The rental car shortage has pushed some visitors and residents to the peer-to-peer rental car market. For residents, renting out a personal car brings in quick cash.
But neighborhoods have begun to take notice of the tourists coming onto their streets looking for vehicles they rented off Turo, a peer-to-peer car rental application.
Following complaints from a Waialae-Kahala neighborhood about a resident renting out a fleet of more than 15 cars, state tax investigators and the City and County of Honolulu responded.
Hawaiʻi Public Radio learned the Department of Planning and Permitting issued three violation notices this summer after neighbors complained about the vehicles and the foot traffic.
Dean Uchida, director of the DPP, said the department issued one notice of violation in Kahala, one in ʻAiea, and another in Foster Village, which was a recurring offense.
"You're not allowed to conduct that kind of operation in a residential neighborhood," he said. "As a home business, you can have a rental car business, but all your cars have to be parked on your property. And actually, I think you max out at two."
If residents see a problem in their neighborhood, Uchida said residents can file a complaint by calling 808-768-8259.
"We want to treat everybody fairly, but if you violate the law there's going to be consequences," he said. "I think in this administration if you do the crime, you got to pay that money. So we're going to go after people who violate the law, and use that as a deterrent to discourage other people from violating the law."
The Honolulu Police Department said it has begun fielding complaint calls on Oʻahu as well.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 28, 2021.
