Maui had taken the front seat in leading the charge to eliminate vacation rentals following legislation approved yesterday. It will be signed into law by the Hawaii governor today.
With significant legal challenges also on the horizon, the path forward is not certain. What is clear is that Hawaii wants to move towards a future where tourism interests will take a back seat to the needs of residents.
Maui is already moving at breakneck speed to change Hawaii’s vacation rental market. Following yesterday’s passage of Senate Bill 2919, which grants local counties the power to regulate or even eliminate short-term rentals, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen has announced brazen plans to significantly reduce the number of vacation rentals on the Valley Isle.
In a decisive move just following the bill’s approval by the legislature, Mayor Bissen proposed local legislation aimed at eliminating more than 7,000 vacation rental units by January 1, 2026. This strategy first targets units in West Maui, which is the area most heavily affected by the housing crisis made worse by last year’s devastating wildfires.
The current plan targets about 7k Maui vacation rentals.
Mayor Bissen, who spoke alongside leaders of the grassroots organization Lahaina Strong, emphasized the urgent need for long-term housing solutions for Maui residents, particularly those displaced by the wildfires. “We cannot wait as more families uproot and move away,” said Bissen during a press conference. He signaled a strong commitment to prioritizing resident housing over tourism.
The official list of short-term rentals to be removed includes well-known vacation rental resorts, as you can see in the references below.
This latest Maui initiative is not without significant challenges.
The proposed changes are expected to have big economic impacts, including potential job losses in multiple areas related to vacation rental support, as well as decreased visitor spending.
There will also be a significant reduction in property tax revenue from these vacation rentals, which currently are a major financial support for all of Maui. Bissen acknowledged these challenges while maintaining that the priority must be to “house our local residents, especially now.”
The bill will next move to the planning commission for Maui, Molokai, and Lanai islands. It will need approval by the county’s Housing and Land Use Committee as well as by the full county council, all of which are expected. There will also be public hearings which you can undoubtedly expect to stir contentious debate due to the strong divisions on Maui about this.
Governor Josh Green voiced his support but will take a back seat.
While Green supported and will sign for the legislative changes, saying that reducing the vacation rentals could alleviate some of Hawaii’s housing issues, he has turned this back to the counties, which will be on the front line for the myriad of pushback that this plan will result in. Nonetheless, Green’s commitment is to sign the bill into law and thus empower the islands to tackle Hawaii’s housing crisis.
As Maui takes these significant steps, this issue has now moved into the national spotlight. This, together with similar steps in other tourism-dependent markets, could set precedents for successfully balancing economic interests with residential housing needs.
Which Maui vacation rentals are set to be eliminated.
If approved, the proposal is to eliminate the vacation rentals listed in the Maui County document referred to as Minatoya list of TVR’s. That is referred to in the related Maui County press release. Of those on the list, there are more than 2,000 in West Maui that will cease to be vacation rentals by July 1, 2025. The remaining approximately 5,000 will terminate being vacation rentals effective January 1, 2026. Some of the vacation rental resorts listed represent as many as 400 units, while others are smaller. You can see them in the attached list.
Does this pending change impact your Maui travel plans?
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If that’s what the people of Maui want, give it to them. Let’s see how it works before moving to all other islands. I’m afraid though, financially, this is not going to be a good move.
Yeah, I’m thinking just letting the bill pass would be enlightening. Watch the carnage and see where we end up. At least then we can all stop arguing about what will/won’t happen and whether it will be good/bad for the residents left standing after everyone has left and the carnage is complete.
The solution should be to quickly build high rise apartments here for needed housing. Don’t disrupt the economy. Don’t loose jobs, tourism and tax money brought in by tourists using vacation rentals. The ban would effect 1000s of lives. STR owners, guests, employees of STR and employees and owners of retail outlets, Restuarants and etc. Use common sense. This place will be devastated.
This should be taken to a vote of the people who will be affected the most. Some group should be lobbying for this.
There are several powerful membership-based associations and groups that have had success in combining forces to overturn this type of legislation. Currently, among other things, these groups are soliciting and compiling crucial feedback from Local Residents as to how the current proposed legislation will destroy their livelihoods. They also partner with Airbnb, VRBO, etc.
