Question: I lived at a location for seven years and my year lease ends in September of this year. However I found another place and my application was accepted. If I told the management in writing that I am leaving and I paid for rent for that month, what is the law for leaving before the lease is up? Is it the management’s right to charge me for the months to follow to pay rent up to my lease ends?
Answer: It depends on the terms of your rental agreement. If you have a written, yearlong lease that expires in September, generally you would be responsible for rent through that date, unless some special circumstance applies, such as being a victim of domestic violence who needs to relocate immediately or an active-duty military member who has been reassigned. However, as a long-term tenant it’s possible that you converted to month-to-month tenancy after your initial lease expired, in which case you could give your landlord 28 days written notice and pay rent only through your departure date, according to the Handbook for the Hawaii Residential Landlord-Tenant Code.
“Where there is a fixed term rental agreement, the tenant must remain in the dwelling for the entire term of the agreement or be subject to liability for breach of contract; a month-to-month tenancy, however, may be ended by either party if proper written notice of termination is given. If proper notice is not given, the party ending the tenancy may be liable for breach of contract,” the handbook says. See pages 11-13, “Termination of Tenancy.” Find a link to the handbook on the website of the state Office of Consumer Protection, at cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/landlord-tenant/.
Call the OCP’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Information Center at 808-586-2634 (from Oahu) for more information. Calls are answered 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, except state holidays.
Q: I was surprised to see a guy with a lot of tattoos giving blood. I thought that wasn’t allowed.
A: People with tattoos are welcome to donate blood, although there is a one-year waiting period if the tattoo was done in an unlicensed or unregulated tattoo shop or if it was done with reusable bone needles, as occurs in traditional Hawaiian and Polynesian tattooing, the Blood Bank of Hawaii explains on its website. There is no waiting period for people who got their tattoos at state-regulated tattoo shops, it says.
Q: My son has a learner’s permit, but will turn 18 in about six months. Can he skip the graduated licensing requirements by applying for a driver’s license when he turns 18?
A: Yes, but he should keep his permit current in the meantime. The earliest he can renew his permit is 30 days before its expiration date, according to the city’s website. If it does expire he can renew for up to 90 days afterward without having to retake the written test, it says.
Mahalo
I have lived in Hawaii for more than 70 years. In all that time I have lost three things: my charge card, my purse and my iPhone. In every case honest people have returned them to me intact. On Friday I retrieved my phone from the Bank of Hawaii in Mililani, which received the phone from a lady who found it outside. I have no idea how I lost it. So, mahalo to all those involved, especially the unknown lady who found it. Bless you all! — Grateful senior citizen
Mahalo
I would like to say mahalo to the kind gentleman who paid for my lunch Wednesday at the Waikele Country Club. His kind gesture was much appreciated by this senior citizen. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to thank him in person as he left before I was finished. I will pay it forward. Mahalo nui loa! — K.B.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
