Hawaii could soon ban short-term rentals in a bid to address the islands’ housing and overtourism crisis, through two bills making their way through the legislative. Together they would mean the amendment of plantation-era rules that protect residential land against transformation into sugar farms, driving out local communities.
Background
The island state has been trying to address its housing and overtourism issues, but in 2023, a group lobbying for short-term rental interests successfully used the plantation rules to overturn an attempt to redefine a short-term rental as a period of at least 30 days and a maximum of 90.
Senator Jarrett Keohokalole said it was “ironic” that regulations designed to protect communities were being exploited to “allow for the push and gentrification of the community by commercialized interests mostly from outside the state.” His own neighbourhood had witnessed an exodus over seven years with a “wholesale conversion” of traditional family dwellings into “exclusive vacation rental properties,” Keohokalole told SFGATE.
90% of the housing stock is short-term rentals
Above the historic Lahaina town, nearly 90% of the housing stock is short-term rentals. An analysis by University of Hawai’i’s Economic Research Organization (UHERO), found 33,000 housing units across the state were listed as short-term vacation rentals, out of a total of 565,000. Out-of-state residents own 52% of them and 27% possess 20 plus units. Illegal rentals were not taken into account but are thought to be an important part of the problem.
If successful, the latest amendments penned by Keohokalole, will enable county-level decisions on what comprises a “short-term rental”, who can run them and areas where visitors can stay while on holiday – a subject causing fierce debate among the islanders.
“Very unfair and probably illegal”
However, the Maui Chamber of Commerce rejects the need for the bill, as do some residents, including those who have suffered huge losses due to recent wildfires, who argue they should be allowed to supplement their income through short-term rentals and second-homes.
Calling the bill “very unfair and probably illegal” Merrill Nisam, a physician from Marin County and part-time Maui resident said, “It’s also very unfair to the aloha spirit.” Nisam has always hoped to retire to one of his two properties, but could not do so without the income from the other as a short-term rental.
On the other side of the argument, the amendments’ supporters say the changes will lead to structural transformation of the housing market, providing more long-term housing for areas in crisis, particularly after the deadly fires which destroyed 4,000 housing units and put thousands of people on the streets. The fires and their aftermath have accelerated the exodus from the island, according to local nonprofit, the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, whose director Albert Perez, says “People are leaving. People are committing suicide. They just couldn’t take it.”