These groups were successful in overturning recent Oahu STR legislation. Here are 3 of them:
– Maui Vacation Rental Association (MVRA)
– Hawaii Legal Short-term Rental Alliance (HILSTRA)
– Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
– New Facebook Group dealing mainly with the Minatoya bill: STRs are Not the Problem
I’ll sure be watching with interest. I have two weeks of time shares on Kauai and I’m going to them summer of 2025 no matter what. I really wanted to tack on two weeks on Maui. I was planning on booking a year out just so I don’t have to worry. Indeed many of the places I was looking at for my second week on West Maui are on the list.
It will be interesting to see what happens if I already book and STR’s are forced to kick booked renters out.
Don’t worry your vacation timeshare if operated by one of the big hotel groups isn’t being targeted. The government is going after the small individual owners.
We have a 3-bedroom vacation rental condo in Kihei. Our current cost is about $4,400 per month, that includes mortgage, taxes, HOA, and electric. This does not include repairs, a/c maintenance and unexpected expenses. If we were forced to rent this long term, we would have to charge $5,000 just to break even. The alternative is selling, along with 7,000 others in the same boat. Our mortgage rate is at 2.7% which is amazing. The new owners, if someone wants to buy this and rent long term or wants to live in it, with the current rates, would have to pay much more than us.
Good bye food trucks, sunset cruises, luaus, and so on, as i am sure tourists are not going to stay at the grand wailea for $1,200 a night!
Make it make sense!!
we just bought a vacation rental condo in Kihei in January 2022. I do not believe that you fully understand the economic impact this will have on the local maui residents who rely on tourists to pay their bills. As a business person for decades who own long term rental properties in New York and New Jersey, I know that you are deliberately killing the golden goose and biting at the hands that are feeding the maui residents. you can not replace the money currently being generated via short term rental taxes. Lahaina strong organization are forcing more maui locals to go homeless and for what?
Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance v. City and County of Honolulu et al, Civil No. 1:2022cv00247
Does anybody actually calculate what a converted STR on the low road would cost to buy or rent? Here is the monthly cost of a TINY $400k (low end) 2 bedroom condo.
$2398 Mortgage at 6% (assumes 100% financing)
$800 HOA Fee
$400 taxes
$300 insurance
$400 repairs allowance
That is $4298 total.
For an investor wanting to long term rent, they would have to set rent close to $5,000 a month. A renter would need to make $100k a year to afford this.
For a local buyer, to qualify for a mortgage, they would need to make at least $130,000 annually.
So the politicians Know that these bills will not actually help the people they claim to be helping. They are only lying to make the activists happy and score political points.
100% agree.
Mayor Bisson knows full well this will likely get overturned in court
(he won’t get the blame) just the credit.
If it doesn’t get overturned he has now moved the people from
Lahaina, thereby freeing up Lahaina for Gov Green development.
He gives the appearance he is doing something for the victims.
He got the protestors to leave K beach.
The Stafford Act authorizes FEMA to provide direct temporary housing for up to 18 months when eligible applicants are unable to obtain temporary housing due to a lack of available housing resources. 9 mos now. Landlords beware in a location impossible to evict. Who can afford to rent to jobless? At this press release it was stated this law is more important than losing jobs & lawsuits.
I have owned my short term rental condo on Maui for over 30 years. I was told that the TAT tax collected was to be used to build low income housing for the locals. Where are these low income housing? Where did this money go? It seems to me, this question has not been answered and the blame is being put on all the short term rental owners.
It would be interesting if BOH was to write an article on where the tax funds are used and if there is money being allocated to low income housing.
@Press release Bissen mentioned asking for dates to start bans knowing it will take longer than that. Perhaps same thinking in banning 7000 STRs on Maui. May end up a lot less. Many will not provide adequate housing, be affordable or given up for long term. Lawsuits will include compensation for loss of income. Wish there was a way for making the responsible parties personally liable. Lets find creative lawyers. Pregnant women & small children attended to add sympathy while they said loss of jobs doesn’t matter if they have no beds to lay their heads. No beds at all without rent $. Their expectations are high & unrealistic. Perhaps the FEMA free housing shouldn’t have been refused.
I agree… if they passed up FEMA housing because of a 30-40 minute drive, that is a decision they made. It is an unfortunate situation, but my understanding is housing solutions have been offered until long term housing can be made available.
Am I misunderstanding the situation and availability of FEMA housing?
