Hawaii · Construction-defect rights
Here is what you have, and here is how to keep it.
In Hawaii you have at most 10 years from completion to sue over a construction defect; inside that cap the ordinary deadlines apply (two years for damage to persons or property under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7, or six years under § 657-1). Before suing a contractor you must serve a written notice of claim at least 90 days ahead. Owners sued for their own negligent repair or maintenance are not shielded by the 10-year cap.
What you have
If the builder or developer still controls the property, the deadline isn’t theirs to raise.
The exception most homeowners would never think to ask about: § 657-8 does not apply to actions against owners/interest-holders based on their own negligent repair or maintenance of the improvement (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-8) It matters most where a builder still controls part of a project — a phased subdivision, an unfinished condo association.
You have up to 10 years from completion to sue over a construction defect (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-8); inside that cap the ordinary deadlines apply, two years for damage to persons or property (§ 657-7) or six years under § 657-1, — and the 10-year cap does not shield an owner for their own negligent repair or maintenance, nor does it touch product-liability claims. Before suing a contractor, give 90 days' written notice (§ 672E-3).
The deadline
10 years to bring a construction-defect claim
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-8
10 years from the date of completion is the outer repose (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-8). Since Act 308 (2025), effective 9 July 2025, § 657-8 no longer carries its own 2-year clause; the ordinary limitations periods apply within the repose (§§ 657-7, 657-1). No fraud carve-out in the statute. It does NOT apply to actions against owners/interest-holders for their own negligent repair or maintenance, and does not limit product-liability claims. A 90-day pre-suit notice of claim is required against a contractor (Contractor Repair Act, § 672E-3).
“No action, whether in contract, tort, statute, or otherwise, to recover damages for any injury to property, real or personal, … shall be commenced more than ten years after the date of completion of the improvement.”
Before you sue: Hawaii requires written notice of the claim to the contractor at least 90 days before you file suit over a dwelling defect. A suit filed without it is dismissed without prejudice, or paused if refiling would be too late. (Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 672E-3, 672E-13)
What to do now
Write it down the day you notice it. Photograph it with something for scale. Note the date, the room, and what you saw. If it gets worse, photograph it again - a sequence is far stronger than one picture. Keep every message with the builder. You are not starting a fight; you are keeping the option open. Hawaii requires written notice to the builder before you sue: see "Before you sue" on this page for the exact rule. Describe each defect in reasonable detail; a record made at the time is what most people are missing later.
The same defect, a different answer next door
The construction-defect deadline is a state-by-state accident of geography. The identical crack in the identical house can be dead in one state and live in another.