The battle over Maui’s vacation rentals is about to move from council chambers into the courts. Associations representing thousands of island units say they are ready to sue if Bill 9 becomes law. At the same time, the Maui Vacation Rental Association is raising money for a legal defense fund, while owners warn that the phase-out would erase one of the last middle-class options for Hawaii travel.
What the vacation rental bill proposes.
Bill 9 would phase out short-term rentals in apartment-zoned buildings across Maui. West Maui faces a December 31, 2028, deadline, with the rest of the county following on December 31, 2030. Lawmakers say the staggered dates give owners time to adjust while responding to the island’s housing crisis. For visitors, those exact dates now mark the countdown to losing thousands of vacation units.
The county’s case rests on a 2024 state law that amended Hawaii Revised Statutes 46-4 to let counties phase out transient accommodations over time. That shift is what makes this effort different from past fights. Honolulu’s earlier attempt to phase out rentals was struck down because courts said existing rights could not simply be taken away. Maui is now testing whether the Legislature’s new grant of authority can withstand the inevitable legal challenge.
Vacation rental owners vow a fierce fight.
At hearings this summer, board leaders from Hale Kamaole in Kihei and Wailea Ekahi in South Maui told the council they will sue if Bill 9 becomes law. They argue that owners purchased with clear rights to rent to visitors, and stripping that use years later amounts to taking property without compensation.
One condo president put it bluntly in testimony: “We will defend our rights in court if this council takes them away.” It was the first time a Maui association publicly shifted from lobbying to a promise of legal action.
The Maui Vacation Rental Association has also confirmed it is building a fund specifically for court challenges. Its leaders say the county is overreaching and that thousands of families depend on this income to keep up with mortgages and maintenance fees.
What lawsuits could bring if Bill 9 is adopted.
Plaintiffs would likely seek injunctions to pause enforcement while courts weigh the case, which could leave rentals operating for years even with the law in place. Owners say they are confident they will win, citing constitutional protections of property rights. County attorneys argue the recent state law change gives them the clear upper hand.
For visitors, this means that short-term bookings are likely safe, but the long-term picture is uncertain. Injunctions could allow reservations through 2028 or even 2030 to be honored while appeals drag on. If the county ultimately prevails, thousands of vacation units would still be phased out of the visitor market.
At risk are a large share of Maui’s middle-market accommodations.
Removing these Maui condos from circulation would leave travelers with little choice but to pay resort prices or skip Maui altogether, which is why the broader tourism industry is closely watching this fight.
Real estate professionals warn that the uncertainty alone is hurting the market. One broker said the pending bill has “cast a shadow over Maui’s most important visitor inventory” and noted that sales are already slowing as a result. Owners note that property values are declining because buyers are hesitant to invest in units that may not be legally permitted for rental use in five years.
For residents, supporters of Bill 9 hold out the promise of more housing. Yet critics counter that few vacation units will convert to local rentals and that the measure will barely touch Maui’s underlying shortage.
This fight has cut deep across Maui.
Some residents cheer the council for finally confronting what they view as runaway tourism, while others accuse officials of scapegoating owners instead of addressing wages, infrastructure, or long-term planning. That divide is evident in testimony, neighborhood meetings, and the hundreds of comments pouring in from both sides.
A Maui resident wrote that, “housing is for people who live here, not for visitors who come and go,” while another argued the bill is a distraction from the county’s failure to build affordable homes.
Longtime visitors countered that they feel pushed out. One couple said, “We have come every year since the 1980s, but without condos, there is no way we can keep coming.” Another reader added bluntly, “The welcome mat is gone, and I will not return if these rentals disappear.”
Bill 9 still needs full council approval before it becomes law.
Owners and attorneys are already lining up for a fight. The first lawsuits could be filed within weeks of passage.
If judges issue injunctions, vacation rentals may continue well into the next decade while the case winds its way through the courts. If the county prevails, Maui will lose thousands of units that have defined its visitor market for generations.
