Money Owed To Me

State attorney-general restitution · Open

Hawaii Real Estate Recovery Fund

Hawaii's Real Estate Commission holds a Real Estate Recovery Fund for people harmed by the fraud, misrepresentation or deceit of a licensed Hawaii real estate broker or salesperson. Someone in that position may be eligible for up to $25,000 per transaction, including court costs and any attorney fees the court allows, with the Fund's total liability for a single licensee capped at $50,000. The route is through the courts rather than a form: the action for judgment has to be started within two years of the cause of action arising, the Commission must be notified in writing at the time it is filed, and only after the judgment is final and every other way of collecting it has been exhausted can the court order payment out of the Fund. The Commission publishes no claim form and charges nothing for a Fund claim, and a payment out of the Fund automatically terminates that licensee's licence.

Official claim pageOfficial notice

Facts from the official materials

Status
Open
Type
State attorney-general restitution
Category
Housing
Defendant / company
Hawaii Real Estate Commission
Administrator
Real Estate Commission, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Claim deadline
See official notice
States
HI
Proof
See the official notice for proof rules
Possible amount
Up to about $25,000 (not guaranteed)
Source confidence
high
Last verified
October 19, 2026

Covered products and services

  • Hawaii real estate transactions handled by a licensed real estate broker
  • Hawaii real estate transactions handled by a licensed real estate salesperson

The statute caps recovery at $25,000 per transaction, which includes court costs and whatever attorney fees the court allows, and caps the Fund's total liability for any one licensee at $50,000. If the Fund is short of money, claims are paid in the order they were originally filed, with interest at six per cent a year until they are met. The Commission has no claim form: the court orders payment, and a payment automatically terminates the licensee's licence. Figures come from the Commission's own memorandum and the statute it quotes, and are estimates rather than guarantees.

Eligibility questions

These questions help you decide whether to read the official notice. They are not a legal determination.

Did a Hawaii-licensed real estate broker or salesperson handle the transaction you lost money on?

The Fund covers only people who were licensed at the time. Licences can be checked through the Professional and Vocational Licensing search.

Was your loss caused by fraud, misrepresentation or deceit rather than an ordinary disagreement?

Those three grounds are the only ones the statute allows a Recovery Fund claim on.

Did the events giving rise to your claim happen within the last two years?

No action that later results in an order for payment from the Fund may be started more than two years after the cause of action arose.

Are you the spouse of the broker or salesperson concerned, or that spouse's personal representative?

The statute rules out a claim from a licensee's spouse or that spouse's personal representative.

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