There are multiple articles online confirming that FEMA has been renting over 700 units without any tenants for months. That’s 700+ apartments and homes that aren’t available for locals to rent at a regular rental rate and that FEMA hasn’t moved anyone into. When they interviewed a bureaucrat liason for FEMA he said that this is well known secret but it’s good that it finally came out. Except it didn’t get any follow up by any major news organizations who are more than happen to assume that the announced but not yet written short term rental elimination proposal is already a forgone conclusion. Big business continues to roll over the little people.
We are all talking as if this bill is related to the housing crisis.
It isn’t.
For years, the government has concocted reasons to get rid of STRs.
One year it was “STRs are destroying neighborhoods”, copying the rhetoric of other cities.
The next year it was “Overtourism is destroying island life. Less STRs means less tourists”.
Now, the made-up reason is “STRs take away local housing”. A new one they hadn’t thought of before! Might as well try it, especially in light of the fires.
My point is that it doesn’t matter how hard we try to convince them that STRs aren’t the villain. That won’t phase them.
The truth of the matter is that the hotels are behind all of this, and have been for years.
Hotels, and Mufi, are the bane of our tourist lifeblood industry.
Overpriced, with eating out at exorbitant rates, and doing whatever they can to keep guests “on-site”. Why? So they can sell expensive mai-tais in the hotel pool bar? Do these places really attract the kind of tourists residents want? Maybe so. “Keep them in their cage, not on my beach”… Eventually guests will realize that you can buy a drink at a hotel pool bar anywhere in the sub tropics or tropics at a far lower cost.
Personally, I wish hotels were all banned and that only residents could welcome guests in their homes and on their properties. Think about it. That is true “Aloha”.
for what
How will the new laws & regulations effect existing timeshare owner who have a recorded deed to their property? Will we be correctly compensated or not??
If you own, you aren’t renters. You can use your share.
You can use the unit, but can you put it up on Redweek when you’re not going to use it?
Jack,
If you are an existing owner you should join mvra dot net. they will likely arrange to represent owners to ensure their legal protection and just compensation.
Exactly my question, also. I noticed many of the properties listed on that TRV list are deeded timeshares!
We have been going to Maui for 18 years. We have always been considerate of the people that live and work there. We know how hard it is to survive on the wages and housing costs. Although we are considered tourists we stay for a month. It feels like home each time we return. The owner of the condo we have been renting will probably be selling it even though she has no mortgage. She has been good to us and kept her rates within reason until now. It’s just a studio that could not accommodate a family. We love Maui and helped support the people there by donating to the food bank during Covid, by sending money to the fire survivors, and supporting the local artists each time we return. We will not be able to do that in the future.
We thank you for all of your support and love for our island. This isn’t over yet. Hopefully the lawsuits will delay action. The mayor is trying to play God. He comes across as sincere and just may be. There has not been enough research done on the impact or thought of how to cope with and recover from the repercussions. One sightedness to provide homes for locals. How did the 2200 needed homes turn into 7000 and include non suitable properties that the locals will deem not good enough? Looks like a deliberate attack on STRs period- a definite “taking”.
This is not about housing. This is about limiting tourism. The housing “label” is just for emotional cover.
Then when the economy is in the tank… who will they blame?
I have been visiting West Maui once or twice a year for 30+ years (except during Covid). I, too, have donated to local charities, to Maui Strong and helped at the animal shelter when visiting. My stays are usually for 3-6 weeks, during which I frequent locally owned stores, restaurants and vendors. I try to be a respectful and contributing visitor. For the past 20+ years I have rented a studio STR that is locally owned and is on the list to be unlicensed. I am heartbroken because I do not travel to West Maui for the big hotel glitzy experience; I prefer the aloha I feel from staying at my STR. I am hoping to schedule one last visit to my home away from home.
There’s a word in Hawaiian that perfectly describes both County and State government: hāwāwā (incompetent). It’s truly shocking how utterly inept and corrupt Hawaiian politics are.
While Josh Green takes a lot of incoming flack, he is actually building brand-new emergency low-income and workforce housing at a rate far higher than any of his predecessors. It’s not nearly enough, and county governments are particularly dysfunctional and often stand in the way of smart policy due to a reflexive distrust for anything other than the same-old same-old.
Totally agree. We have a Leadership Crisis. All other crisis’ flow from the top. Manure rolls downhill every time.
