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.
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255 thoughts on “Thousands Of Maui Vacations Rentals First To Be Cut”
Great news! Taking care of its community in need is the essence of Aloha. Self sustaining and away from tourism will be a major step in the right direction. The land should always stay in Hawaiian hands.
I don’t understand how this makes Hawaii self sustaining, what is replacing tourism income and jobs to be able to afford homes that may become available on the market?
Right. I truly don’t understand how units that sell for a million dollars are going to turn into long-term affordable housing under this bill.
I think the mayor’s hope is to crash the market, forcing the current owners to eat millions and sell at much lower prices.
A unit that now sells for $2M (because it makes money in rental income despite a $2000 a month maintenance fee) will be worth maybe $1M to someone who has to eat that $2000 fee month after month. Eventually, the new owners will vote to get rid of the maintenance fee and the property will fall into disrepair. And in 10 years that $2M property will be available for $500k (with all the broken down cars and old washing machines you need sitting in the parking lot).
This will probably boost migration to the ninth island even more. Be careful of what you wish for and beware of the unintended consequences.
Eliminating vacation rentals while encouraging timeshares and hotels will do what you think it will do.
Our community will not be able to pay any rent without jobs. Prices will never go low enough to afford on welfare. Too many are ignoring the facts. You too will be affected and everyone you know and think you are supporting. Perhaps several families stuffed in a home can afford it by pooling their welfare checks. Or perhaps people are depending on FEMA to pay the rents indefinitely. Not even the fire victims can count on that.
Hi,
Just curious, does this include taking land from Mark, Oprah, Larry et al. and putting it back into the hands of Hawaiians?
LOL!
Don’t we all wish that.
Kapuanani you have the power and influence to find and share the truth. I don’t know about other islands but research bills on the Maui County website since January 2023. Get a clear definition of what eminent domain means. Question why this was reiterated before a major disaster and what reason there is to re-zone all areas. Follow the money and who benefits. It will lead you to the politicians and hoteliers. There is a plan for Lahaina town and many other parts of Hawaii but you need to question the impact this will really have. How many friends and ohana work in a tourist related job. This is not just housing it is the income that is brought in. Housing may dip but who will qualify to rent let alone buy without a job?
I am not sure if this is what you were eluding to, but your comment made me think of something related to Lahaina.
If the government is successful in relocating people to other parts of the island outside of Lahaina long term or permanantely, what would stop government/developers/hotels from developing Lahaina into a dedicated tourist/resort area in 2-5 years once this has blown over and people are content with where they are at?
Think about it… buy up the land put in some parks to make it look like they are trying to be sensitive to the culture and locals, add a golf course, hotel, shopping, restaurants. Does this really seem like a stretch?
Bingo! Thus the bills re Eminent Domain, re-zooming residential, delaying building, causing dissection between us locals, destroying the economy… The politicians already shown to be in bed with hotel corps. Lahaina Strong believes that they have won Lahaina back and this is good for Maui. How can that be? They are not looking at all of the facts. Follow the bills since 2023, the specifics the day of the Lahaina fire and since. Why else would something at this extent occur? Lahaina will most likely be hotel resorts unfortunately. Uninsured, underinsured, & bailing insurance companies. Owner victims can only hold out so long. Buyers will come to the rescue at Maui’s expense.
I empathize with my fellow locals who were displaced. Think though this with me. STR owners will now have the value of their investments reduced by government fiat. Their most likely response is to sell the asset. Inventory rises, prices decline. Other buyers swoop in to pick up the bargains and over time raise rents. Unless the displaced are able to buy these properties they will gradually pay more rent every year. What’s next? Rent control?
Bingo
At the top of the page on the Minatoya TVR link this is posted “Non Apartment District Properties Allowed to be used for Short Term Occupancy”
Does this mean these properties are exempt from the banVery confusing
No….they were an exception to the rule…and were Allowed to operate as STR’s….they are the chopping block first along with the illegal ones
Maybe they should start with the illegal ones, except they claimed they were going to get tough with those, we upped the fine by referendum, and how many did they fine or close? (I don’t know but I bet it wasn’t many.)
