Moving with Pets

Animal Quarantine Procedures

Pet owners love their pets and are sometimes surprised by the extra regulations involved in bringing a pet to Hawaii.

If any pets are moving with you, it’s important to understand that Hawaii does not have rabies and therefore requires incoming cats and dogs to be quarantined for 3 months. You can avoid this (by doing at-home quarantine) if you contact the Hawaii State Quarantine Station 3 months prior to moving. They'll work with your local veterinarian and you can avoid the animal jail that is our quarantine station.

E-mail: rabiesfree@hawaii.gov Animal Quarantine Station phone: (808) 483-7151. Due to the large volume of calls, the best way to contact the Animal Quarantine Station is via e-mail.

Also be aware that on your incoming flight, you have to be at the port of entry clearing office before 3:00pm.  A lot of flights won't make that, so it can take some planning and some airlines, like Hawaiian Airlines won't ship animals during certain months. 

Extra Costs When Renting With Pets

It’s also important to know that pet-friendly rentals are in short supply. This has improved in recent years due to new regulations that now allow home owners to charge a pet deposit. This means that in most cases to move into a rental with a pet you will need the first month’s rent + a security deposit (usually equal to the first month’s rent) + a pet deposit (usually equal to the first month’s rent. Therefore if rent is $3,000 you will need $9,000. You will also need to fill out a pet addendum for most property managers and may be required to have the house pest treated after move-out and/or professionally cleaned when you leave.

At Home Hawaii is one of the more pet-friendly management companies, but this is because we do collect a pet deposit which is reassuring to many of our owners that any pet-related damage can be fixed. Like a security deposit, it is held in a client trust bank account and returned to the renter upon move out in full if there’s no damage done to the home they’ve been renting. 

Renter's insurance is often required with tenants who have pets.  This insurance typically amounts to $150/year and is a good idea for any renter to have regardless of pet ownership. 

Also note that many condos and town homes have either a pet limit and/or size limit.  Typically dogs are limited to 25 lbs.

photo source: yahoo photo images