The law in plain English
Return deadline
Under Haw. Rev. Stat. Section 521-44, the deposit response usually has to be sent within 14 days of the move-out timeline described by the state rule.
Required notice
Hawaii generally caps the deposit at 1 month's rent, and the landlord usually has 14 days to send the refund and itemized statement; bad-faith withholding is where the treble-damages exposure matters most.
This dispute type
Once the Hawaii deadline passes, the dispute stops being only about the deductions and becomes a deadline-compliance problem too. A landlord may still argue damage existed, but Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-44 sets the clock for returning the balance and explaining any amount withheld.
Penalty leverage
If the withholding was wrongful or in bad faith, the exposure allowed under the statute is: Bad faith: you can recover up to treble (3x) the amount wrongfully withheld, plus attorney's fees and court costs