Hawaii at a glance
- License
- Broker license to rent or manage for others; exemptions for single-owner caretakers, hotels, condo hotel operators’ staff
- Trust account
- Federally insured trust account in Hawaii by the next business day
- Records kept
- 3 years, kept in Hawaii
- Reconciliation
- No frequency found in the rules
Details and citations for each point are below.
Who needs a license
- A real estate broker includes anyone who, for others, rents or offers to rent, or manages or offers to manage, real estate. Acting as a broker without a license is prohibited.Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-1; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-7
- Exemptions include an owner (or someone acting under the owner’s power of attorney), anyone who manages, rents or operates a hotel, and a custodian or caretaker — defined as an employee of a single owner, so it does not cover a manager with several owners.Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-1; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-2
Short-term rental rules
- Managing condominium units for transient lodging is operating a condominium hotel, and condominium hotel operators register with the Commission and carry a fidelity bond ($500 per unit, $20,000 to $100,000). Active licensed brokers are exempt from that registration and bond.Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-30
- A condominium hotel operator’s employees who only provide customary hotel services do not need a real estate license.Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-30
- Transient accommodations must display the name, phone number and email of a local contact — someone on the same island — with the registration, and include them in advertising.Haw. Rev. Stat. § 237D-1; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 237D-4
The trust account
- Brokerage firms keep a trust fund account in Hawaii at a federally insured bank or recognized depository, with the principal broker as trustee, and deposit trust funds by the next business day after receipt.Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4
- Rental deposits and rental receipts are kept in special bank accounts separate from the broker’s own funds. Commingling is prohibited, except a minimum amount to keep the account open.Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-3; Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-14
- The account may or may not bear interest, as agreed in writing; without an agreement, interest goes to the owner of the funds.Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4
- Earned commissions and management fees may not be left in the client trust account beyond a reasonable time.Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4
Advance rents and deposits
- A salesperson who receives security deposits or rental income turns them over to the principal broker or broker-in-charge by the next business day.Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4
- Hawaii’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Code excludes day-to-day transient stays in a hotel or motel.Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-7
Records and how long to keep them
- Brokerage firms keep records of all trust funds for at least three years, in Hawaii, showing payer, payee, date, amount and purpose.Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4
Reconciliation and ledgers
- We found no reconciliation frequency in the Commission’s trust account rule. Failing to account for money belonging to others within a reasonable time is grounds for discipline.Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-14
Check with the Hawaii Real Estate Commission (DCCA Real Estate Branch)
We could not confirm these from a primary source, so we don’t state them as rules:
- Whether the hotel exemption covers managers of individual vacation homes or condos — “hotel” is not defined in the chapter and we found no Commission ruling.
- Who must designate a local contact, and whether the duty is limited to off-island owners — the current statute defines the contact and the display duty but we could not confirm the rest.
- The Commission’s rules were read on a mirror (Cornell LII), not the official PDF.
- Any trust or records rules specific to condominium hotel operators.
Sources
Each source was read on 2026-10-25.
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-1 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-2 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-7 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-14 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 467-30 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 237D-1 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 237D-4 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-7 — Hawaii State Legislature
- Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-3 — Cornell LIIRead on Cornell LII (history to 12/19/2016); the official DCCA PDF could not be parsed.
- Haw. Admin. R. § 16-99-4 — Cornell LIIRead on Cornell LII (history to 12/19/2016); the official DCCA PDF could not be parsed.
The reconciliation itself
Whatever your state’s rules, the monthly check is the same idea: the bank, your books and what you hold for each owner and guest should agree. Our three-way reconciliation guide walks through it with a free worksheet. If your reservations run on VacayOps, trust accounting is part of the Full Platform: guest payments are recorded into trust, owner statements build each owner’s balance, and the month’s reconciliation is signed off and exported as a PDF for your accountant. VacayOps records and reconciles the money in your own bank and processor accounts. It never holds or moves funds.