You did not do a very fair job here explaining the source of these units and why they were chosen to be converted back to long-term apartment housing, which they were originally.
I don’t think that you mean to give people undo alarm, especially on other islands where this is not relevant. I wish you would’ve given more and fair amount of information.
Aloha Cynthia. The article is specific, because it provided the reasons and the “list” of condos/timeshares that were originally built as apartments, (MF) Multi-Family homes. Over the years owners sold them to turn into (STR) Short-Term Rentals, but they are in original an “Apartment District”. These will be the first, if they lose their lawsuits, to be converted back to apartments for families that lost their homes. Read the article and look at the clickable list, where you’ll see the places originally listed as (MF). Those places listed as Hotels, (H), are going to be fine.
The vast majority of the Minatoya units were never used as long-term housing. They were originally built as vacation homes and short-term rentals, and they have been used that way ever since.
It’s a falsehood to say that these units were originally long-term housing. They made that up. This bill is attempting to steal the units from their intended use, a use that has been in place for the last 50 years.
Although the zoning was A1 and A2 at the time, that is not what the developers built, and not the way most of them have ever been used. So no one took long-term uses and converted them to short-term uses.
I don’t understand why we keep having to explain this, over and over again.
Pat…Thanks for more information. Many voices will get all the info out to people, stuff that not all of us know. I do agree they are not needing 7K units and NOT all of them are rented out. we have units in our place that Are owner occupied so they are simply adding up all the units and Assuming they are all STR’s?. But that Aside…now that they have the right to change the zoning, we can’t be sure any of the units are going to be Allowed. OF course thank you Kim for giving us a place to stand up and oppose it. Mayor wants votes and pregnant women and small children are simple, effective props. its not about needing housing, the core issue is we are competition to hotels and they have deep pockets to give to politicians.
I agree. My husband I own a one bedroom condo that is on this list. My family has owned in this complex since they were built in the 70’s. They never were long term and were never meant to be, believe me. To me, this is the way they are taking our property by changing the rules. A moratorium on STRs should have been imposed along time ago. But this is just wrong. This was a way we could have a permanent place on Maui or our family to enjoy Maui and supplement our SS income so we can pay our bills. It’s just wrong to take it away from us.
Many of these were never long-term rentals. Many (maybe most) were purpose-built as short-term rental units. Some are actually resort communities. They were simply built under the zoning exception that has been in place for the last 50 years. I guess we can blame the developers in the 1970s for not foreseeing that the exception would be removed in 2025.
I listened to the entire announcement from city council. They kept on talking about the need of work force housing. Did anyone look at Minatoya list ? They are Not work force housing ! 1 or 2 bedrooms condo is NOT work force housing. Maui needs 3 bedroom condo’s at $2000 to $3500 per month. I suggest city council and mayor do some reading like rest of us and take example from Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, New York……
– Build work force housing inland
– Create transportation infrastructure to allow work force to travel from / to.
That makes perfect sense… I believe part of the problem with building inland is that workers don’t want a commute. They want to be in West Maui like everyone else, which is understandable, but unreasonable given this is largely a resort area.
What will be the compensation for timeshare owners?
Rant: I live on Oahu and they screwed us here, too. And the Hotel industry is laughing to the bank as now they have the monopoly again. This is America, right? Who is the corrupt government to tell citizens what to do with their properties? Block foreign investors. Or even block the mainlanders if you want. But not those who live here. We need money to deal with the outrageous living expenses and low wages that we incur. Try working on that instead. This is 100% total garbage. Shame on you, mayor of Maui and all the other bought state officials who push this on us.
Shame !!!!
Totally agree. All the ineptitude of governing this island over the years is compounded by more bad decisions.
Since I have been here, I have seen development after development rejected for this that or the other reason… but it’s the fault of all of us local Condo Owners?
This decision… if it moves on to completion will destroy the economy.
Think about these numbers (they are conservitive). 7000 units x 40 weeks= 280k visitors. If they each spend 5k on their vacation=140m into the economy.
How will they make up that loss? Tax us local people even more?
Yep. Count on it. They are not just going to lay down and say “Gee, hundreds of millions of dollars lost in our county budget…oh, well…”
Their only revenue is through taxes. They will take from one bucket to make up for another. Hotels are off-limits, so that leaves the non-owner occupants, the LTRs (which will be reflected in the rents) and the owner-occupants.
