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Free foreclosure help in Hawaii

Hawaii's foreclosure help is spread across the courts, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and nonprofit legal aid, and the right first call depends on which paper you are holding. A summons and complaint means a court deadline of 20 days. A notice of default and intention to foreclose means two 30-day choices. The state's Homeowner Assistance Fund is closed in every county.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Hawaii law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ask for help in Hawaii

Free. A person replies with the options and official help that fit. Messages about a scheduled sale are answered first.

For example: a sale date, what your servicer has told you, or what changed in your income. Please do not include your loan number, Social Security number or bank details.

Free, and there is nothing to buy. A person reads your message and replies by email, or by phone if you leave a number. We never ask for a fee and we do not sell your details. See the privacy policy.

Who to call first, by situation

  • You are current but expect trouble

    Before you miss a payment

    Call your servicer about hardship options, and use the Hawaii Foreclosure Information Center (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs) to find housing counselors and learn the process. A HUD-approved counselor's help is free.

  • You are behind but have not been served

    Before you are 120 days behind

    Send your servicer a complete application in writing. The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation: Homeowner Assistance Fund page confirms that program is closed to new applications, so do not count on it for arrears.

  • You were served with a summons and complaint

    Within 20 days of service

    Call Legal Aid Society of Hawaii to ask about free help with your answer. If you do not qualify, the Hawaii State Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service gives free referrals to private attorneys. The Hawaii State Judiciary: Self-Help Centers and Access to Justice Rooms offer limited help from volunteer attorneys if you must file on your own.

    Haw. R. Civ. P. 12(a)

  • You received a notice of default and intention to foreclose

    Within 30 days

    Contact the Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution (MFDR) Program about electing dispute resolution, and read the Hawaii State Judiciary: Mortgage Foreclosure self-help page for the conversion petition form and rules. You can choose only one of the two, so get legal advice before you file.

    HRS §§ 667-53, 667-78

  • An auction date has been set

    Immediately

    Call the commissioner named in the notice (court foreclosure) or the lender's Hawaii attorney (power of sale) to confirm the date, and call your servicer for the reinstatement amount in writing. Then call Legal Aid Society of Hawaii or a licensed attorney about court options.

  • Your servicer is not following the rules

    As soon as you can document it

    The Division of Financial Institutions: consumer complaints page explains which companies the state regulates and how to send a written complaint. If you are in a court foreclosure, also give the facts to your lawyer, because the lender is bound by what its servicer told you.

    HRS § 667-59

  • Someone offers to rescue your home for a fee

    Before you pay or sign

    Under Hawaii law a distressed property consultant cannot take any payment until every promised service is finished, and cannot take a lien to secure its fee or acquire an interest in your home. Report anyone who asks for money up front to the Office of Consumer Protection (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs).

    HRS § 480E-10

Official and nonprofit help in Hawaii

None of these charge homeowners for foreclosure help.

Hawaii Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF)

Hawaii's Homeowner Assistance Fund was run through nonprofit providers in each county under the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC). HHFDC's page says all HAF programs are closed to new applications in Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai counties, and tells people with pending applications to contact their provider. The U.S. Treasury says the federal funding period ended on September 30, 2026, so this aid can no longer be paid. We did not confirm any other state-run mortgage assistance that is open today. There is no state foreclosure moratorium tied to the 2023 Maui wildfires in the Governor's current wildfire emergency proclamation. If your home was affected, ask your servicer about disaster relief options for your loan type.

Check the program’s current status

Common questions in Hawaii

Where can I get free legal help with foreclosure in Hawaii?

Legal Aid Society of Hawaii takes calls on its intake hotline at 808-536-4302, or 1-800-499-4302 from the Neighbor Islands, for people who qualify. The Judiciary's Self-Help Centers and Access to Justice Rooms offer limited help from volunteer attorneys at courthouses. The Hawaii State Bar Association's referral service is free, but the lawyer you are referred to sets the fees.

Is the Hawaii Homeowner Assistance Fund still open?

No. The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation lists the programs in Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai counties as closed to new applications, and the U.S. Treasury says the federal funding period ended September 30, 2026. If you have a pending application, HHFDC says to contact your county's provider.

Who handles mortgage scam complaints in Hawaii?

The Office of Consumer Protection in the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Hawaii's Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act, HRS Chapter 480E, treats violations as unfair or deceptive practices and caps a consultant's fee at the lesser of two monthly principal and interest payments or one year's property tax.

