Hawaii Residential Landlord Tenant Code. The line is staffed Mondays through Fridays (except holidays) from 8 a.m. to noon. On Oahu call 586-2634.

You may also wish to hear recorded information resolving tenant-landlord disputes. For that, call 587-1234 and press 2.

OCP, which is a division of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, also provides extensive information online, including links to the relevant state statutes, the Residential Landlord-Tenant Handbook and a variety of dispute resolution resources, including mediation. Start your research at 808ne.ws/1XrVjtN.

Another resource is the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm that provides interactive self-help forms for security deposit demand letters and claim statements. The society also provides in-person legal representation for certain clients. To find out whether you are eligible, call 536-4302 (on Oahu) and ask for intake services. The phone hours are 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3:30 p.m. weekdays (except holidays).

Under Hawaii law a landlord must return a security deposit, which cannot exceed one month’s rent, within 14 days of a tenant properly terminating a rental agreement.

“The landlord can use the security deposit for unpaid rent, failure to return keys, cleaning costs if the tenant did not leave the unit in as clean a condition as it was at the start of the tenancy, and for accidental or intentional damages to the unit caused by the tenant. The landlord cannot make deductions from the security deposit for normal wear and tear,” according to the OCP website.

If a landlord retains any portion of the security deposit at the end of the tenancy, the landlord must tell the tenant in writing why the money was withheld and itemize and document the expenses. A landlord who fails to do so within 14 days of the rental agreement’s termination must return the whole security deposit.

If you are unable to resolve this dispute through any other method, you or the other tenants you describe may choose to file a claim against the landlord in small claims court. Such a claim must be filed no later than one year after the rental agreement ceased.