Report Title:

Legal or traditional public access; Disclosure

Description:

Requires a seller to disclose to a buyer the existence, if any, of legal or traditional public access whenever a piece of real property is put up for sale. (HB2894 HD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2894

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to access to real property.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 508D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§508D- Public access; residential and agricultural real property. (a) In addition to the other information required by this chapter, the seller or seller's agent shall disclose in the disclosure statement provided to the buyer the existence, if any, of:

(1) Any legal access, including an easement or court order; and

(2) Any traditional public access of which the seller has actual knowledge,

that burdens or may burden the real property being sold.

(b) This section shall apply to the sale of residential and agricultural real property. For agricultural real property, whenever any disclosure under this section is required, it shall be made in a disclosure statement in accordance with section 508D-1.

(c) This section shall not apply to the following types of transfers of agricultural real property:

(1) Sale to a co-owner;

(2) Sale to a spouse, parent, or child of the seller;

(3) Transfer by devise, descent, or court order;

(4) Transfer by operation of law, including but not limited to any transfer by foreclosure, bankruptcy, or partition, or any transfer to a seller's creditor incident to a deed (or assignment) in lieu of foreclosure, workout, or the settlement or partial settlement of any preexisting obligation of a seller owed a creditor and any later sale of agricultural real property by such creditor; and

(5) Sale by a lessor to a lessee resulting from conversion of leased land to fee simple.

(d) For the purposes of this section:

"Agricultural real property" means fee simple or leasehold real property with permissible uses in accordance with section 205-4.5.

"Buyer" means buyer or prospective buyer.

"Sale" means sale or prospective sale.

"Seller" means seller or prospective seller.

"Traditional public access" means access through residential and agricultural real property by the general public that has been established through continuous, open, actual, and hostile use for a period of at least twenty years."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.