housingstate

No Eviction of Your Family Without a Judge — and a Stay of up to Three Months

While you are on state active duty or full-time Guard duty, the dwelling occupied by your spouse or dependants cannot be subject to eviction or distress except by leave of court. On application the court must stay the proceedings for up to three months unless your ability to pay is not materially affected.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Eviction only by leave of court, with a stay of up to three months

The protection runs to premises occupied chiefly for dwelling purposes by the spouse or other dependants of a person in military service, for the period of that service.
No eviction or distress may be made except on leave of court, granted on application or in an action on the right of possession.
On application the court shall stay the proceedings for not longer than three months, unless in the court’s opinion the tenant’s ability to pay the agreed rent is not materially affected by the service. The court may instead make such other order as may be just.
Where a stay is granted, the owner of the premises may apply for relief similar to that given to persons in military service under §§657D-22 and 657D-23.
Knowingly taking part in an eviction or distress outside subsection (a), or attempting to, is a misdemeanour.
The adjutant general may order an allotment of the service member’s pay, in reasonable proportion, to discharge the rent on the dwelling occupied by the spouse or dependants.

Who is entitled to it

Chapter 657D reaches the state military forces and full-time National Guard duty.
Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: When a possession action is threatened or filed

1Tell the court, in writing, that the occupant is the spouse or dependant of a person in military service, and attach the order placing that person on state active duty or full-time National Guard duty.
2Ask for the stay expressly. The court has a discretion to act on its own motion, but on an application it must grant the stay unless it finds the ability to pay the agreed rent is not materially affected by the service.
3Bring the pay figures. "Materially affected" is a comparison between civilian pay and service pay, and it is the whole question.
4If the landlord acts without leave of court, subsection (c) makes that a misdemeanour — raise it before the eviction happens, not after.
5Where rent is the real problem, ask about an allotment of pay under subsection (d): the adjutant general can order part of the pay applied to the rent.

Form: Application to the court hearing the possession action
File with: The court in which the eviction or distress proceeding is brought
Documents you will need: dd214
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

Worth knowingThe section protects the FAMILY’s dwelling while the member is away. It is written around the spouse and dependants in occupation, not around the member, which is why it bites in exactly the situation the member cannot attend court to fix.

Worth knowingSections 657D-22 and 657D-23, which govern installment purchase contracts and mortgages and which subsection (b) cross-references, were not read this session. The relief a landlord can seek under them is therefore stated only as the cross-reference states it.

Sources

authority · statuteHRS §657D-21 — Eviction or distress during military service; stay; penalty for noncompliance; allotment of pay for payment
operating · statuteHRS §657D-1 — Definitions ("military service", "state active duty")

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