What is unfolding now goes far beyond zoning. It is about how Hawaii chooses to balance housing with tourism, whether the government will stand by promises made to owners decades ago, and if the visitors who built lifelong ties to Maui will still feel there is a place for them.
Visitor questions answered.
Hundreds of readers have asked variations of the same things: Will their reservations be cancelled, what happens to the condos they have always stayed in, and how far this will really go? Here are the current answers.
What happens next?
The bill still needs full council approval. Once signed, lawsuits are expected quickly. Court orders will determine whether rentals can continue during the legal proceedings.
Will my existing reservation be cancelled?
No. The earliest deadlines are years away, and lawsuits are likely to delay enforcement.
Could Maui lose thousands of visitor units?
Yes. If Bill 9 stands, apartment-zoned vacation rentals will be phased out, removing a significant share of Maui’s affordable accommodations.
Please share your comments and any further questions you may have. Mahalo.
Lead Photo Credit: Beat of Hawaii at Wailea Beach, Maui.
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Wonder what happened to all the TA and GET tax from years and years of STR taxes? Lay blame where it is deserved: corrupt local government who took millions of dollars from STRs and put it anywhere but affordable housing.
Now that your government has taken that money, you’re just trying to scapegoat the next easiest target – STR owners.
The speculators can sue but they will lose. Better sell your property and stop the practice of ruining the island.
What speculators are you talking about ? Most of us have owned for years and have been going to Maui for a lifetime.
I would also like to mention my grandson’s grandfather is 100% hawaian. Their mom is 1/2 Hawaiian. Therefore I feel a definite connection to Maui. Even though the family lives in Oahu
UHERO shines light on the bias and the culprits for lack of housing. It’s not big bad developer’s or greedy mainlanders – it’s your council.
Start looking in the mirror, Maui.
We have been coming since I was 18 years old. I am 74 now. We purchased a time share so we could visit every year. I cry over the Lahaina fire it devistated my life. I still cry for the people of Lahaina and my loss too. I want to continue to contribute each time time I visit. I love this island.
Bummer once this passes, my Mom will never come visit again. Our family only stays in vacation rentals from when I was a little kid. I wonder how the county will deal with the thousands of newly unemployed who will be filing for unemployment….
Sad reality: STR and related activities used to contribute a significant amount of tax dollars to social services like unemployment and subsidies for health care and living expenses.
Banning the activities which support your people while you wonder why they have to leave to work and support their families is an all time stupid move for a politician who claims to care about their people.
There already was a law banning STRs in neighborhoods. This government-grab is for Minatoya-list apartment buildings that were approved for STR. Big difference. Name any place on the mainland where you can rent low-income (“workforce housing”) apartments that are within a mile of the ocean. Maui residents need to realize the only option for low-income housing is apartment complexes. The best location would be to build where the old sugar mill is on Hansen Road. Easy access to everything.
You’ll be back to reread this 🙂
The most likely outcome is not a clear win for either side, but a settlement or a court ruling that forces a compromise. A federal judge is highly likely to issue a preliminary injunction, pausing the law unless the County can show a compelling case it will win—which is a high bar. To avoid this, the judge would likely pressure the County to adopt a much longer amortization period (e.g., 10+ years), create hardship exemptions, or establish a compensation fund. This would be the legally sound way to balance the constitutional rights of property owners with the public’s urgent need for housing.
Immediately after the Mayor proposed the ban, 5 to 10 years amortization is where I predicted the Courts will land. Change of a permitted use to a prohibited use has been litigated and resolved all the way to the SCOTUS. The law is entrenched. I am sure the Mayor knew this from the beginning and Council has learned since his ban was proposed.
I question the Council’s resolve is sufficient to continue the effort to conclusion. If they do, and the outcome is subject to a Court order over a protracted time period, that will stimulate a counter response for political change. As the economy tanks, and more supporters are forced to move, the political wind is likely to shift; and the ban will unwind by political action having gone full circle.
