Maui County Proposal Would Turn Vacation Units Into Long-term Rentals

For years, an ever-looming lodging situation has grown successful nan Hawaiian Islands. That threat came to a caput successful 2023, erstwhile a firestorm leveled nan aged superior of Lahaina connected nan land of Maui. Thousands recovered themselves without homes aliases jobs. In nan aftermath of nan disaster, galore called for nan authorities to unit short-term picnic rentals utilized by visitors to beryllium flipped into semipermanent rentals for locals.

The statement complete changing picnic rentals is being brought to nan forefront arsenic nan Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee prepares to analyse a connection by Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen.

A caller legislative push

“Every day, section families are being forced to time off nan only location they’ve ever known,” Bissen said astatine nan authorities of nan region reside successful March. “Maui’s lodging marketplace has go progressively retired of reach, a situation worsened by nan events of August 8, leaving thousands of displaced survivors still successful request of imperishable homes. But this rumor extends beyond disaster betterment — it’s astir our future.”

The proposal, Bill 9, plans to shape retired units rented retired for little than 180 days, known arsenic transient picnic rentals (TVRs), successful apartment-zoned districts by 2026. That alteration would spot units targeted from what is called nan “Minatoya list.”

Named aft nan Maui County charismatic who created nan ineligible memo giving TVRs an exemption successful 2001, nan Minatoya database contains nan addresses of complete 7,000 rental units. About 6,000 of these units are actively utilized arsenic short-term rentals.

Housing successful Maui County

These units dress up much than half of nan full ineligible picnic rentals successful Maui County, which, according to a 2024 UHERU factbook, number 10,084, aliases 14% of nan full lodging stock. The Minatoya database units were grandfathered successful arsenic ineligible short-term rentals successful flat zones, since they were operating arsenic specified by April 20, 1989, erstwhile nan region passed an ordinance limiting TVR permits successful specified areas. Most of these units are successful South and West Maui, and nan immense mostly are owned by out-of-state residents.

For years, these properties person operated successful flat zones arsenic short-term rentals, while locals struggle pinch progressively higher costs of surviving and a lodging shortage successful nan Aloha State. Over half of Maui residents are “rent-burdened,” spending complete 30% of their family income connected rent, and complete a 4th of residents are “severely rent-burdened” from spending much than half of their income connected rent, according to nan factbook. The increasing situation was compounded by nan 2023 fires, which destroyed much than 2,200 structures, according to nan county’s after-action report.

Can nan measure help?

Mayor Bissen and others are hoping that Bill 9 opens up affordable surviving spaces for locals, but nan late-March uncover of a University of Hawaiʻi analysis connected nan connection points retired immoderate cracks successful nan plan.
The analysis’s UHERO authors recovered that nan policy, arsenic it presently reads, “would person far-reaching economical effects, pinch some intended benefits and unintended consequences.”

Those imaginable effects are broad, and see a $900 cardinal yearly driblet successful visitant spending and perchance 1,900 mislaid jobs.

Maui has a dense reliance connected visitant spending to support its economy, arsenic illustrated successful nan analysis’s background. The leisure and hospitality assemblage employed 22,600 group successful 2022, conscionable complete a 4th of nan island’s full labour force. That aforesaid twelvemonth visitors, excluding those who arrived via cruise ship, spent astir $6 billion. The imaginable driblet successful visitant spending theorized by UHERO would person a ample effect connected nan section economy.

“It’s important to admit that economical models — while adjuvant — cannot afloat style nan early of our communities,” Mayor Bissen said successful a statement sent retired to section media responding to nan analysis. “They do not bespeak nan lived experiences of our residents: nan families crowded into multigenerational homes because younger generations can’t spend their own, nan workers commuting longer distances aliases leaving Maui entirely, and nan increasing strain connected our infrastructure and consciousness of place.”

Potential improvements

The authors of nan study projected immoderate adjustments to nan argumentation to soften nan economical broadside effects:

• Gradual implementation: extending nan modulation play and phasing retired TVRs slow successful smaller increments aliases geographic areas alternatively of 2 ample phases.
• Lottery-based shape out: randomly selecting a subset of properties each period for modulation complete a 12-month play for much precise guidance of inventory levels.
• Rezoning aliases typical usage permits: allowing constricted TVR usage to proceed successful designated areas wherever it aligns pinch semipermanent readying goals.

Compromise connected nan bill

Shortly earlier nan study was released, Mayor Bissen had walked backmost immoderate of his erstwhile statements successful a South Maui organization meeting.

“They were intended for workforce housing. They were built for workforce housing, and they became short-term rentals,” Bissen said. “If that was built to beryllium a workforce housing, my extremity is to person those backmost to workforce housing. That’s nan elemental answer.”

The analyzable reply is that only astir 2,000 of nan units connected nan Minatoya database meet that qualification, curbing nan mayor’s earlier promise. It’s a discuss for nan residents of Valley Isle, some those looking for places to unrecorded and those who are renting to tourists.

Other plans to boost housing

But flipping picnic rentals isn’t Maui County’s only dream for section housing. Mayor Bissen has different plans successful spot that he hopes will thief residents find a spot to telephone home.

“At nan authorities level, Governor Green, Lt. Governor Luke, and Maui County’s authorities senators and representatives are pushing to trim reddish tape, put successful lodging stock, and fortify infrastructure,” Bissen said astatine nan authorities of nan region address. “Here astatine home, I’m moving pinch our region assembly to research public-private partnerships, inclusionary lodging policies, taxation incentives and usage and deed regularisation programs.

“These are conscionable a fewer of nan captious efforts underway — but existent alteration will return each of us,” he continued. “Tough decisions dishonesty up — and while alteration requires sacrifice, nan semipermanent early of our group depends connected it.”

The measure is expected to beryllium considered earlier nan Maui County Council Housing and Land Use Committee successful mid-May aliases early June. Sessions will beryllium held successful nan evening to let arsenic galore locals arsenic imaginable to bring their grounds earlier nan committee and person their voices heard.

Timeline of events

• 1989 – The Maui County Council enacted Ordinance 1797, removing short-term rentals from properties successful flat zones to guarantee nan intent of nan flat territory for semipermanent residential use.
• 2001 – Richard Minatoya, a Maui County official, created an exemption database of properties successful flat zones that continued operating arsenic short-term rentals. This became known arsenic nan Minatoya list.
• Aug 8, 2023 – The Maui wildfires destroyed much than 2,200 structures, killed 102 people, and near thousands without activity aliases homes.
• May 2, 2024 – Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced a scheme to return nan Minatoya database and person nan still existing/operating short-term rentals, astir 6,000 units, into semipermanent rentals for residents.
• May 3, 2024 – Hawai’i Gov. Josh Green, D, signs Senate Bill 2919, granting counties power complete regulating short-term rental properties.
• March 12, 2025 – Mayor Bissen lowered nan nonstop number of short-term rental units to beryllium flipped successful his connection astatine a South Maui organization meeting, now person to 2,000 units.
• March 31, 2025 – The University of Hawai’i released an study of nan connection to shape retired transient picnic rentals successful Maui County flat districts. This insubstantial pointed retired unintentional consequences of nan connection arsenic written, which could consequence successful mislaid jobs and gross for nan county.