Today, Hawaii stands at a pivotal moment in handling of vacation rental issues amid an escalating housing crisis. The legislature will soon vote on Senate Bill 2919, before its term ends. That is the controversial measure that gives counties, rather than the state, the authority to regulate or even ban vacation rentals entirely. This move comes in response to widespread concern that vacation rentals are exacerbating Hawaii’s housing shortage and displacing local residents.
Update: Yesterday, the bill was passed by unanimous vote of the joint House-Senate conference committee. It is heading for the final vote by the Hawaii House and Senate next week, where it is expected to pass prior to being signed by Governor Green.
The debate has been heated and is getting more so. Hawaii is grappling with a surge in non-owner-occupied short-term vacation rentals, which many blame for driving up housing costs and contributing to displacement and homelessness. Community groups, including Lahaina Strong—comprised partly of Lahaina fire survivors—have been outspoken in demanding action to convert vacation rentals into local housing to address affordability issues.
Governor Josh Green has pledged to sign SB 2919 into law if it passes.
He asserted his commitment yesterday in a meeting with Lahaina Strong members in Honolulu. “When this bill passes, I will sign it,” Green stated, “People will be able to get housing again.” This statement comes as the bill remains in the legislature, with an affirming vote expected imminently.
The proposed legislation would empower each of Hawaii’s counties to decide the fate of short-term rentals within their islands, including the potential for outright bans. Some see this decentralization of vacation rental decision-making as essential in addressing each island’s local housing needs directly. It has sparked outrage from vacation rental owners who feel scapegoated by a government they view as failing to manage the long-term housing crisis effectively.
Critics of a vacation rental ban argue that banning vacation rentals will harm Hawaii’s tourism industry, which has relied on such often favored accommodations for decades. Furthermore, the constitutionality of such sweeping bans has yet to be fully addressed, setting the stage for fierce legal battles.
Passing the buck from governor and legislature to county councils and mayors.
Despite the controversy, the support for SB 2919 highlights a shift in Hawaii’s approach to managing housing and tourism. The state’s decision to potentially pass regulatory powers back down to the counties reflects in part a desire to implement local solutions to complex issues. At the same time, it lets legislators and the governor shift the blame for whatever might go wrong with this plan.
This comes as interesting timing in relation to this: “Alleged Hawaii Travel Industry Corruption Exposed By NYT.”
As this bill progresses toward approval, signing and enactment, it is clear that whatever happens will have long-lasting implications for residents, Hawaii visitors, and the broader economic landscape of Hawaii.
The story continues to unfold and will likely do so for some time. As similar vacation rental challenges persist locally and globally, we invite your thoughts and perspectives on this ongoing debate.
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For his patients’ sake, I hope Green is a better doctor than the pathetic governor he has been.
What you won’t read in the MSM is that 26 states are already in recession, including California. People are broke from all of this inflation created by the Fed and huge government deficit spending.
From Beat of Hawaii today on the American Airlines article “The list of Hawaii airline flight cuts has been coming since last fall as Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, Southwest, and United all positioned themselves against waning demand for Hawaii travel, lack of new aircraft, and the need for airlines to make flying profitable. More changes are ahead, that’s clear.”
A recession will easily clear out most of the housing speculators.
It appears Maui’s residents and politicians have really made a mess of things. This did not happen over night, it did not happen cause of the fires.
It happenrd cause of greed from some residents selling their land and houses to make massive amounts of money to filthy corrupt politicians most voted for.
Now the the residents are between a rock and a hard place.
Lack of housing, and affordable housing some may have to move.
None to little tourism, no work . Some will have to move. Not the first place this has happened to.
“I’m gonna lose money with my speculative investment”
– all STVR owners complaining on here
You either work for a hotel or sunk money into one. This government overreach will do nothing to address housing shortages. Current str homes will sit vacant. If you can’t afford to invest in one now, you sure won’t be able to buy a home later.
Yes. The same can be said for hotel & time share owners & managers. They all want to profit (and usually do) from their investment.
The city of Honolulu & state are scapegoating str’s. If you actually ran the numbers, i think most people would be surprised at how little profit str’s make for their owners.
