Maui has unveiled plans to drastically curtail the island’s vacation rentals. This brazen initiative, aimed to help fix Maui’s severe housing shortage, will eliminate more than 7,000 term rentals in the next 18 months.
Maui has unveiled plans to drastically curtail the island’s vacation rentals. This brazen initiative, aimed to help fix Maui’s severe housing shortage, will eliminate more than 7,000 term rentals in the next 18 months.
Aloha. I believe you published two list. The first list , pages 1-4 show the properties slated to be converted. The second list (pages 5-6) are STR slated to remain STR. Am I correct on this assumption?
Hi Dave.
That is the official list from Maui County, although it appears to be incorrectly titled, and is related to the related press release. Both of these are linked to in the article.
Aloha.
It looks like only the older buildings were selected for this process?
I wonder why?
Not so. More recently built properties such as the Honua Kai are on the list.
Aloha. I don’t fully understand your post. The title at the top of the list says these properties will be allowed to remain as short term rentals, but your comment states they are set to be eliminated. Am I missing something? Please clarify. Mahalo.
I believe these Apartment zoned buildings on the list were allowed to rent short term but now that will end.
Hi Linda.
That is correct.
Aloha.
The story is getting stale. Tired of hearing the government’s whining and their pointing the finger at everyone but themselves. If they had spent some of the millions of dollars they receive yearly from tourism to build affordable housing for Hawaii residents, this would never have gotten to this point. Please, somebody buy them a mirror.
This confuses me still. Will there be regulations to convert these STR’s into Long Term Rentals (LTR’s), or force them to be sold to local residents? Will only locals be able to occupy them? What about units in resort communities where owners pay monthly maintenance fees and property taxes. Will they incur the same costs or will they be lowered? If they are lowered, how will the property owners (usually corporations) recover their costs? I see legal challenges to this legislation that could go on for years, but if it passes those, you can expect the number of visitors to decline dramatically, which will have disastrous impacts on the entire state’s economy.
Rob,
Maui cannot force an owner to sell, and if an owner decides to sell, Maui and/or the owner cannot discriminate against out of state buyers – and the current owner will just want the best price. They won’t care who is paying it. If these are now zoned as multioccupancy housing apartments, I imagine the best use for whoever owns them will be to rent them out. Perhaps they can convert them into “condominiums and sell individual units? But I cannot imagine Maui county allowing that if they don’t have to.
First of all, I think this is another crazy idea by the liberal the state of Hawaii. How they think eliminating tourism at the level that they’re trying to eliminate by getting rid of vacation rentals is somehow gonna help their housing problems. All this is going to do is reduce the amount of taxes And fees charged to tourist that primarily support all of the social giveaway programs that Hawaii does. I’d like to know where they’re going to get their monies for the future after losing millions of dollars in tax revenues from tourism. I can assure you, we will never go back to Maui ever again , and if this continues for the rest of the islands, we will most likely will not return to Hawaii. Good luck citizens.
I’m confused. I mean no disrespect or insensitivity to the displaced residents because of course they should be considered first! However, won’t
a majority be settled elsewhere by 2025/2026? How were these properties chosen? As a family who visits annually and always rents a condo, I don’t know what this means for our future vacations. No availability? Exorbitant prices? Both?
My family has been a part of Papakea since it was built. My grandfather owned several condos there for many years and we grew up going there every year with family. Even after he sold his condos, we continued to take our kids there every year building memories. Papakea holds a very special place in our hearts as does Lāhainā. Change is inevitable and if we can no longer build memories there, I am grateful that the local families will have a place to call home. And, I’m grateful for the memories I have.
The attached Minatoya list contains 6919 units which are approved for short term rentals. Although approved for short term rentals, an unspecified number are owner occupied and leased long term. There are additional houses, units and rooms which may be used for short term rentals and bed and breakfast accommodation as established by the zoning ordinance, in addition to the attached Minatoya list.
There are numerous reports of illegal short term rentals but the numbers conflict.
The County appears to lack the basic data regarding the actual, not potential, number of short term rentals. The numbers reported in this article are not correct.
I understand the difficult the fires were for the Lahaina community. My family is from Wailuku. Maui needs tourism to survive due to the high cost of living on the island. I don’t think taking away STR’s is the answer. I believe that the Maui government needs to build more additional housing for locals and have it partially subsidized from tourist tax dollars. That will make it more affordable for locals. Maui government needs to understand that STR’s are a valuable resource for vacationing families which creates a lot of tax revenue. Most families, hotels don’t work for their needs. STR’s usually provide kitchens, laundry and overall space for families & groups.
I understand the need for housing for residents. However, this plan is going to have enormous unintended consequences. In light of the governor’s trip to Japan to drum up more tourism and the secret meetings with local officials and hoteliers, Hawaii will have a very skewed traveler rental market. The governor and legislature have set themselves up to look like the heroes and left the counties holding the bag for legal challenges and very unhappy property owners. The only “winners” here are the governor, the legislators, and hotel owners. Any travel dollars still being spent to stay in HI will go to hotel chains and the majority of that revenue will leave Hawaii. The only economy sharing will be the low wages paid to hotel workers.
It is a great set up and distraction to put the dependency on hotels and then allow them to build on Front Street. Locals think they are protecting Lahaina town. Eminent domain, re-zoning, shutting down STRs, conflict between locals, driving down property values, major loss of revenue, taxes and jobs. Then the hotels can come in and build to save the day. Win win for the politicians and hotel corporations. People ask why there is a delay in rebuilding… Unfortunately this is affecting the state but I have heard there are new hotels popping up on other islands too.
