No aloha here.
Maui, one of the country’s most heavily visited island destinations, is preparing to dramatically shrink its short-term rental market after county leaders approved a law that will gradually eliminate thousands of vacation units in an effort to ease a deepening housing shortage.
The measure, known as Bill 9, will phase out more than 6,200 transient vacation rentals in west and south Maui, areas that have long been dominated by Airbnb-style condos catering to tourists. Rentals in west Maui are set to sunset by Jan. 1, 2029, with South Maui following by Jan. 1, 2031.
Mayor Richard Bissen, who introduced the legislation last year in the aftermath of the 2023 wildfires, framed the move as a turning point for residents squeezed out of the local housing market.
“Mahalo to Maui County Council members and staff for their extensive work on Bill 9 and for taking crucial and courageous steps to improve life for Maui’s most important resource — our people,” he said in a press release.
Supporters of the law argue that the island’s reliance on short-term rentals has gone too far, particularly after the fires destroyed nearly 3,000 buildings and displaced thousands of residents.
Bissen said the policy is designed to move housing back into the long-term market, noting that short-term rentals account for roughly 21% of Maui County’s housing stock — more than anywhere else in the state.
“Bill 9 has consistently stood out as the most immediate way to bring thousands of units back online and expand housing inventory in Maui County,” he said, adding that “for far too long, short-term rentals, offshore investors and private interests have overwhelmed our housing inventory.”
The mayor emphasized that the law does not wipe out vacation rentals entirely.
Thousands of units will remain legal, alongside hotels, timeshares and bed-and-breakfasts. Still, opponents warned that scaling back the short-term market could come with a steep economic price.
Council Vice-Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura said the county risks losing tens of millions of dollars annually in property and tourism-related taxes.
“Bill 9 represents a loss of roughly $65 million in real property taxes per year, along with an estimated $50 million in general excise tax and transient accommodations tax revenues,” she said in a special council meeting earlier this week. “The proposed solution is to offset those losses by raising taxes on who? You, the taxpayers, are going to be burdened with the tax losses.”
Industry groups echoed those concerns.
“RAM remains gravely concerned that Bill 9 as currently drafted will negatively impact Maui’s economy, restrict property owners’ rights and result in insufficient reentry of housing units into the long-term market,” Lynette Pendergast, president of the Realtors Association of Maui, said in the Monday hearing.
Backers of the legislation counter that the island can no longer afford to prioritize visitor profits over residents.
Councilwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez said the law is about restoring balance.
“Profits are replaceable. Generational communities are not,” she said, calling the measure an effort to “reclaim housing, reining in tourism, conserve water, correct zoning, all of the above.”
Grassroots pressure helped push the policy forward.
Members of Lahaina Strong, a local advocacy group formed after the fires, spent months protesting and camping on Kaanapali Beach alongside wildfire survivors.
“We’ve been fighting for, I would say, almost two years. We started on Kaanapali beach just advocating for dignified housing,” Organizer Jordan Ruidas told KITV Island News.
“The prices for condos are already dropping … condo prices have dropped more than 20%, so it’s honestly just making it more affordable already.”
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