#short-term vacation rentals
A `promise to restore balance’: Mayor Bissen makes his case for vacation rental phase-out
Citing Maui’s severe post-wildfire housing crisis, the Bissen administration presented its formal case to a County Council committee to phase out approximately 6,000 short-term vacation rentals mostly in West and South Maui. “We simply can’t build fast enough to meet the scale of demand we’re facing,” Mayor Richard Bissen told members of the Housing and […]
Key amendments proposed for vacation rental phase-out bill ahead of Council committee hearing
The contentious debate over the future of thousands of short-term vacation rentals in Maui County is heading to a much-anticipated public hearing Monday, June 9, before the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee. The committee posted an agenda for a meeting beginning at 10 a.m. Monday in the Council Chambers on the eighth […]
Hawai‘i’s homeless rate soars to worst in nation after Lahaina wildfire, UHERO reports
The deadly Maui wildfire disaster displaced 5,000 people and has now left Hawaiʻi with the dubious distinction of having the nation’s highest rate of homelessness, according to a report released today by the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization. The UHERO report also underscores that the wildfires aggravated Maui County’s already acute shortage of housing. […]
Condo closings fall in wake of short-term rental phase-out bill announcement
Closings of condominium sales have dropped by double-digit percentages in the three months since Mayor Richard Bissen announced a proposal to phase out thousands of short-term rentals in apartment-zoned districts, according to monthly statistics from the Realtors Association of Maui.
Maui Vacation Rental Association releases public opinion survey on short-term rentals
A vacation rental advocacy group has released a statewide poll it says shows that Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed ban on short-term rentals is “unpopular” with most Hawai‘i registered voters.
Gov. Green highlights some of 253 bills signed into law
Gov. Josh Green held a news conference Wednesday at the state Capitol to detail some of the 253 bills he signed out of 260 bills passed during the 2024 legislative session.
Vacation rental phase-out study warns of $1.3 billion hit to Maui’s economy, but glosses over housing for residents
A study funded by a group representing “travel technology innovators,” including short-term rental platforms, is forecasting vast amounts of tax income losses for Maui County if Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed bill to phase out 7,000 vacation rentals in apartment districts were enacted out to make way for resident housing.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen announces bill to phase out vacation rentals in apartment districts
Thousands of short-term vacation rental apartments could begin switching to long-term housing for residents as early as July 1, 2025, for West Maui, and Jan. 1, 2026, for the rest of Maui County in a proposed measure announced today by Mayor Richard Bissen.