This is a very sad state of affairs for Maui. When my family and I first started traveling to Maui, I used to really love seeing the pineapple trucks on the roads hauling the fruit from the fields. And now I really miss seeing all of the sugar cane that was growing in the fields. Congratulations to Maui for ending all commercial farming on the island. Now the only industry that provides any economic support is tourism. And now the county is working to end that as well. We will be witnessing Maui turn into a third world place. I recently took a trip to Belize. What an incredible place! I think I will permanently say good bye to Maui and Hawaii all together and take my business where I feel I am more welcome. RIP Maui vacations….
People will still come to Hawaii. I’ve traveled quite a bit in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Some of the areas in some of the countries are as safe as, even safer, than Hawaii. Most areas are not and quite a bit of these countries are downright dangerous. Nowhere has weather like Hawaii.
I own a timeshare in one of these buildings. They have listed all of the units within that resort. Does that mean we will no longer have access to our timeshares? I don’t see how they can just take it away when we own a 1/52 share of a unit. Are they going to reimburse everyone that owns a portion of a unit since they will no longer be able to use it?
You are an owner not a renter. Renting out your week versus using it yourself is the question.
Can someone please tell me what the economic backup plan is? Maui wants to move away from tourism, ok, fine. So what’s going to take its place? The mayor has bought himself another day, but this will inevitably ruin the local economy and cause a hike in the unemployment rate. Then what? I guess it’s the next mayor’s problem.
IF you mean by Own a timeshare that you are the only owner of the unit and you allow it to be used by Vacation International….thats one story…If By Own a timeshare you mean you use timeshare points and Always like to choose that unit…then you many have a problem. We had 31 units in our building that were part of a Timeshare company usage…no longer…those people are now having to rent from owners to stay there…the times are company no longer offers that resort.
Timeshare is not considered renting. Clubs and points without deeding into a home resort are not ownership. Most Hawaii timeshares will be used by those Hawaii owners and their families. They won’t be available for trade. They have always been high demand & hard to get. They are selling like hotcakes since the fires. Owners want to be assured that they will always be able to return here. The choices if this law passes will be hotels and timeshares. Also most secure jobs. Just talk of this happening has affected tourism.
Josh Green, the island Mayors, and Legislature continue to shoot themselves in the foot (actually wallets) with their stupidity.
Hotel prices were high enough before Covid and the Lahaina fire and that’s why so many people chose to stay in condos (short term rentals) because it was more economical. All this new law is going to accomplish are:
1) higher hotel prices
2) lower tourism (which is what I think they want anyway)
3) it will hurt a lot of the residents, who will lose their jobs, because of this insanity.
No, I have no plans to visit Maui, or any of the Hawaiian islands, as long as these idiots are still in control. There are a lot more places in this world that are just as nice, cheaper, and they welcome tourists.
1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. They don’t care.
This new law hurts Maui tourism, especially in West Maui. The rental property owners will be the one’s suffering the most! Why not build new housing (for Lahaina Fire victims) on the vacant sugar cane fields (between Kihei & Kahului)? Why penalize current vacation rental owners? This law is unfair. The Governor passes a law that puts all the backlash on the counties! What a copout! So sad!
Rental owners that can’t hold on will sell. New buyers will not have to rent at all since that won’t be the reason 4 buying. Locals won’t qualify to rent or buy. Residents will suffer most bc the affects will be lasting. Unemployment in an expensive area will quickly create poverty and crime. But if you can live off the land and or get free rent bc landlords can’t evict, you got it made. Spend your welfare checks on food. Prop. Owners will suffer bc they will be trapped with choice of selling or going through their savings trying to hold on until this passes. Friends already cant pay mortgage bc they can’t evict.
I see my favorite rental on the chopping block so looks like another island, or more likely Mexico will get my money.
You get the government and resulting consequences that the majority of Hawaii residents keep voting for so no sympathy here.
Maui residents can fix this, but they have to vote Everyone out. Sadly, they won’t.
On the bright side, a lot of mainlanders are going get opportunities to buy foreclosed condos in the next couple of years.
We have visited Maui 17 times, twice since the fire. We have always talked about owning a place. Now I will wait till these STR owners sell ( sadly) and swoop up and finally buy one. You know the prices will plummet. I’ll let it sit empty when not in use and Maui will get very limited tourism dollars.
I think this new law is ridiculous and it’s going to kill Maui !
As most people know…the HOA’s are at least 1500 a month on top of a mortgage…and TaXes! AND insurance…So it will be interesting to see what happens when foreclosures come up…HOA dues will be behind…it’s a huge snowball hauling with a rock in it to the heart of Maui. I hope there is a very big Class action suit and it gets tied up for years…the govement has painted themselves into a corner…all to get re elected
That is the one bright side — I may be able to afford my dream retirement condo when the market crashes. The question is, will I want to live there anymore?
