If you’ve been following Maui politics, this won’t come as a surprise. The county has once again stepped back from an all-out vacation rental crackdown, proposing a plan to keep 4,519 units alive through new hotel-style zoning called H-3 and H-4. The idea surfaced at last week’s Housing and Land Use Committee meeting, where members deferred action on Bill 9, the long-debated measure to phase out apartment-zoned rentals.
It also happened the same week Maui landed on National Geographic’s Best of the World destinations for 2026, earning global attention just as county leaders were quietly acknowledging that a full ban would be a disaster for tourism. The contrast is classic Maui; one hand celebrating visitors’ return, the other still arguing about where they should stay.
What the committee proposed this week.
The committee’s new plan would reclassify qualified apartment-zoned properties into H-3 and H-4 hotel districts. Those new zones do not yet exist but would mirror current building standards while formally permitting transient vacation rental use. According to county figures, 64 percent of the rentals once targeted under Bill 9 would be protected if the proposal moves forward.
Vice Chair Nohelani Uu-Hodgins, who led the Temporary Investigative Group behind the idea, said the goal is clarity, not expansion. “It is a lateral move,” she told colleagues. “What exists will remain; the only change is that the use becomes clear.”
Committee Chair Alice Lee expressed concern about passing Bill 9 before the zoning ordinances are written. She warned that the process could extend beyond the current council term and face legal challenges. The county’s planning department called the mass zoning change unprecedented and estimated it could take at least a year to complete.
Council Member Tamara Paltin, vice chair of the investigative group, urged the council to stop delaying and said, “This holding pattern is driving everybody insane.”
Here is how 4,500 Maui rentals could stay legal.
The proposal identifies 4,519 units on a list called Exhibit 2. Most are in Kihei (2,921) and Lahaina (1,579), the island’s busiest visitor areas. Properties chosen for potential reclassification share traits such as sea-level-rise exposure, visitor-area siting, or timeshare ownership. The remaining 2,517 units not on the list could still face a long-term phase-out.
Supporters say the plan keeps the tourism economy stable while freeing housing elsewhere. Critics argue it rewards commercial operators in residential areas. One reader, Paula from Seattle, commented on our previous coverage that she loves visiting Maui but worries about contributing to the housing shortage. Another, Kimo from Wailuku, said eliminating rentals would shut down half the small businesses in South Maui.
If the proposal advances, the planning department would draft the new zoning bills and send them to three planning commissions for review before the full council consideration.
The timing and Maui’s message.
On October 21, just three days before the council meeting, National Geographic included Maui on its Best of the World 2026 list, calling a trip to the island “an investment in the island’s future.” The feature encouraged travelers to visit responsibly and support local recovery after the 2023 Lahaina fires.
For Maui, the timing is striking. Just as global media celebrate the island’s return, county leaders are still sorting through what future rules may even look like. Nothing is close to taking effect, and any changes to vacation rentals would take years to phase in. Still, the debate keeps the issue in the headlines and leaves both travelers and property owners wondering what will come next.
Regular readers know this is not the first time the council has shifted direction on Bill 9. As we reported in July (Shock Vote: Maui Committee Passes Rental Ban Proposal), the measure has advanced, stalled, and been revised repeatedly. Earlier this month, we covered its temporary reversal in Maui’s Vacation Rental Ban Just Cracked Wide Open. This latest proposal marks another pivot, not any final resolution.
What travelers booking 2026 trips need to know.
For visitors planning ahead, the rules remain uncertain in some ways but mostly stable in others. Bill 9 has not been voted on, and the H-3 and H-4 zones have not yet been created. The committee only offered a path to preserve existing rentals if the council approves it later.
Travelers can be assured that nothing will affect 2026 bookings or other upcoming stays. This process will take years to resolve. Yet, doubt continues to enter some visitors’ thinking, with one reader, Chris from Phoenix, commenting, “It feels risky to book now. I don’t want to find out next spring that my rental vanished.”
That is simply not the case for now. Let us know in the comments whether you still have any concerns about your upcoming Maui rental’s zoning status or if it impacts your Maui vacation planning.
Why does the council keep deferring action?
The political divide remains sharp. Four council members on the investigative group, Uu-Hodgins, Paltin, Tom Cook, and Shane Sinenci, support the zoning approach. Only one more vote is needed for a majority. Chair Lee, however, continues to question the sequence and legality of passing a bill before zoning exists.
The committee deferred its vote again last week, saying it will revisit the matter after the planning department drafts new legislation. The full council is scheduled to hear Bill 9’s first reading on November 12. No timeline has been set for the zoning bills.
The $24 million question.
Property-tax data presented to the committee underline financial pressures behind the debate. The 46 properties on Exhibit 2 currently generate about $27.7 million in annual county taxes. If they were converted to owner-occupied housing, that revenue could fall to about $4 million. The $23 million gap helps explain why a total ban is unlikely.