The discussions on here aren’t very nuanced because it seems to be heavily in favor of the owners of STRs who are mostly posting on here.
Banning STRs in purely residential areas is a no brainier no one wants tourists in their neighborhood. These same people who are in favor of keeping STRs would never tolerate it in the neighborhoods where they live.. this is such hypocrisy. This is happening not just on Maui but around the world where these have gotten out of control. If you can put yourself in the shoes of others you will have a better understanding of how it feels to be a local and have all these contribute to ridiculously overvalued properties.
so says the guy who has never been to never been to maui or seen a minotoya condo
The STR ban will fail when exposed to court rulings (clearly against the 4th amendent). Years from now, Lahania will not be rebuilt to its former grand self and the local housing crisis will get much worse. This STR ban is nothing more than smoke & mirrors from an incompetent corrupt state government that has failed the citizens for decades. Of course, the citizens continue to vote for this abject incompetence.
What message is this sending? Looking on sale groups for time shares, they’re going for $1.00. This dislike for visitors is even being shown at the front desk of the Kahana Beach Resort. Coming to the Islands for over 20 years and learning to walk again three times after various surgeries, it shows. Returning from an afternoon out, no parking, but more than three local cars in owner spaces. The area by the trash receptacle is always OK for locals fishing. The areas facing the street are always for owners. We drove through twice no parking available. When I mentioned the higher rate of local vehicles on this trip and asked them to have security check on it, I was told to park across the busy street in overflow. I did write the Resort Company and was told to take it up with the Resort itself with no contact information given. I would have been brushed off just like the front desk did. That stuck with us both and we are selling half of our outside the zone shares.
When the Govenor ordered the mayors to create long term housing , he said to expect law suits.
We need housing and we need water.
Get the vacation rentals out of residential and agricultural neighborhoods. They use too much water. 🌺 please
“We have no water” is code for “we don’t want this”. Maui is home to one of the wettest places on the planet, and not a decade ago was covered by one of the most water consumptive crops on the planet. So many people, like yourself, hide behind “lack of water” as a shield so you don’t look xenophobic, racist, anti-tourist or anti-development. Just say what you mean for once. You want all the treasures provided to the island through tourism, but without the tourists. Maui has so much water that millions of gallons per day become salinized in the ocean, and therefore unusable for consumption, irrigation, fire fighting, etc. But yeah, keep hiding behind a blatant myth and flat out lie. You’re the flat-earthers of the archipelago.
Yea, I guess they realized(too late) part of their job is water supply.
You do realize that STR’s are already banned from residential neighborhoods and agricultural areas don’t you? In fact, it’s not really a problem in these areas at all! The issue is the County doing a “taking” of legally allowed purpose built short term rentals in specific apartment and hotel zones which have been in place since the early 70’s and 80’s. The County recently rezoned most of these STR’s from Condo-Hotel zoning to Apartment Zoning which further complicates and muddies this issue. This is just a lazy way to “instantly” increase long term housing inventory. Unfortunately, for the residents of Maui, it will cost billions to pull this off because it’s not a Free taking for the County to take property rights in this manner.
I know people have lots of opinions on this. But for now it’s basically people saying they “think” it’s going to go this way in court. The truth is no one knows for sure how it’s going to go in court. All sorts of things can happen. But the good news is we are definitely going to find out. Because lawsuits will be filed. It will be interesting to see this litigated.
“Interesting” is not the word I use to describe the lengthy period of litigation that lies ahead. I call it tragic. Economic conditions will continue to decline, jobs will be lost, and more working people will be forced to leave. Meanwhile, nothing will improve as the Mayor’s partial STR ban proposal has sucked the oxygen out of the room and serves as a big distraction. Instead of advancements, his ban will add to human misery, and racism will continue to displace aloha.