It’s never a good plan to use government dollars and power to attack one group of people while giving that benefit to others. In many ways, I feel that those in government feel guilty for the poor use of resources to protect their people from these kinds of disasters. Who will they punish next for their incompetency when the next disaster strikes?
This is great news. Short term rentals are a sickness that affects not only parts of Maui but many resort towns in the western US as well. Good first step.
This is Far from being good news. Look at the number of locals who will lose jobs, businesses and restaurants will go under, etc…due to the lack of tourists. Surveys show that most Maui visitors prefer STR not hotels. Maui told us not to come and now they have just last week unveiled a new campaign begging for tourists to come back. Most are sick and tired of this and will spend their vacation dollars elsewhere. So, Maui will be left with thousands of empty units and waaaaay less tax dollars. Corrupt politicians do this sort of thing.
I didn’t say good news, I said Great news. The problem is the proliferation of short term rentals. The sky isn’t going to fall. There will be an adjustment and a new normal that better balances the needs of the local population with those of visitors. I think this legislation is smart, bold, and targeted.
Stan C. – “this legislation is smart, bold, and targeted”. Kind of chuckled when I read that. Did you help write this bill? And “targeted” is absolutely true. But let me ask you: How do you feel about “targeting” certain groups of people? Do you target them because they aren’t like you, have something you want, are different from you, or a combination of all three?
Stan….Really? The government mandated this law after they were confounded about how to get housing for people who were victims of a wild fire. Prior this not many thought tourism was an evil business for the island. I find it interesting that there are 500 homes that people don’t want to move into cuz they are not on the West Side…really??? Where have you ever seen that reaction to free housing? And not only allowed, but in response, the government changed zoning to cause foreclosures?
How about gov do their job and stop hanging the cost on the off island “victims”, people who bought in a democratic and open market a place on Maui. Now they are the scapegoats.
“Tourism interests will take backseat to resident needs”??
How is this going to work out for residents who rely on tourism for their livelihoods? It’s not like tourism isn’t Hawaii’s biggest economic driver.
The Hawaiian government refuses to take accountability for anything they have created, and always looks for the easy way out! So sad!
Basically two main employer types in Hawaii:
1. Tourism related
2. Civil Servant/Government Jobs/Military
There aren’t other options for anyone who loses their job because of the economic damage that shall ensue. No serious company would leave the mainland to run a business in Hawaii.
The politicians pander to Unions and Hotel Lobbyists. The state is on track to become a Welfare State/3rd world ‘country’.
The recent actions (as well as inactions by the elected officials to directly own and responsibly take steps in the right direction for housing affordability) are serving to accelerate and widen the gap between the haves and have nots.
I lost my VHR permit in South Lake Tahoe due to their VHR ban. I tried to turn it into a long term rental but found no qualified renters for the quality of my property. How are beachfront rentals going to be at a price that most Mauians can afford?
It’s been 3 years since the ban went into effect. It didn’t fix the housing situation. The City is now wanting to tax 2nd homeowners who don’t live there year round as an effort to recoup revenues and try to drive more rentals.
Maybe Maui should look what has happened in other areas as a case study before taking 7000 units for 2500 people still looking for housing.
Good points, but they will not do that.
Evidently I read before the Maui fire CA fire officials had tried to educate the Hawaiin government/ fire officials on the steps CA took to reduce fires and it appears it all fell on deaf ears because they ignored everything!
As a former Maui resident (& former Honolulu resident & former Big Island resident), it was very obvious, for many years why Maui’s economy was the best in the State. It was fueled by tourism. Not everyone can afford Maui hotel rates. Shutting down vacation rentals will have a drastically negative effect on Maui’s economy.
Aloha BOH – Well, the unit we’ve been renting for the past 8 years is on the list to be cut, which is very sad for us. We’re understanding – obviously people who live there must have adequate housing – I personally hope that the county isn’t cutting their nose to spite their face.
Hi Tea.
Thanks for letting us know. Do you have plans to go back there before then. It isn’t clear to us whether the county will be able to adhere to the dates they have set forth, given the potential lawsuits.
Aloha.