Is there a foreclosure moratorium for Maui wildfire survivors?

We found no state foreclosure moratorium. The Governor's Thirty-Second Proclamation Relating to Wildfires, in effect through October 23, 2026, does not mention foreclosure or HRS Chapter 667. Relief may still exist under your loan type, so ask your servicer about disaster options and tell Legal Aid Society of Hawaii if your home was in the fire area.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Hawaii

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Back to the Hawaii overview

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Sources for this page

  1. HRS § 667-20.1 (postponement or cancellation of sale by court-appointed commissioner)
  2. HRS § 667-28 (postponement, cancellation of power of sale; cure three business days before sale)
  3. HRS § 667-32 (affidavit after public sale)
  4. HRS § 667-51 (appeals in foreclosure cases)
  5. HRS § 667-74 (dispute resolution required before foreclosure at owner-occupant's election)
  6. HRS § 667-75 (notice of dispute resolution availability)
  7. HRS § 667-79 (notification of opening a dispute resolution case; session 40 to 70 days out)
  8. HRS § 667-80 (dispute resolution parties, requirements, process)
  9. HRS § 667-81 (outcome of dispute resolution; neutral's closing report)
  10. DCCA Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution online filing portal (Notices of Public Sale)
  11. HRS Chapter 667, Foreclosures (current table of contents)
  12. HRS § 667-1 (definitions, including owner-occupant)
  13. HRS § 667-1.5 (foreclosure by action)
  14. HRS § 667-3 (proceeds, how applied)
  15. HRS § 667-10 (surplus after sale)
  16. HRS § 667-17 (attorney affirmation in judicial foreclosure)
  17. HRS § 667-20 (publication of notice of public sale in a foreclosure by action)
  18. HRS § 667-22 (notice of default and intention to foreclose)
  19. HRS § 667-24 (cure of default)
  20. HRS § 667-25 (date and place of public sale)
  21. HRS § 667-27 (public notice of public sale, cure up to three business days before sale)
  22. HRS § 667-29.5 (eligible bidder, subsequent bid; added 2025)
  23. HRS § 667-31 (distribution of sale proceeds in power of sale foreclosure)
  24. HRS § 667-33 (recordation of affidavit and conveyance; possession)
  25. HRS § 667-38 (deficiency judgment against owner-occupant prohibited)
  26. HRS § 667-41 (public information notice describing both foreclosure types)
  27. HRS § 667-53 (conversion to judicial foreclosure)
  28. HRS § 667-55 (required statement on conversion and deficiency)
  29. HRS § 667-56 (prohibited conduct)
  30. HRS § 667-59 (lender bound by agents' communications)
  31. HRS § 667-71 (dispute resolution: applicability)
  32. HRS § 667-78 (owner-occupant's election of dispute resolution; $300 fee; 30 days)
  33. HRS § 667-83 (stay of nonjudicial foreclosure during dispute resolution)
  34. HRS Chapter 480E, Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act (table of contents)
  35. HRS § 480E-10 (prohibitions for distressed property consultants)
  36. Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 (S.B. 332), effective July 1, 2025
  37. Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 12(a), 20 days to answer)
  38. Hawaii State Judiciary: Mortgage Foreclosure (conversion, Third Circuit mediation pilot, legal help contacts)
  39. Hawaii State Judiciary: Judicial Foreclosure Cases and Conversion Petitions Filed (monthly counts through September 2026)
  40. H.B. 1417 (2013), legislative findings on lenders' move to judicial foreclosure
  41. DCCA: Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution (MFDR) Program and FAQs
  42. DCCA: Hawaii Foreclosure Information Center
  43. DCCA: Foreclosure Scams
  44. HHFDC: Homeowner Assistance Fund (all programs closed to new applications)
  45. U.S. Department of the Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  46. Governor of Hawaii: Thirty-Second Proclamation Relating to Wildfires (August 2026, through October 23, 2026)
  47. County of Maui Resolution 23-244 (December 2023) urging a foreclosure moratorium, noting HRS Chapter 667 had not been suspended
  48. DCCA Division of Financial Institutions: Consumer Complaint FAQs
  49. Hawaii State Bar Association: Lawyer Referral and Information Service
  50. Legal Aid Society of Hawaii: Get Help