Right, but I agree with Bryon’s sensibilities. We don’t have much choice but to watch, with interest, how this STR proposal unfolds, along with the associated carnage. Those who care will go insane otherwise, as there is nothing to be done about it. None of us are going to convince anyone to change the trajectory of this. Their minds are already made up, and any opposition is just noise to them.
The upside is that the positions and predictions of both sides of this issue will ultimately be proven true or false. It will be a relief to stop arguing about what will/will not happen should 7000 STRs be removed from the economy of Maui. We will witness the results first-hand.
The Council can pass any law, rule or ordinance that they want. There’s no “free bit of the apple” though. This is clearly a taking and legal precedent is everywhere on this exact issue. The County gets to pay for the taking of private property – even the rights are considered a taking. There is just no way that Maui County can afford to write a check for close to the 2 Billion dollars this is going to cost to pay for this taking. How exactly do they plan to pay for this?
The problem with this is that a lot of these owner arguments are basically self-interest couched in legalese.
This has been tried before — see Santa Monica vs. Homeaway— and it failed in the same courts where this will be heading. Of course, many of the owners and AirBnB VRBo know this, so they are trying to spread fear and confusion in the minds of legislators and the public.
Yeah, it’s wild that someone who has $1M+ invested someplace might be advocating for their own interests. I mean, the entire hotel industry spends billions lobbying the government – and as far as Lahaina Strong, SB2919, Governor Green and Mayor Bissen and Bill 9 are concerned, it has been worth every penny.
Lahaina Strong isn’t a community advocacy group, they are a self-interested for-profit organization. The best thing that can happen for them is for Maui to stay stuck in this long drawn out (manufactured) “crisis”. Once the “crisis” is over, so stops their gravy train.
I don’t understand why there is any sympathy for these people who bought the condos that were meant for residential purposes and reduced it from the rental/ownership market.
These people are also responsible for driving up the prices of homes on the island because they didn’t care what they paid because then you as an STR they could make up the money. So people who wanted to buy them were outfit by these people.
Once these people relinquish these properties hopefully the prices will come down on the island they are responsible for driving up the prices and hence have caused an even bigger problem. Their argument that the locals won’t be able to afford the rent of their condors is perverse because they are the ones who created such a condition by bidding up the prices.
80-90% of the short term rentals they’re trying to shut down are 1 bedroom units and aren’t big enough to accommodate families!
You’re naive. Most locals can’t qualify for a mortgage or afford to buy a home. Any sales will be to offisland people looking to relocate or live part time. The condo units are going to be bought by locals.
Maui council needs to solve the problem by fixing permitting processes and stopping the approval of houses for the rich without taking care of their local voters.
They want to kill STR to serve the hotels who only funnel revenue off island while keeping locals in low wage jobs. Allowing STR supports too many local businesses and can give local families real wealth. Maui council is trying to keep locals from improving their status.
Aloha, the aoao dues to maintain these properties seldom if ever goes down. Most on the west side are 1,500 to 3,200+ per month. That’s on top of mortgage, lease hold (if applicable), utilities, property tax, and insurance.
You are putting the blame on the wrong people, who sold the property in the first place was it your family member that was looking for the huge profit? You cant blame the buyer. So let that sink in for a moment and you just might get it. We have the same problem all over the country with foreigner’s buying up the country. Why should Hawaii be any different if you didn’t want the mainlanders or anyone else to move in than all the Hawaiian locals should not have put the property for sale but they did because they saw the $$$ so put the blame where it needs to be on the people that sold the property in the first place. All this land could’ve been put as lease hold than you could’ve told everybody to pack sand, but lease hold wasn’t as profitable so the sales go through and now you want to blame everyone but yourselves.
Mahalo for your research on what’s happening on Maui. Just a couple of corrections:
You said: “Injunctions could allow reservations through 2028 or even 2030 to be honored while appeals drag on.”
Reservations into 2028-2030 are already “safe”, according to the bill, so an injunction wouldn’t be needed to continue their use during that time.