But you’ll have a bunch of empty, neglected condos! Yay!
The entire concept of trying to get 7000 individual condo owners to rent long-term is absurd. If I charge $3000/month in rent, and pay $1000/month maintaining the property, to even make it economically feasible, I have to have a mortgage payment of less than $2500/month. That means all of these units have to sell in the $350,000 range for this idea to work. Nobody is buying a Kapalua Bay Villa for $3M and renting it for $3000/month.
What is needed is brand-new commercial apartment buildings. That is the only thing that will work.
Exactly right. We now have entitled locals that believe that they should be given homes when they were renting shoddy rooms in someone else’s 13 bdrm 5 ba house. I understand helping the owners that lost homes & temporary housing for all victims. But indefinite free housing at the cost of others is unfair. I pay my insurance & if I didn’t would accept consequences not expect someone else to buy my new home. Most were renters. They can live anywhere but many have refused free housing if they have to drive 30-40 minutes. These include members of Lahaina Groups. Easy to fight if u hv nothing to lose & all to gain.
Extreme overreach by bureaucrats who are willing to destroy one of the basic concepts and rights of American citizenship. The right to own and control personal property. This will leave current deeded owners holding the bag for this power grab as a result of dismissed property values current deeded owners will never be able to recover their investment in the property. In addition to other issues mentioned on this site there will be an increase in vacant and unmaintained properties and properties will be scooped up at bargain basement prices by slum lords and close associates of the current administration, who will then get rich at the expense of current owners, the new renters, and tax payers.
Property value drops will be in the condo sector. There will always be buyers with money. I don’t see it becoming a slum. Many will have to leave islands for lack of jobs. Buyers with remote jobs will move in. Many Californians since values are similar & remote jobs became popular during Covid. There have been more buyers looking than inventory. We will soon have the inventory. Many of my recent neighbors live here part time & homes sit empty when not in use. When/if the hotel resorts build in Lahaina town it will provide more jobs. After much pain Maui will recover, just not as hoped for or promised. We’ll just lose visitors that truly love us.
How does this affect timeshare owners? At least some of these properties are owned via deeded week and used by their respective owners. I don’t think you can just take someone’s property from them.
Not sure what to do about Maui. Government officials don’t seem to be able to manage themselves out of a paper bag and politicians there are even worse.
Thank you again Pat!
How can they do this when we have and actual deed to the property? Talking of the Kuleana
There are 2 sides and we have heard some very good reasons why the ST R’s should remain on the other hand what do you expect these families to do who work in the service industry? I feel that there will be pain on both sides while the situation is figured out. You can’t run most business’s without employees and you also need a buying public to sustain a business, the solution can’t be all one way or the other.
They won’t need housing without a job. This move will simply increase the gap between the upper and lower class. Many of those condos will just sit empty until the owner of their friends use it.
If you think these families are gonna live in a 1 bdrm 1bath you are mistaken. Most of these complexes were not built as apartments. They are resorts with very little storage or parking. This decision will increase the gap between the haves and the have nots.
Aloha and good luck Maui. I understand the need for housing local residents. What I do not understand is how the community expects to go on without tourists and the money flow they supply? Where are the residents going to get money to make rent without jobs? Who is going to set rent? Tax revenue, job loss, political games…as usual the brunt of this legislation will be born by the people it intended to help and tourists. Maybe Bissen and Govenor Green get off Scott free and as heroes. It’s all good until it isn’t.
I own an STR. Last year I paid the State of Hawaii approx. $15,000 in
TA & GE taxes.
I also spent approx. $15,000 in housekeeping and maintenance.
I have no reason to believe that these amounts are not fairly typical for the average STR.
Multiply either of these amounts by the 7,000 units that are to be eliminated on Maui and you get some really big numbers.
This impact does not include the reduction in real estate taxes as properties are no longer taxed at the Vacation Rental rate.
Someone hasn’t done the math.
I haven’t seen how the rental rates will be set or
How you approve of the renter and group size.
Most STR are designed to be used by the week.
Furnished
Now by the year. Where will their belongings go,
Board s , bikes, & kitchen.
How will the STR owner
Protect and control his property. (S). Can he evict. I doubt it.
The state can’t force the 7000 owners to remain landlords.
