Land Utilization
Three items covering county planning and zoning, restrictive covenants, the state land use districts and special management areas. Hawaii regulates land at two levels at once, and both apply to the same parcel.
The state layer: four districts
HRS 205-2(a) places every parcel in the State in one of four districts: urban, rural, agricultural and conservation. The Land Use Commission draws the boundaries, protecting lands with a high capacity for intensive cultivation when it draws agricultural boundaries and inheriting the 1957 forest and water reserve zones as the conservation district. Rural districts are characterized by not more than one dwelling house per half acre mixed with small farms. Because the districts are statewide, a parcel in the agricultural district cannot be put to urban use merely because a county map looks permissive.
The county layer, and private covenants
HRS 46-4(a) requires county zoning to be 'accomplished within the framework of a long-range, comprehensive general plan' and provides that the zoning power 'shall be exercised by ordinance'. Zoning is a tool for implementing the general plan rather than a substitute for it. Restrictive covenants in a recorded declaration or deed operate on a different footing entirely: they bind by contract and are enforced by the owners or the association, not by the county, and where both a covenant and an ordinance apply the stricter limit is the one the owner must observe. HRS 508D-3.5(b) makes recorded restrictions a seller disclosure item.
Special management areas
HRS 205A-28 is short and absolute: 'No development shall be allowed in any county within the special management area without obtaining a permit in accordance with this part.' The reach comes from the definition of development in 205A-22, which includes grading and dredging, change in the density or intensity of use of land 'including but not limited to the division or subdivision of land', and construction, reconstruction or alteration of the size of any structure. The same section excludes, among other things, a single-family residence of less than 7,500 square feet that is not on a shoreline parcel and not part of a larger development. The permit is administered by the county planning department.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Hawaii Real Estate Commission (DCCA)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Scored questions
- 125
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Hawaii?
The Hawaii Real Estate Commission, within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), licenses brokers and salespersons. The Commission contracts with PSI to deliver the exams.
What experience do I need before the Hawaii broker exam?
Broker applicants must have been a Hawaii-licensed salesperson associated with a Hawaii-licensed broker for at least three of the five years immediately before applying, and must obtain an approved Broker Experience Certificate before registering for the exam — otherwise the exam score is invalidated.
How is the Hawaii broker exam structured?
The Hawaii broker exam has about 125 questions in a uniform (general) portion and a Hawaii-specific portion, delivered by PSI over 4 hours. Confirm the current passing score for the broker exam with the Commission.
Sources: https://cca.hawaii.gov/reb/real_ed/real_ed-exam_lic/, https://cca.hawaii.gov/reb/16-99-19-2-experience-certificate-application/
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