You also opened this article stating: “The battle over Maui’s vacation rentals is about to move from council chambers into the courts.”
What makes you say this – do you have a crystal ball? The full council has not even had a first reading of the bill yet, and is now not expected to for many months, since a subcommittee (a.k.a a “TIG”) has recently been voted in by the council to look deeper into Bill 9.
Please try not to state or imply something has happened, that hasn’t happened, and may not happen. Visitors and owners alike need the facts.
Quite simply, the real housing issue is the lack of Hawaiians in government to address the extreme permitting issues delaying new construction of both affordable homes and apartments. This has created a housing crisis – just like in LA. Easier to divert and blame this on off island condo owners who actually pay the bills and provide both tax revenue and jobs, as well as travelers who keep local businesses alive.
I think there is also a deeper issue that has been gradually building, especially post-covid, that is the widespread disdain locals have for non-island visitors and to some extent, caucasians. Sorry, but it’s true. I’ve been a frequent resident and condo renter who has personally experienced this feeling of dislike and feeling I’m not wanted here. That, folks, is the 900 lb elephant in the room.
This problem actually was created by non residents buying up existing residential housing that was for people to live and work and converted them into vacation rentals. They also beat up the prices because if they had made a financial decision for renting versus STR they would not have bought them in the first place and the prices would have been reasonable for locals to buy. Permitting them as STRs was a mistake to begin with. This situation is repeating in all tourist destinations with the same remedies being proposed.
Housing should never be used as a profit undertaking it is one of the basic necessities for people who live and work on the island.
I think you’re conflating STR’s in hotel zones with STR’s in neighborhoods which are few and far between. The County has since outlawed or not renewed almost every STR in neighborhoods. If you truly believe that these condos that were purpose built as condo-hotel rentals no longer have the right to exist then I am sure you won’t mind paying much higher taxes to pay for the “taking” of these property rights. Seems like a fair transaction!
If a current timeshare, “str”, is on the Minatoya list and originally marked as an apartment then those places are concerned. Ours was built in the 80’s as an apartment building and then converted to a timeshare. There are timeshares, also on the Minatoya list, that were once apartments all along Lower Honoapiilani. Aloha.
Well said – We’ve definitely felt unwelcome over in recent years. Couldn’t agree more.
Cathy — and you have the people running vaca rentals and AirBnB to thank for it! It has taken us, the public here, almost two decades to catch up to what is going on. The fire finally capped it. Now, sadly, the bullseye is finally not only on vacation rentals but on tourism in general. Make no mistake: We want the tourists out of our neighborhoods and back in the resorts! Neighbors and revolving doors of strangers doesn’t mix in one area. Can you blame us?
Actually, yes I can. We treat everyone with respect and dignity. We have donated money directly to local businesses who generously were providing meals to those affected by the tragic fires. I don’t feel frustrations should be generalized and taken out on respectful unsuspecting tourists. Your island is beautiful and I have enjoyed visiting. For the record I don’t stay in your neighborhoods. No need to respond to me directly again, we’ll obviously never agree. The people of maui will remain in my prayers. I wish you only the best.
Unbelievable, that any government could attempt to take away ‘owners rights’ – where does this end?
These units will rapidly deteriorate from lack of upkeep.
There is no two income family that could manage the HOA fees and insurance costs IF they could afford to buy one of these units.
Very, very sad for Maui tourism – lots of tourists have already changed their vacation habits and Maui is no longer their destination choice.
Str will just go underground. Grey/black market style. They’re technically illegal in Las vegas yet there’s 1000s of Airbnb listings anyway.