Good luck evicting here, even with court & police reports. Landlord tenant problems already happening. Check credit reports. Those with great credit might not want it dinged. Then again without jobs, they won’t have a choice. Maybe they will pay their credit cards to save their credit but stop paying rent since they won’t be evicted. That’s a thought. I wonder if mainland owners can live here 6 mos + 1 day a year & be able to vote. How long has your condos been vacant? Haven’t you been living here during that time? We need more voters!
Kim, thank you for your informational comments.
One that was especially useful was asking more people who are afraid or reluctant to share their stories with Maui Council to do so.
Workers and vendors tied to tourism currently experiencing extreme anxiety of losing their work, and in turn their homes. Then must leave the island… LTR Landlords of workers in tourism will also be impacted due to missed rent payments, not just STR landlords…
Many are afraid of speaking up at the council meetings due to the pressure or harassment or backlash of sharing their own personal stories. Unfair/Unkind!! Everyone deserves to be heard, not just the Loudest (anti-STR).
Gave a list Councilmember emails to get the ball rolling.
I think many owners are trying to figure out how to keep their condos. And some are thinking of moving to Maui for 6 months + 1 day. You will get lower taxes if owner occupied, there was a senior tax rate too. You won’t be able to write off your HOA’s. Your Other state collects it tax too.
It is too soon to know exactly who they are going shut down…and when but they don’t need all STR’s to clo…I find it frustrating as we all do, that they tease with bits of info and take so long to actually say anything concrete, are they going to close everyone down? lots of nervous speculation…we are not on the MINOTOYA List, .But next door to us is, Makes no sense. And how do timeshares fit in? More corporate $?
There is a new article out today that suggests that insurance companies are leaving Hawaii behind. Green is blaming the oldie but goodie climate change but secretly knows it is mismanagement of infrastructure. He intends to resurrect his Green Fee for the tourists $25 that he will use to cover the loss of insurance. The problem is every time this fee gets brought up the intended use is for something different. This show will be interesting to watch from afar
Climate change is always the excuse/answer but the smart people know the truth
Jorge….if you believe that owners are saying the sky is falling…and that in your opinion, is not accurate…well we shall see won’t we? I don’t trust Green or any of them, they have no plans and what words they say change frequently. Reminds me of “ohh this covid, it will be gone in 2 weeks, just puff! And gone” The first week it was “we will use your unit for `12 month and pay you” .next week “18 months” and the next week it was 24 months, and now last week they are saying the people will be in their temporary homes for 5 years. Yep No Plan!
Unfortunately they will be placed in homes, FEMA will stop paying and owners will not be able to evict. Let’s get the lawyers involved now and include loss of wages due to our economy being deliberately destroyed.
Kim, that’s amazingly astute. I have friends who’ve known people from other FEMA supported disasters, and that’s exactly what happened. FEMA just up and left, leaving people like what you’re referring too, holding the bag.
Appeals:
“[T]he right of a property owner to the continued existence of uses and structures which lawfully existed prior to the effective date of a zoning restriction is grounded in constitutional law.
“[D]ue process principles protect a property owner from having his or her vested property rights interfered with, and preexisting lawful uses of property are generally considered to be vested rights that zoning ordinances may not abrogate.”
–Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance v. City and County of Honolulu et al, Civil No. 1:2022cv00247 (D. Hawai’i October 13, 2022) (additional citations omitted).
There are vast areas of land between Kihei and Wailuku that could be developed for low cost housing but the ban on short-term rentals has nothing to do with housing and everything to do with eliminating competition from price-gouging hotels. How many of the workers who clean those “7,000” STRs will lose their jobs which, I suspect pay more than most hotel employees’ incomes? How many STR owners are willing to take a significant financial hit as well as losing day-to-day control over maintenance of their investment? The whole thing stinks.
I paid 250-350 a cleaning when I was a property manger for 3-4 hours work. They did do the laundry and had to buy supplies and equipment but if I had the strength, that is a pretty good job. Shops, restaurants, activities; everything else will be affected with less tourist dollars coming in to sustain us. This is stupidity or a plan to destroy our economy for what reason? Me thinks they will be building more hotel resorts including in our beloved Lahaina town.
I have done a lot of reading on precedents for STR elimination, and what happened as a result. Here’s what I think will happen.
1) This latest Maui bill will pass muster in Planning, County housing committees, and finally full County Council. I have not heard of any dissenters among these groups.
