A historic law has been passed on Maui that will phase out about half of the island’s vacation rentals.
In a process spearheaded by community members, Mayor Richard Bissen proposed Bill 9 in May 2024 to return apartment-zoned housing to local residents, rather than the tourism industry. Opponents worry about its economic impacts, but supporters say the move puts "people over profits."
“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,” Mayor Bissen said in a press release. “Today, transient vacation rentals make up 21% of Maui County’s overall housing stock — more than any other county in Hawaiʻi. For far too long, short-term rentals, offshore investors, and private interests have overwhelmed our housing inventory.”
More than 90% of Maui short-term rental owners don’t live in the county, and more live out of state, according to the county.
The new law will phase out about 7,000 short-term rentals in apartment-zoned districts over the next five years. Property owners of the affected units can convert to long-term rentals, sell, keep them for personal use or seek a change in zoning.
Many opinions
Maui County Councilmembers were split 5-3 on the decision.
“Bill 9 is about getting closer to a quality of life we promised our residents when we campaign every other year,” said Molokaʻi councilmember Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, supporting the bill. “Profits are replaceable. Generational communities are not. We need to prioritize the people that love our home.”
Council Chair Alice Lee voted against the measure.
“This has been a very challenging proposal, one of the hardest that I have come across. I don’t think this is going to work. The only way it’s going to work is if it has a mechanism of implementation and it doesn’t have it now,” Lee said.
Lanaʻi councilmember Gabe Johnson voiced his support.
“I rise in full support of this historic bill,” Johnson said. “I will say Bill 9 is people over profits. It's for the people and not about profits. It's for the community over your checkbook. It's for the workers over your LLC.”
South Maui councilmember Tom Cook opposed the measure.
“This is not an easy choice, but I firmly believe that this bill is going to not meet its objectives, and I am afraid of the consequences and the collateral damage,” Cook said.
Passage of the measure comes after almost two years of debate among community members and local lawmakers. Hundreds of hours of testimony were heard on the issue, during a process that included the Maui Planning Commission, the council’s Housing and Land Use Committee and a council Temporary Investigative Group.
The issue has been championed by grassroots community group Lahaina Strong, which identified housing as a crisis issue following the 2023 wildfires.
“The aloha that you have given has been overwhelming, its fierceness, diligence, your persistence throughout the process has been nothing short of astounding,” said Lahaina Strong leader Paʻele Kiakona, addressing community supporters during his testimony Monday. “People from all over the world have been messaging me of how proud and amazed they are by you all. We are only at the front end of this movement, and at the very least, our community will be more involved because of this momentum that has been pushed behind this bill.”
Rebalancing housing stock
Bill 9 addresses a long-standing zoning exemption that was grandfathered in, allowing transient vacation rentals in areas originally built for workforce housing, according to the county.
The measure does not affect bed-and-breakfasts or timeshares.
“When the zoning loophole that allowed short-term vacation rentals in apartment districts was created, short-term rentals were not an industry,” said Maui realtor Edward Codella, who testified in support of the bill. “There were no platforms, no institutional investors, and no global capital chasing returns on Maui housing. Today, that reality has changed completely.”
Maui resident Richard Prata lives in one of these units.
“Over 35 years ago, we bought a condo here on the West side to live in. I still live there,” he said in his testimony supporting Bill 9. “When we first moved there, a lot of owners lived there and it was a real nice community feel. Over the years — we have over 100 condos there — now, only 10 are occupied by owners. So over the years, more and more short-term rentals came in.”
Throughout the process, Maui community members have shared how the rise of vacation rentals have eroded the communities they grew up in.
“We knew taking on powerful interests in the short-term rental industry was never going to be easy,” Bissen said. “We've seen an influx of outside messaging driven by special interests attempting to influence our community through fear. But the facts matter. Ninety-four percent of the units affected are owned by people who don’t live in Maui County, and most don't even live in Hawaiʻi. Decisions about Maui’s housing should be guided by the needs of the people who live here — not by outside interests trying to protect profits.”
A long road ahead
Legal challenges to the bill are expected.
Leslie Brown, who has managed the Luana Kai condo complex for 38 years, said the measure may actually increase investment purchases of units.
“The passage of Bill 9 throws many properties into a lawsuit,” she testified. “Banks will not loan money on a property involved in a lawsuit. That means only cash buyers can purchase.”
The full impacts of Bill 9 remain to be seen.
On Friday, councilmembers will take up that consideration as a separate zoning change process that could allow about half of the nearly 7,000 affected units to continue as vacation rentals.
In its examination of the measure, Maui County Council's Temporary Investigative Group recommended that about 4,500 of the affected units be reclassified under a new hotel zoning designation.
Councilmember Cook proposed including some of the TIG recommendations as part of Bill 9, but county lawyers said the law is more legally defensible in its original form.
Lynette Pendergast, president of the Realtors Association of Maui, opposed the bill. She said her organization supports the need for more long-term housing but testified there are “many unintended consequences of the proposal.”
“Our primary concern is the procedural uncertainty created by advancing Bill 9 before the key policies and zoning changes recommended by the TIG are in place,” she said. “Proceeding in this sequence creates a significant policy gap that exposes the county to economic risk and legal liability. Bill 9 would effectively eliminate lawful TVR [transient vacation rental] use in apartment districts without providing a clear or timely pathway for property owners to apply for new land use designations or to continue operating legally.”
Many councilmembers have said they support a companion measure to establish new hotel zoning, which will go through its own legislative process and be heard by the county’s planning commissions.
“Throughout this process, we have sought to pursue an outcome that will benefit Maui County’s residents by promoting housing availability while stabilizing the economy,” said Councilmember Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins, chair of the Bill 9 TIG, who voted in support of the measure. “Creating the H-3 and H-4 zoning districts is a step that could ensure a smoother transition after Bill 9's passage.”
Maui County officials stress that Bill 9 is just one part of a broader, multi-pronged housing strategy.
“The administration has committed to working with the County Council to support the recommendations of the TIG, explore pathways to homeownership, and consider tax and policy tools that complement the intent of the legislation,” the county said in a press release.
The new law calls for the phase-out deadline for affected West Maui vacation rentals by Jan. 1, 2029. Other areas of the county would need to end short-term rental condos in apartment zones by Jan. 1, 2031.
How did we get here? Read these stories to get up to speed:
- Behind Maui's Minatoya List: a look at short-term rentals affected by county proposal - May 24, 2024
- Phasing out Maui short-term rentals would increase housing but hit economy, UHERO report says - April 1, 2025
- With housing and economy at stake, Maui County weighs phase-out of 7,000 vacation rentals - June 10, 2025
- Maui vacation rental bill continues to draw passionate testimony from both sides - June 20, 2025
- 'It's about balance': Maui nears final vote to phase out thousands of vacation rentals - Dec. 5, 2025
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