Las Vegas doesn’t have the housing constraints. On Maui you can be sure the illegal STRs will be detected immediately and reported. You can’t hide on Maui.. people know each other and there is a sense of community unlike Vegas
You couldn’t be more wrong. There are thousands of illegal STRs on Maui that don’t pay taxes and which the County refuses to address. Many owned by locals renting out family homes. Las Vegas made $12M last year closing illegal units and doesn’t again annually With The Help Of Airbnb. Maui could do the same and save neighborhoods, but refuses to put in the effort. Pay attention: the Maui government cares less about local housing and solving the problem than anyone who owns property on the island.
Well said, I would add that a lot, if not most, of the condos are one bedroom units not meant or accommodating for families which are what is most needed.
We are generational owners at Papakea Beach resort in Honoakowai, our monthly HOA fees are $3100 per month without a mortgage payment. How will that ever fit into the definition of affordable housing ? Us off island owners are being scapegoated by the local government for its failures to provide for it’s residents.
On Maui there are curently over 1,900 apartments, condos, and houses that are for rent, lease, or sale. Most have been on the market hundreds of days. If there is such a housing shortage, why is this so?
Maui council can’t do a simple search to see this?
The market had these irrantional run up in valuations during the pandemic years and now the owners are sitting on these imaginary price gains. They will eventually either reduce their prices or see the writing on the wall and reconcile themselves with moving in themselves. Either way, Hawai’i local society wins. The prices owners are asking are simply disconnected from the fact that Hawaii is a tourist economy with limited incomes and other potential mainland buyers will think hard before they invest in such inflated valuations, lest they loose their shirt in taxes and HOA fees. Meanwhile, smart investors invest in stocks or other instruments.
You’re right and add to the HOA fees a $1200-$2000 mortgage, insurance, property taxes, utilities etc. and that most units aren’t large enough for families.
Good, take Mayor Bissen to court along with the council. If Maui loses in court, take the money from their retirement pay first to pay for the judgement against them. The Mayor as a former Judge wants to take the easy way out instead of building more temporary houses. All because the Mayor was asleep at the wheel when Lahaina burnt down. It happened on your watch, sir, while your Emergency Management person was on another island during the nightmare event. MIA!!!
This is just a lazy scheme to try and take property instead of focusing on the lack of action on affordable housing and development for the past 30+ years.
Politicians and Bureaucrats are responsible for the Lahaina Fire and now they want to shift the cost to STR owners. Typical. Do the math and you’ll see how idiotic their proposal is. First off, take a typical 2-bedroom condo on S Kihei Rd that is on the Minatoya list. Today it costs around $1 million to buy it, monthly condo dues are around $1200-1500, taxes are over $1,000 per month. There is one parking spot, any other vehicles will need to find an available side street (good luck with that). “affordable housing” monthly expense is defined as between $3,000-4,500 on Maui. That leaves about $500 to $2,000 for a mortgage, insurance and utilities. No investor will go for that. Let’s say purchase prices drop 50%. It is still not affordable as an investment for long term rental. But it now becomes affordable for a mainland family (or group of friends) to buy it and use it for personal vacations. Still no long-term rental. Maui’s economy is tourism. Period.
This is what STRs have done to Maui.. raised the price of real estate for locals. If there were no STRs housing will be more affordable. The ridiculous valuations are already coming down
Wrong again. This is what Maui did to Maui, because it is a tourism and service based economy. The island wouldn’t survive without tourists, period.
There is nothing wrong with STR. There are Minatoya properties which were built with it in mind. No local wants to live in those – they’d be awful for full time housing. The sub economy they’ve created has mad hundreds of millions annually for the county. Local families have gotten wealthy. Some left after the fire.
Once Maui realizes there are ways to profit from this type of economy and take care of their people, things will be fine. STRs will be appreciated for the cashcow they can be. But local leaders are too dumb to realize that expanding the local economy, supporting the people, letting small business grow, rather than coddling multibillion dollar hotel chains who send their profits to the mainland is the right option.
It’s time for leaders who understand basic economics and what their people need.