The law of unintended consequences says be careful what you wish for – you just might get it.
LOL..are you kidding me?
It still baffles me that local & state governments are banning vrbo & air bb rentals. I know if there are quite a few in a residential neighborhood, I understand that issue of having non-owners. But a lot of these rentals are for vacations in destination towns & cities. It’s like they don’t want owners to make money and complete with hotels and inns. Hotels simply don’t work most of the time, especially for families. Good luck to Maui.
That’s the point. The hotels don’t want any competition and they are lobbying for the changes to make it more restrictive. During COVID, we were all told that STRs had to close down because the owners couldn’t maintain the cleaning protocols…and we all know how nasty a typical hotel room can be.
It is quite obvious now that hotel owners are getting their way thanks to them having our Governor in their pocket, I researched hotel prices along the Kona Coast, 729 per night was the cheapest I could find, only the super wealthy will be able to afford to visit Hawaii Due to this new law, For a family to come and stay in a hotel pay for meals the price will be atrocious and there will be a lot Less vacationers, I read the article about corruption in the tourism in Hawaii, still haven’t seen any resignations, that just shows there’s no transparency and the corruption of the tourist industry In the islands, This will also lead to ridiculous court battles and could cost the Hawaii government billions of dollars in lawsuits,Green!!
Let the free market work. Seldom has government intervention solved any type of housing problem and, in most cases, they make it worse.
We’re the govt and we are here to help, haha
The scariest words in the English language.
Of course Maui is screaming the loudest for passage of this bill due to the August 8 fires. While official blame hasn’t been assigned, it’s likely the State, County, MECO, phone carriers and others who will ultimately be on the hook for the damage wrought by the blazes. The New York Times was recently quoted as saying that Maui depends on tourism for 78% of its local economy, by far the highest percentage of any of the Hawaiian islands. We get it that Mauians need housing but with the lack of tourism that this bill will render, it will wreak havoc for resident and guest alike.
Big Ag is not coming back. No military presence like Oahu. Local government can’t get out of its own way.. Good luck, Maui.
My understanding is that this bill would allow the counties to make housing and lodging policies. Rather than an outright ban, Maui (and any county) could decide to allow a capped number of short term vacation rentals, perhaps administered through a lottery.
Maui’s mayor has been anti tourism for a long time, not sure about the other counties. The concern should be the loss of jobs and tax $s which will be put upon the taxpayers. There will be less jobs, failed businesses and billions of lost revenue. Welfare income is definitely not enough with our cost of living. Politicians are getting kick backs. They will survive while our economy is devastated. Then the hotels or someone that can afford to will swoop in and buy properties. The focus is on STR owners when it should be on the economy.
What’s Crazy is anyone, Especially Politicians who are supposed to know their district, would think that Maui Or Waikiki vacation rentals would suddenly and miraculously be affordable rentals for locals.
This is Clearly a bribe by hotels to the House and Senate who are voting on it.
We’ve got our eyes on you…
Great point. Most STRs are in high priced areas (near beaches) and will not be affordable for locals housing.
One has to wonder If the hoteliers aren’t “encouraging” the Governor to put this in place. The Governor isn’t thinking about the Domino effect. Less vacation rentals means hotel prices, which are already through the roof, go up even more. This means Hawaii becomes even more unaffordable for vacationers. While I can certainly see the need on Maui, where people were displaced by the fire, outlawing vacation rentals on all islands will have huge repercussions. The affluent will let their properties sit empty when they aren’t using them. This could lead to squatters, in some areas. Tourism numbers will drop which has a negative impact on the islands’ economies. They’re “cutting off their nose to spite their face.”
I’m sorry – have you not heard HTA / CNHA / Blangiardi / Green speak? What you describe (less str’s, less total tourists, more expensive to visit) is Exactly what they all say they want / Hawaii needs.
Green spoke at the UN & WEF – he is totally on board with the “less people, more open space” (i.e. SDG’s) future for Hawaii.
Why can’t any of the Lahaina homes that burned be rebuilt? Why no permits? Listen to our “leaders” when they speak at UN / WEF – then it starts to make sense.
