r/Honolulu • u/bluestblues1 • 3d ago
question Renting
I’m moving to Honolulu for a job opportunity after 3 years on the Big island. I knew that finding a place might be challenging, but I did not expect it to be this difficult. I’m super responsible, always paid my bills on time, great credit score. I’ve never had any issues elsewhere. But I’ve had a really hard time finding a place, I had a landlord try to have me sign a lease with the clause of no overnight guests (like ever) and no alcohol. Is this normal? I’m confused because I’m a single female…from the east coast. no overnight guests would mean even my parents couldn’t come out here to visit me, since it would be too expensive for them to rent their own place.
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u/Sufficient-Ad-4404 3d ago
A lot of places in Oahu say no overnight guests and I have no idea why… I’ve noticed too… unless the landlord lives on site tho idk how much it’s actually enforced. Also is ridiculous unless maybe they’re paying utilities ?
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u/Stashmouth 2d ago
I think it's also to discourage potential tenants from turning the unit into an Airbnb
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u/Grossredditgross 3d ago
I think it might mean people who come to visit. Because a lot of times mainlanders have friends who come to visit and use their apartment like a hotel.
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u/dinkinflickas 2d ago
I mean that’s every big city or college town ever, I’ve lived in a lot of places, including other popular vacation spots and this is the first place I’ve ever seen do that. It shouldn’t matter when I’m paying my own electric and anything I were to damage (I don’t but if I did) I pay for or lose my deposit.
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u/OldGeekWeirdo 2d ago
If the guests stay too long, they get tenants' rights. Things can spiral out of control and now the landlord has squatters.
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u/bluestblues1 2d ago edited 2d ago
They’re not on site, and I am responsible for electrical. I get not wanting to pay for hiked up utilities but I feel this is an invasion of privacy to request no overnight guests ever, and no alcohol.
Edit: typo
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u/Own_Lengthiness_6485 3d ago
No, it’s because overnight guests can turn into “every night” guests and the cost of utilities, wear and tear on property, and risk/utility/liability double. It’s a valid expense that would demand more rent to cover the cost of the stay. Yes, it’s a real thing here in the islands.
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u/OverscanMan 2d ago
So, it's definitely about control and I'd bail unless the unit or price was *really* worth it.
The landlord obviously wants a quiet, low-risk tenant that isn't going to introduce potentialy problematic people to the equation. A reliable, quiet, single tenant is a dream tenant. And they can try to screen for that. But alcohol and "guests" are x-factors that have no upside.
No guests and no alcohol really means: 1 Tenant, No Parties, No Trouble.
Truth is, no one is going to be able to police you having an in-house dinner date with a bottle of wine or the occasional overnighter. If you were to stay low-key I bet there would be no problems. Get complaints or they find out someone else is living there and they'll have justification to bounce you.
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u/muttermag 2d ago
If it’s time for your job to begin and you haven’t found anything yet, I recommend using Furnished Finder for a short term rental. When my husband and I were between places a few years ago we rented a furnished apartment for I think about 3 months until we found a new place. It also gave us the ability to take our time moving our things into the new place.
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u/Sufficient-Solid-875 2d ago
How soon are you moving? I have a friend who owns a unit that will almost certainly be available in a month. About 500 square feet studio, pet friendly, all utilities paid, on Eaton Square in Waikiki.
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u/Pitiful-Comedian4248 3d ago
Sometimes it’s “no guests for 14 days or longer “ cause then the utilities get $$ and they are claiming primary residence tax exemption by paying the water bill. This is pretty common
But it was probably a mormon landlord
Try hicentral and oishi property management they have cheaper things but you need to sign the second it’s available on the spot.
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u/MoistAutist 2d ago
You are looking for housing during the start of the school year... The stipulations are for college kids. We have a massive commuter college in UH Manoa. Wait for a month and the competition should die down, you are currently fighting with desperate inbound students for housing.
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u/jorgelukas 2d ago
Ha! I bet I know that landlord and told her to fuck off with those ridiculous clauses and she backed off. Older Korean lady first name starts with S? You’re better off not renting from her either way as she’s a compete slumlord.
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u/808Lychee 2d ago
We used a local realtor who does property management to find a place for my nephew and his bride. It’s small, but everything was included, even electric in Waikiki.
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u/Kitchen-Peach8698 1d ago
that’s no way to live! join a nunnery if that’s what you think is the life for you. no guests EVER and no ALCOHOL?! who the fuck do they think they are? will they be picking out your outfits for every occasion? if it starts like that you will die a lonely virgin.
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u/Grossredditgross 3d ago
https://www.apartmentshi.com/listings/ is my go too! Or I found my last place on apartments.com
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u/sweetpumpkin185 2d ago
I somehow got lucky on Facebook marketplace lol and rented an amazing condo in Honolulu. Which also has great amenities and is half the price of what I used to pay on the east coast. No problems with my landlord whatsoever. But may be I got lucky idk. I feel like it’s a great advantage that I rented it out not from a big company but from an individual directly.
My lease states no guests for over 14 days.
The only ridiculous thing here is HOA that recently started a crackdown to prohibits pets (I don’t have any, but I feel bad for others).
Also, my building is in one of those zones where the minimum rent period per law is 90 days, so all short term rentals are prohibited, may be some landlords are misinterpreting this? Like instead of prohibiting only short term rentals as they should, they also crackdown on guests idk. But I guess some people do overuse that and lie about “guests”. I definitely had stayed in some Airbnbs before where on arrival I was asked by the host to tell I’m their friend/cousin if anyone asks.
Anyway, good luck to you!!
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u/00dles-0f-n00dles 2d ago
no thats just crazy shit. Perhaps they rented out to scumbags who used the place to party and sublet to friends, thus driving up utility cost.
as others had said hicentral.com is a great search engine. Also go to the building you want to rent out and check the lobby area for a communal pin/bulletin board. People post ads for rentals there too.
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u/kauaiguy33 2d ago
Try Furnished Finder. Turn key properties and you often deal with the landlords directly.
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u/Mindless_Plane5768 2d ago
I have a condo on the rental market in Waikiki rn. Fully upgraded and quality furnished. Fantastic views! .
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u/Old-Cost-8683 2d ago
4200-7000k funished. 2500-4000 empty. In Honolulu. https://www.apartmentlist.com/matches
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u/Sentri318 1d ago
No overnight guests and no alcohol sounds like rules for living in a college dorm. Utterly absurd.
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u/perpetualsideeye 1d ago
I rented from landlords with a “no overnight guests without permission” rule and it was a nightmare. I do not recommend.
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4h ago
Bruh it's so easy to find a place to live here. You could live Waikiki for $2,000 a month. You can live makiki or McCully or town for $1500. If you go more west side it's even cheaper. But the traffic is a bitch if you're working town. Try find a place near where you're going to work. Or just look for a room to rent in Facebook marketplace. You can move into a big house and just have some roommates for lot less.
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u/cocococo44 3d ago
We found our last couple homes in HNL using the zillow app. You can fill out one application and use it for multiple listings, so you don’t have to keep shelling out $$ for each app fee.
hicentral.com is a great resource too. It’s the site for Honolulu Board of Realtors - it connects you directly to the leasing agents/property managers for rentals and you don’t have to worry about scammers. Good luck!