What’s the reasoning here? Is this supposed to make, or direct, units to be sold? I’m thinking that if you can’t str, then you’ll sell? Ok, maybe. The second presumption is that a local, Hawaiian, family, will then buy it and live in it. Ok, maybe, did this family suddenly get the income to afford it? Is the property supposed to drop in value by half or more, making it affordable?
Yes it will definitely fall because the incentive for mainland buyers to profit will be removed. Let’s hope the prices fall from these ridiculous levels so they are more affordable. You str owners disdain for locals is showing
Nope, South lake Tahoe banned str’s. The result wasn’t affordable housing for locals. The result was/is about 40% of the housing stock remains unoccupied and the local economy has been devastated with loss of business. There’s closed stores and restaurants throughout the town.
Right. That’s a consistent result. You’d think local leaders would pay attention and not fall into the “it-will-be-different-here” trap.
Take it a step further: motivated small business owners who’ve lost their business now move, taking the tax base and prospective jobs with them, people looking for gainful employment move away, schools suffer, children suffer, crime spikes, and communities die. Almost sounds like Maui and the politicians aren’t even done yet.
Foster local businesses! Give them opportunities! Don’t limit your people and force them into low wage jobs.
I can’t seem to get a straight answer from anyone regarding our timeshare. Our timeshare is listed on the Minatoya list. So — if this bill goes thru, what does that mean for timeshare owners in these developments???
Those will not be affected as I understand it
I’m confident the owners will ultimately prevail in the courts as this effectively amounts to a taking of property without compensation.
The politicians are ultimately playing to the crowd, knowing full well that this proposal will do nothing to solve the housing crisis, given most of the units are unsuitable for families and would cost more to buy or rent than most can afford.
Leave the STRs be, and find a real solution to the housing problem. It won’t be easy, of course, but there are solutions if you look hard enough for them. Doing away with thousands of STRs isn’t one of them.
No one is taking the properties away.. they are just reverting to normal rental units or owner occupied. You can rent to anyone. If you paid exorbitant amount to make it an str that’s just an investment that you’re going to lose on. It’s like investing in a stock that goes down you win some you lose some. Locals need a place to live and these strs have reduced the amount of housing on the market and driven up prices for the remaining units. I know it doesn’t seem fair to you but try to put yourself in the shoes of the people who actually live here and have to survive.
Most of the str aren’t large enough or suitable for families, that and with mortgage, HOA fees, insurance, taxes, utilities etc. would still not get affordable even if many of them dropped 50% in price.
Why would this bill or legislation or whatever it is, be proposed in the 1st place? It’s not going to help anyone. I mean really, in some magical world the myriad of condo-complexes, with their little entrance gate, walkways, and perhaps a pool and weight room, I guess locals will take up residence? That’s great, but I mean they never did that before. If so, it will be oddly adapdable like the schools aren’t in those neighborhoods, just stuff like that. It was made for tourists. Of course the fire displaced thousands. There’s blame to be shamed for sure, but not fair to put it on the tourist.
Well, it’s good to see that the Maui council has come up with another potential “firm” str date, even though there was already a law that was supposed to start phasing out West Maui beginning July 1st this year & South Maui beginning January 1st 2026. This unwillingness to make a decision is meant to bring uncertainty to both visitors and residents alike.
The timeshare we have been going to since 2004 is one of those on the Minatoya list, so I anticipate the end coming soon; it was supposedto start July 1, 2025.
At this point I feel the “council” is afraid to make a firm decision because they know what discord they will create, one way or the other.
Aloha.
Could Maui lose thousands of visitor units?
Yes. If Bill 9 stands, apartment-zoned vacation rentals will be phased out…..
I find this mis-leading. Yes … some unit or to be specific approximately half of the existing units will be eliminated. This imply ‘all’ vacation rentals will be eliminated.
It’s not going to happen. It’s a “feel good” emotional pile of nonsense, a waste of time. all the while, meaningful legislation is absent.
What do I mean by that? Practically nothing has been done moving forward with lahaina. You can build just about anything in a years time, so what’s up? Might focus on that. Might solve that.