If a pause or ban occurs I as many others, especially those of us who are retired will sell for the highest and best price. Probably not a local family.
And more of us local people will move away from our home land. Auwe
The other thing Gov Green signed was to build “transitional” housing on some Mauka land the State acquired above Lahaina for the fire victims…….this is not good as it seems—it is another way to deter the re-build on their own land….IMO
I’ve seen the “transitional housing” that the government built on the big island following the 2018 eruptions. What they built was a ghetto, tiny, microscopic units (I won’t even call them homes) that could barely fit a queen size bed. Everyone had to use a community shower facility. They were like one room camping cabins. People were put in there and forgotten.
We were never owed or promised free housing, food and supplies. Help was gifted to us. It should not be expected. Where is the appreciation? Others disaster areas, victims were helped but not indefinitely or as burdens put upon others. People are refusing free housing, then complaining about it. There are jobs right now, not that they will remain. I am hearing about lay offs already but many aren’t interested in working. This was very sad. Sad things are part of life. We all have & will lose loved ones and possessions. We pick ourselves up, go back to work, pay our bills & rebuild, not expect handouts and spit on them when they aren’t good enough. God is shaking his head.
Look up the bills reinforcing Eminent Domain. January before the fire & again right before the fire & allowed in a declared disaster. It should not take years to rebuild & all the focus is being put elsewhere. I just completed a survey. Talk about shoreline set backs. Whose land do you think they will buy at “fair value”? Ones directly on Front St that belonged to wealthy or the owners further back that are low picking fruit? Distracting the fire victims with the ban being in their best interest. Talk of building resorts. Not a bad idea to drive values down first. Follow the money.
STR’s getting banned and restricted in France, UK, Canada…
“In France the annual limit is 120 nights and in some cases council approval is required; in San Francisco there’s a 90-night limit and strict compliance rules, while in Canada – particularly some parts of Quebec, including Montreal – there are selective complete bans on short lets. I could go on, because almost all western countries now have restrictions. You get the picture, I’m sure. So while the UK’s short let clampdown pledged by Gove and his government looks of a piece with the rest of their restrictions on other forms of landlordism, on this occasion it’s part of a bigger global picture.”
Right, almost all western countries have restrictions. The Hawaiian Islands also have restrictions. I don’t quite get your point.
The governor is simply supporting the handing over of STR regulation to the counties. He is not imposing any kind of ban himself. People seem to think these legislative bills will ban STRs; they won’t. The press clearly likes to sensationalize and twist things around, though.
I imagine he’s hoping the counties impose further regulations, and he will have the luxury of not having to take the blame for any of it, especially if it doesn’t work out. Kind of like Pontius Pilate. 🙂
The locations you mention are not almost solely dependent on tourism. Every business on Maui is dependent on tourism in one way or another. What do the other locations have in common? They have other commerce. Restrictions should have been in place from the beginning. Other forms of making a living should have been introduced. Without tourism we will all suffer, even those trying to pass this bill. Note the moratorium on evictions right before they crash our economy & have forced owners to accept long term renters. There are already Issues with non pmt of rents and FEMA losing paperwork. Take someone into your home under these conditions. I don’t own a STR & do have 2 fire victims in my home.
But were you aware that European workers’ vacations (or “holidays” as they call them) are for 30 days or more because most only go every 3 to 5 years. These 30+ day minimum rentals are prejudice against U.S. mainlanders who get on average 2-3 weeks vacation. Most of those folks dream of visiting Hawaii once in a lifetime, and many of them want at least a kitchenette, which they can’t get in hotels. The ban is a Totally unreasonable approach to an ill-defined issue.
@MJ Where do you get that info? My European relative all get at least 30 days per year. They rarely take all 30 days at once, however. Usually they take at least 2 weeks in the summer (usually August), and then a couple of weeks over Christmas, etc. Which often leave them a few days here and there throughout the year.
Do I hear a call for a 4-day work week, and at least 4 weeks paid vacation?? Spreading the jobs around to more people, as well as the wealth.