Our usual Maui time is in Feb – we’re literally talking right this moment about “one more” journey before it closes up. We go to Kauai later this month, and love BI (my old home), but nothing compares to Maui, for us. I do wish the list showed when the closure goes into effect.
That’s exactly what they are doing but they don’t care. This new law not only affects tourists but it also affects locals from other islands that want to visit Maui for a “staycation” or work.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but, I think that the headline here is a little strident. Maui is not going to “eliminate vacation rentals” which makes it sound like they are getting rid of all STVRs. A quick Google search suggests that there are more than 16K STVRs on Maui. So, taking 7K out of the pool would still leave 9K available for visitors. A significant reduction, but not an “elimination” of all STVRs that the comments fear. Also, for families there is still the option to use a timeshare, many of which have kitchens, etc.
Correct. We own a unit at Maui Banyan, which is not on that list because it is zoned as a “hotel” – even though it looks and feels just like several other complexes on the list right near us. This could be a boon for us, therefore, but I still believe the idea is unfair and perhaps illegal.
Yes, Reducing the number STR will create more affordable housing for locals and I can live with less tourists and be able to go a beach that doesn’t look like Waikiki.
How? Exactly how does eliminating STRs create more housing for the locals? Unless you are advocating for confiscation of private property? There’s no guarantee that those units will be available for LTR to locals.
How many locals are waiting to move into the Kapulua Bay Villas or the Kapalua Golf Villas? In theory, this is a reasonable concept. In practice, it is being applied in a very haphazard manner that will do little to help locals.
So Maui’s Mayor has admitted that immediately eliminating 7,000 STR’s is going to cause job loss, reduced tax collection and commit economic suicide, but we’ll worry about that later is a good plan?
That’s some good governing…
Has Maui been lax in the past developing STR regulations and/or enforcing them? Appears they haven’t been vigilant until now trying re: finding solutions for worker housing. I truly don’t know because I haven’t been to Maui for years. We have been spending our time on the Big Island since 2015. I understand the BI residents were pushing back on the elimination of STRs. My understanding is that the BI enforces its existing STR rules better. I have also observed where we stay–Waikoloa Village–that they have built lower income housing. These units are not available for STR, rightly so. To me, it appears Maui just kicked the can down the road and then the fire exposed their lack of planning.
Remember… a crisis always accelerates an existing trend.
You hit several nails on the head. I’ve lived here a while and as far as I can tell, the only things Maui county government is good at is collecting (most) taxes and doing what hotel companies paid them to do. Enforcement, planning, foresight, courage, those aren’t really their thing.
Its simple – if we can not stay in a rental we simply will take our Family to another island where we can. Already we feel totally unwanted by the changes being made and the treatment we got the last time in Hawaii. I am by most peoples standards not poor and we spend our money enjoying Hawaii and its peacefulness in the past but today just not the same feeling. We are no longer welcome and we will go elsewhere.
See my comment above. Maui isn’t “eliminating” all STVRs. It’s getting rid of about 1/2 of them. So, you can still find an STVR or a timeshare for your family. This isn’t a zero sum game as some would have you believe. What you’re mainly seeing is a lot of pearl clutching on the part of mainland owners who want you to think that things are worse than they actually are.
Simple supply and demand principles are going to drive up the costs to levels that will make a trip cost prohibitive for most.
Seriously…. Have they lost their minds??? Force out vacation rentals which leads to job loss, no visitors, which leads to a serious loss to the economy, so that everyone is supposedly housed in a dying economy. You are basically sending everyone to live on welfare and to continue to live off the government because there’s no money coming in. Those that do have jobs are going to lose those jobs, all kinds of jobs, especially in Maui County just because they are no longer needed. Just following all this in the news makes me not interested in coming to Maui ever again. We have been strong supporters of those who lost homes and businesses in Lahaina but this is a beyond ridiculous approach for solving the issues.
Well said…..exactly.
The mayor of Maui and the governor of Hawaii are both the epitome of stupidity! Let’s just destroy our island economy and have massive loss jobs and hardship for our residents, and then will think of something to do when we get to that point. This is the absolute insanity of dysfunctional one party special interest government for the establishment entitlement class!
Just horrible for everyone. Vote these idiots out of office!
Unconstitutional, period.
Hawaii doesn’t care about the Constitution. Their Supreme Court has already ruled that the 2nd Amendment doesn’t apply to Hawaii. A bunch or corrupt politicians running the state like a bunch of little Dictators.