Maybe Japan will build hotels in Lahaina town? Governor in bed with Japan and hoteliers. Compared to the rest of the insanity, this seems plausible.
Oahu passed Vacation Rental restrictions over four years ago. The stated reason was to lower housing cost for locals. Maybe you could take a look at Oahu and see how successful this measure has been at achieving its goal?
You can take your good idea and reasonable suggestion and go. They have no place here on Maui.
It’s too bad there wasn’t something in place Before the housing crisis got so bad. The second step to fixing the housing crisis is rent control. Rent control Absolutely needs to happen.
I saw this list and was absolutely sickened by the number of outsiders/non-residents just looking to make some money. It’s good that this is now in place, I only hope it was in time. Yes, a lot of jobs will be lost but if those workers have no affordable place to live and have to leave…
Glenda, I hope it sickens you a little less (and FYI for others), the addresses/complexes on the list show the Total Number of Units in the complex, not the total number being used for STRs, and nothing about whether anyone owning a unit is an outsider or non- resident. Where we stay, many units are owner occupied or rented to long term tenants (our neighbor has been renting here 4years). By definition I would say they are residents. Like DeW pointed out, the county is not showing correct information regarding the actual number of STRs. Think of it this way, just because parcels are zoned for agriculture doesn’t necessarily mean anyone is farming there.
The high rents are because of the high mortgages, taxes, HOA fees and upkeep. That will not change. Owners will not rent for less than they owe out each month. This will cause a lot of damage and then they will have to correct it. It will be right back where it is now but hopefully with a lesson learned.
The monthly fees are so high! The STR we stay at is about $1800 a month for a 1 bedroom. They also have a special assessment for 5 years that I believe is an additional $1500-$2000 a month. Who has $3500 in fees PLUS rent/mortgage !!
The only way to cover that cost is renting out your unit short term!
Where does the mayor think locals are going to be able to find the money to purchase these properties and pay for the taxes and maintenance ? Is Maui and the state of Hawaii so flush in funds that they can pay all of these STR owners fair market value for their properties? If the answer to that question is yes, then why are they not using that money instead to rebuild Lahaina with affordable housing units? How many of these STRs are really suitable for a family of 4 (or more)with a couple of cars, pets and all their belongings to live in long term? Is this really about providing homes or is it about absolute power? One has to wonder.
I believe the goal is to turn all of the STR’s into long term rentals but information is sketchy which is typical of Hawaiian government. It all started with the mix messaging when the fires occurred, “Tourist, you are not welcomed at this time.” That was the first messge then Josh Green, said, “Tourists please come.” Which is it Mr. Green? Typical liberal response to a problem of pointing the finger to others.
I agree STRs may not be suitable for families or couples. I own a 1 brm unit near Kam III beach. I own one parking space. There is no on-street parking nearby. Storage is limited inside the unit. No room for hobby equipment, DIY tools, home office equipment, camping gear, a book collection, heirlooms from tutu or a collection of ukulele. This property and neighboring properties lack space, indoors and outdoors, for the belongings of typical families. In many units, remodels that enhance the “openness” of the living area have eliminated valuable kitchen storage. I believe that officials are aware of these as well as the other facts so many folks have mentioned on this forum. It is an election year. The proposed Maui law will win votes.
I’m hoping it will lose votes!!!!!! I hoped people would wake up when the unemployment ran out. FEMA bailing people out may have caused more damage than it helped. Fire victims think they will be living for free for the next 3-4 years. Why that should affect the whole island or the state is ludicrous. FEMA is denying claims now, losing paperwork, maybe getting tired of the people refusing free housing because they are holding out for something better. Greed is rampant. What happened was sad and we all have felt the loss and impact but this perpetuates it.
How do we obtain a copy of the list of short term rentals that this change affects?
Smathers, the list is in the article. Click on the Minatoya list of TVRs which is underscored and highlighted in the article. This will open up the list you are requesting.
Click on the link and download or print it out. I did. It is huge!!!
The complex where I’m staying at this summer is on the list. I feel for the owner and her counterparts, though I don’t see how this survives court challenges in its current form. Bissen acknowledges the implications and its fallout but he may not be in office when its full effects would be felt.
We are heartbroken for folks that lost their homes in the fire/people struggling with affordable housing, now and previously.
We (working stiffs that save 50 wks) stay at a STR condo unit for 2 weeks in the winter (6yrs so far). It is owned by a family that lives in the unit when school is out, summers/breaks, altho they pay the higher tax rate all year. This is approx 400sf studio. This complex is on the list. I don’t know what will ultimately happen after it winds it’s way thru the courts, but it does seem like politicians are scapegoating STRs for the state’s bad governance over many years.
As much as I have compassion for those who lost their homes I don’t believe this will help. It will cost millions in taxes and even if these places are eliminated from short-term rental is there going to be rent control so the people that want to rent these can afford them and what about the people that own them, do they take a loss, this will cost the taxpayers millions in lawsuits.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I have to think that the other islands will let Maui take the lead (and bear the legal defense costs) before doing anything?
I just finished reading this a.m.’s Civil Beat article on this. It saddens me on so many levels. Just *SMH* for everyone involved. There are just no words, no good ones at least.
So are these apratments or condos or what? Are they even the type of place where it could be a residence?
And are they supposed to be truned into rentals or be sold on the market? A lot of unanswered questions.
They are condo and condo tel complexes. Again, monthly HOA fees alone are 500-2000 a month plus the mortgage and taxes. Looks like a deliberate push for a fire sale to be banning this high amount of properties.