That money funds county infrastructure, its schools, and ongoing fire-recovery and prevention projects. Losing it would leave a hole that hotels alone may not be able to fill. “There is no version of this that does not hurt someone,” said Council Member Cook during the meeting.
What happens next and when.
For now, nothing has changed. The proposal to create H-3 and H-4 zoning districts remains under review, and Bill 9 still awaits its first full council reading on November 12. Even if it is approved, implementation could take a year or longer.
Visitors and property owners will be watching closely. Maui’s message to travelers remains warm, but its policy path is still uncertain for now.
Do you think this latest shift will make visitors feel more confident about returning to Maui, or does the ongoing uncertainty still make you hesitate to book?
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The troubles and confusion over re-engineering Maui rental regulations are obvious, on the big island less so. A milestone dinner eight months in the planning saw family members booking rentals for arrival in January 2026. One group just received a cancellation of their booking in Waikaloa Village, no real explanation. Now it’s more expensive and more difficult to find alternate accommodations. That’s a problem with private rentals what type of insurance would you have to cover this event?
The Tigs recommendation makes a lot of sense. I think they have the order of events backwards. The H3/H4 zoning should be created first and the properties on Exhibit 2 should automatically be moved to the new zoning. Then, Bill 9 could take effect after these properties have been moved. As chairman Lee pointed out, if Bill 9 is passed first, there is no guarantee that the council will follow through with the H3/H4 zoning. That might be the current council’s intent. However, this process could take years and future council members might have different ideas. Best the get zoning done first to eliminate this uncertainty
Maui’s housing problem will not be solved by phasing out STR’S. You have to construct affordable housing. The only people who are going to win are the lawyers who will sue on behalf of the STR owners and probably win, look what happened in Oahu.
Maui politicians are violating the law of Common Sense.
It’s safer to do nothing.
The latest proposal still has my building on the list for rezoning to LTRs.
youtube.com/watch?v=f52wCO0SUQ4
The buildings on either side of mine have been exempted on the new list. It makes no sense. The neighboring buildings are 1-, 2-, & 3-bedroom units, so they could house families. They also have abundant parking.
My building is one-bedroom only, with one parking space per unit. They are not suitable for more than two people and would be cost-prohibitive due to high HOA fees, taxes, and purchase prices.
Hopefully, the list will be fine-tuned to correct obvious flaws.
From the last meeting they stated they had no intention of making any changes to the list. Your building will either need to get “sponsored” by a council member or apply on its own.
The push should be to Kill Bill 9, not special interest carve outs.
I’m getting whiplash.
But there are three major truths here.
a. By far the most important: Eliminating (STV) rentals would shut down Half the small businesses in South Maui.
b. The properties generate $27.7 million in annual county taxes. If they were converted to owner-occupied housing, that revenue could fall to about $4 million. That money funds county infrastructure, its schools, and ongoing fire-recovery and prevention projects.
c. Maui landed on National Geographic’s Best of the World destinations for 2026, earning global attention just as county leaders were quietly acknowledging that a full ban would be a disaster for tourism.
Funny!? Why can cutting Tax incomes are a solution?
Someone is going to get a good deal as everyone else has nothing! I would have tossed out suchLet’s be honest! Do you have money to go on vacation in the worst economy in America!? No. But yes very rich people might! Although law’s and rules are not the fix, stability is! Tourists don’t live here! And the Vacation rental law was. A bad idea, that has only.made problems! Home ownership is all but impossible for the local people!
The process has been totally backa**wards.
The mayor started with a proposal that cannot be accomplished. The Council adopted an ordinance implementing the Mayor’s proposal without prerequisite analysis. Then, the Council backpedaled trying to figure out how to force a square peg into a round hole. While the transfer of the majority of the Minatoya units is a step in the right direction, banning STRs of the remaining units, if adopted, will fail in court. Council: three strikes you are out!
The correct sequence is to kill bill 9, then start over from scratch developing a feasible and effective plan to expand workforce housing on Maui.
Like a few others have been mentioning over and over in the comments – it’s math.
This isn’t “feelings”. You don’t plan budgets around “feelings”, or what you “think” might happen. Facts and math. No way around it.
Logic also applies, like -how many multigenerational families are moving into 1 bedroom condos that are non-owner occupied now sitting in Tier 2 or Tier 2 property tax brackets with Thousands of dollars owed just to break even – yet they’re going to sell/rent to locals? What planet are some of these politician’s on? Further – if you don’t want all the tourists, then actually come up with a financial plan/strategy to replace those dollars. Taxing everything to death isn’t sustainable, as we’re already seeing.
Our family has come regularly to Maui for over 60 years. This year they lied at the car rental return, said we damaged car, thankfully I fought it with pics and won. But the tone of govt/business has changed from Aloha to you’re not local! Very sad! Not everyone, but some.
Either Pass the Bill and let it be stuck down . Or be done with pandering politics. Either they will come to an honest realization that they need tourist or they won’t.
