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
Painting deductions are usually weakest when the landlord is refreshing the unit for the next tenant, covering faded walls, or addressing minor marks from normal occupancy. In Hawaii, the refund deadline and deduction notice rules still apply even if the landlord claims the walls needed work.
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