I came to say the same thing. There will still be a lot of rental condos out there. They are not all going away offering only hotels for stays.
Have you even checked the addresses of the hotel-zoned STRs that would be left if the 7K Minatoya condos are taken out of the STR market? I bet you haven’t.
The large majority of those left are the most expensive luxury units, on the beach, surrounded by luxury hotels. Most tourists will not be able to afford to vacation in those, just as they are not able to afford the beachfront hotels. Tourism, restaurants, activity businesses, cleaners, maintenance workers, rental management companies…all of those will likely go out of business, as they have already started to do. And the businesses that those individuals support will be drastically affected as well. It’s a domino effect.
Elect clowns and you get a circus.
Why isn’t Maui counterbalancing the effort to reduce short term rentals by making condotel development easier? More short term rentals in a more dense building such as a condotel would provide a viable replacement investment opportunity for investors with minimal land footprint.
What!?!
This is a typical attempt at a government taking, not to fix the problem of affordable housing, but to reduce tourism. These STR units do not fit the “affordable” or “desirable” type of places families want to live in because if they did local would have been buying them up for years. These STR units have been operating since the 60’s and 70’s, no housing crises then. What changed is the population went up 70,000+ people. The
STR’s only added a few thousand units since the 1990. This is a failure of the county doing its job to build affordable housing for decades and their massive responsibility of ignoring 20 years of warnings about the fire risks and doing nothing about it.
All of that may very well be true. The fact remains that this is the situation that we are in now, and we have to deal with it. Tourists can stay home.
“Tourists can stay home”… and your backup economic plan is what?
If tourists stay home, literally half of the people on Maui will need to find a new home on the mainland. Some of the ignorant locals have said they’ll “pivot” to different employment if/when this bill decimates our #1 industry, but it’s nonsense. The 2 studies done on this subject by actual economists predict thousands of jobs and billions of dollars lost – and there isn’t a “pivot”. If we were going to pivot we should have done it decades ago when the housing crisis was in its early stages. Tourism has been the majority of our economy for longer than that and it’s well known that we’re very vulnerable to anything that affects tourism but there’s not a viable alternative.
And jobs will be eliminated if tourists stay home. Then what?
And so can you, as without tourism most residents would be out of work.
Most of these STRs are not in residential neighborhoods. When I have stayed in Maui in a STR, almost all the neighborhoods is rentals and units are small. A lot of tourist will stop comin g to Maui if they have to stay in a resort. The visitors stay in the STRs spend their money at local shop, restaurants and activities. They also pay about a third of the price is taxes. Tourist stay in resorts spend most of their money in the resorts. The winners will be the hotel and resort, not Maui residents
This article makes several references to the impact of the added statutory authority given by the legislature. However, those comments miss the primary obstacle of the proposed ban established in law. The County Council and legislature can not take vested property rights without compensation. Vested property rights are protected by the Hawaii and US constitution. That principle has been litigated and upheld.
I have no financial interests in STR. I acknowledge that STR conversions to rentals can be an important element for work force housing. I acknowledge that tourism should be balanced with carrying capacity. In contrast, the Mayor’s proposal is a wrecking ball and should be abandoned before the Courts act.
Ban on STR is not the answer for Maui’s housing needs. Doing away with STR’S will do more harm than good for the economy of Maui. Build affordable homes for the residents of Maui.
IMO you never win fighting city state personnel. If the ban fails and the law won’t be in effect the reprocussions might end up being on going restrictions just to make the str operators wonder weather the operation of the situation is worth it. City zoned ordinances, rules, manditory upgrades, the list may never end. If the city looses who pays the bill. Taxpayers, tourists, and locals. The city will get the money back. It just is a matter of how long and how they want to raise the cost of living for locals.
Aloha,
Bingo…the grabberment has an unlimited amount of Your money to screw you over…
Mahalo