This “compromise” shows that the Bill is not needed. If they can exclude 64% of the list, they can kill the Bill. It is still the taking away of peoples’ vested property rights. No matter how much lipstick they apply, this pig of a Bill won’t fly (yes, mixed metaphors.. but you get the idea).
And don’t overlook this – The TIG recommendation includes:
“TVRs in Apartment Districts located on Molokai were not recommended to be phased out regardless of what occurs countywide.”
Molokai is represented by Lahaina Strong’s Keani Rawlins-Fernandez. Seems hypocritical that Molokai is going to be excluded and KRF will have no repercussions while voting to take away vested property rights from the rest of the county.
Once the list finalized and bill 9 is passed, the class action lawsuits will be filed.
A similar attempt on Oahu didn’t even make it out of the Hawaii court system before it was struck down.
The saddest part is that all this posturing and turmoil has done exactly nothing for affordable housing. The only thing that will help is building additional housing. We’ve known this for decades but land use boards (state and local) and regulations have prevented this.
Bottom line is Hawaii needs to get out of its own way.
The answer is easy… Just follow the money and you will know why Maui is pivoting
The timing with NatGeo is priceless. Maui finally gets celebrated again, and the next day the politicians are still arguing about how to pursue zoning. It’s not a great look from the outside looking in.
The county should have started here instead of pretending it was going to outlaw half the visitor housing. Tourists want options that aren’t $1k a night resorts.
I have Maui fatigue. I simply don’t care anymore.
I’m glad I went this year, and crossed off the things I want to see. I’m going to keep going to my time shares in Kauai, and visit Hawaii and Oahu on my trips. Plenty to do on those.
I’m also following with great interest the authors’ trips to the South Pacific. It won’t be anytime soon, but I do think I want to try out some of them.
We haven’t stayed in Lahaina since before the fires and have been waiting for a signal that visiting again would feel okay. Perhaps that moment is approaching.
It’s funny how Maui gets global praise on one hand and political gridlock on the other. As someone who grew up there, this feels sadly on brand. I do think the new zones make sense with clarity better than chaos. But they’ll argue about this forever I’m afraid.
I just booked Kihei for 2026 and felt a little nervous. It helps to know nothing will really change for years. Still, I wish the county would stop scaring travelers every few months with mixed messages that have been going on for years.
I’m not surprised Maui is walking this back now. You can’t run an island economy without a plan. Tourism funds nearly everything, and this proposal at least shows someone is thinking about a balance. I hope they keep the conversation realistic because the alternative is losing both visitors and revenue.
Do we have any idea which/where the 1579 Properities in Lahaina will be? Is there a proposed map?
Try this Youtube video:
youtube.com/watch?v=r4SEGKSO-BE
While this report is a step in the right direction, some of the choices are unfathomable. My building is still scheduled to be rezoned to long-term only, yet the buildings on either side of me have been exempted. All of us are direct oceanfront, and unaffordable as long-term rentals.
Makes no sense.
How do you find the Exibit A List or map? This is so non transparent!! Mahalo for your help!
At least they are starting to wise up. But looking at the list of units still on the list, a large percentage of them still make no sense. The medium income for Lahaina residents before the fire was $31,000 a year. A property like Kahana Village for a 2 bedroom monthly HOA dues, Leasehold payments alone are over $4000/month or $48000 a year. Vast majority of these properties still on the list HOA dues, insurance and taxes even at long term rates are over $2K a month or $24000 a year. How is that affordable for someone who makes $31000. The county needs to build affordable housing and put them under long term requirements for price controls. Only way to partially fix the problem.
Excellent points! I’ve posted on this issue several times and I will re-state my proposal for the Maui and Hawaii local government, representatives, and the honorable residents of Hawaii. The state of Hawaii can divert some of its billions of tourist dollars towards a fund for an affordable housing program as well as build future affordable housing projects. For instance, the state of Hawaii can partner with native Hawaiians and local residents to help them purchase a home by providing them with additional funding on top of the down payment so that they can Afford to purchase a home. Essentially, the state of Hawaii will be an investor in the home and they will receive the invested money back plus some of the property appreciation when the home is sold by the owner. It’s a realistic proposal and a win-win scenario without the political drama.
Wow, finally, some actual compromise, trying to serve both residents, and visitors whom the residents rely upon for their livelihood.
On Oahu, our short term rental properties are in a resort zone, Ko Olina. Because of this, our property taxes are taxed at the hotel rate. So our property taxes for the same valuation are 4x higher.
So if you extrapolate this out to Maui, if the new resort zones end up taxing the short term resort properties at 1.86x then that would make up for the lost income from the transition.
Maui short term rentals are actually already paying a Higher property tax rate than hotels. A property valued at roughly $1M is paying about $17k per year. It’s a punitive rate used to “entice” owners to rent to long term tenants.