2) Hundreds, if not thousands of lawsuits will be filed, and a temporary injunction will be issued on the new law, until it can be examined by the state and US judicial courts.
3) Years will pass, with the ultimate result being that at least current STR use will be allowed to continue. Very few have been able to remove explicit, vested rights, which the Minatoya decision has codified.
I agree Pat and hope you are right. I have watched the meetings and am stunned but since the members are mostly local Hawaiian, they have family and friends to answer to when voting. Your input always makes sense and is well thought out. Please run for office. I’ll vote for you!
The comments section here is like one big echo-chamber of realtors, off-island speculators, property managers and other speculators all complaining to each other about their “investments”.
Hmmm all hard working, educated professionals. We are more than that. We are trying to save our island from more disaster. May I ask if you live here, own a home and what profession you are in?
Why does the government put the burden on the owner? Why doesn’t the government build more affordable housing instead of making it our problem? What happened to all of the funds raised from the fire? How do they expect the people to pay for housing when the jobs that STR’s create are gone? What is going to happen when tourists try to come over and there are not enough rentals? It has happened to me many times before I moved here years ago. I had to plan my vacation according to availability here. Have you thought of the impact on people who planned retirement around funds they would collect from the rentals. What are the big hotels giving up? It’s a shame.
“Affordable housing” is also known as “low income housing”. Hawaii is suffering from a severe shortage of the workforce from doctors, nurses, engineers, planners, mechanics, policeman, electricians….on and on and on……all through the income band. They will not qualify for low income housing. Housing prices and rents have become so absurd that everyone is leaving and nobody is in-migrating. Business are failing. The government cannot find workers.
STRs create a few average jobs, but displace many more from the local neighborhoods. They need to be banned from all residential zoning.
Maybe you should not have speculated in the housing market. Not all investments are guaranteed a return, including yours.
You’re certainly consistent. I have homeowner friends that are doctors, teachers, mechanics, an engineer for the state & neighbors that are policemen & firemen. They saved up & qualified. Yes we need more affordable housing. Perhaps low income housing is what you are in need of. I agree with banning STRs in residential & any new ones. I disagree with taking away current owners rights or devastating the economy. Job loss will not qualify for rent or buying. Loss of taxes will be our burden. Take away these rights and what’s next? Laws can’t be changed at will.
Really. Anyone auditing Lahaina Strongs funds? Why do the hotels pay less tax than any other entity but have more rooms? Property tax alone, not counting TAT, MTAT, GET and income tax for 2023: STRs paid 160m, second homes 110m, timeshares 41m, hotel/resorts million. Source Maui County Real Property Tax.
Tourists book rooms before coming, no room, they won’t come. It is more than a shame. It is criminal. Sad for those that drank the Kool Aid and believe this will be a good thing. All will be impacted negatively.
Unbelievable!
Who will set the new rental rates? The Government?
They can’t force owners to rent out for less than their monthly financial responsibilities. HOA alone wouldn’t be considered affordable at many places. 500-2000 HOA, plus mortgage, utilities, maintenance, insurance etc.. will not be affordable. Plus there are unemployed now and will be more. They will not qualify to rent or buy> Only truly purpose built or approved affordable housing will rent to these people. Build affordable housing. Give the Hawaiians land the state has been holding. Cut the red tape! Politicians don’t care about the loss because it won’t affect their paychecks.
Can the government only do one thing at a time? Their lack of planning with respect to housing was exposed by the Lahaina fire. We spend most of the year in a vacation destination in Michigan. While our housing issues are in no way 100% resolved, we have low income apartments and homes you can purchase at 50% of construction cost (the balance is paid by a government grant). The resort near our home had issues finding enough staff and as a result, the resort built housing for their workers. I think this happens in Hawaii, too? Seems like hotels could be a bigger part of the solution, especially since they would benefit greatly from a STR ban.
I think this is short-sighted decision-making by politicians looking to get reelected. It seems clear that short-term rental prices are going to go up even more due to the cut in supply.
Will it relieve the housing crisis? I doubt it. The potential unintended consequences are so many that it will be interesting to watch from afar. Many of these units were Never built to be long-term rentals (Eldorado and Papakea, for example). I don’t see how they survive at an affordable price point — they certainly will not be maintained as they are now. And Kihei will not be the same. That’s a shame.