default
Purpose:
Bill 9’s purpose is to discontinue transient vacation rental use in apartment districts over the course of a defined phase-out or amortization period.
Background:
Ordinance 1797 took effect in 1989 and amended the Maui County Code’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to require that buildings and structures within the apartment districts be occupied on a long-term-residential basis—defined as a continuous period of six months or more per year. Exceptions were granted for structures that had received certain county approvals by April 20, 1989, which allowed some multi-unit buildings in the apartment districts to have transient vacation rentals as lawful nonconforming uses.
In 2014, the Maui County Council enacted a new law, Ordinance 4167, which put Ordinance 1797’s exceptions into the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and allowed certain apartment-zoned structures to have transient vacation rentals. The law has since been modified several times to add criteria to qualify for the exceptions.
Justification:
Maui County has a longstanding housing crisis, worsened by the August 2023 wildfires, which destroyed over 5,400 households and displaced 12,000 residents.
The bill aims to increase the availability of long-term housing in the county.
Phase-out or amortization period:
As of May 3, 2024, Subsection 46-4(a), Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, provides that, “over a reasonable period of time,” uses that allow transient accommodations “may be phased out or amortized in any zoning district by county zoning regulations.”
Mayor Richard T. Bissen, Jr. has proposed to phase out transient vacation rental use in the apartment districts by July 1, 2028.
Housing and Land Use Committee Chair Tasha Kama has submitted an amendment to extend the phase-out period to July 1, 2030.
FAQs on Bill 9
1. What is Bill 9?
Bill 9 is the Bissen administration’s proposal to phase out transient vacation rental use in apartment districts.
2. What would be affected by Bill 9?
Bill 9 would affect apartment-zoned properties that are now used for transient vacation rentals, including those in Hāna, South Maui, West Maui and Molokai.
3. What is a transient vacation rental, also known as a TVR?
“Transient vacation rentals or use,” as defined in the Maui County Code, means “occupancy of a dwelling or lodging unit by transients for any period of less than one hundred eighty days, excluding bed and breakfast homes and short-term rental homes.”
While some exceptions apply, the zoning code’s general definition of a “transient” is:
“any person who owns, rents, or uses a lodging or dwelling unit, or portion of it, for less than one hundred eighty days and whose permanent address for legal purposes is not the lodging or dwelling unit occupied by the person.”
TVRs include hotels, and they are permitted uses in designated zoning districts.
Bed and breakfast homes and short-term rental homes are other types of transient accommodations that are allowed in certain zoning districts, if they qualify for permits.
4. Why is Bill 9 under consideration?
Maui County has a housing shortage, which was worsened by the August 2023 wildfires. The bill aims to end TVR use in apartment-zoned districts in the hope of converting them to residential use and helping to ease the housing shortage. The planning director submitted the bill on the mayor’s behalf in December 2024.
The Maui County Charter requires the Maui County Council to consider zoning proposals submitted by the planning director. The council chair referred the bill to the council’s Housing and Land Use Committee, which has been meeting on the bill since June 2025, following the council’s annual budget session.
5. What would happen to current TVRs in apartment-zoned districts if Bill 9 were enacted?
Existing TVRs in apartment districts would be able to continue operating until the amortization period ends. Proposals under consideration would set the amortization period to last until July 1, 2028, or July 1, 2030, but other dates could also be considered. Once the period ends, TVR uses in the apartment districts would have to stop.
6. What is the proposed “amortization period” or “phase-out period?”
The amortization or phase-out period is the time during which current TVR operators would still be able to conduct TVR uses in their apartment-zoned properties. Operators would have to stop conducting TVR uses when the period ends.
7. Would this bill affect B&B, STRHs, or time shares?
Bill 9 would not affect bed and breakfast homes permitted under Chapter 19.64, Maui County Code, or short-term rental homes permitted under Chapter 19.65, Maui County Code. Time shares would also be unaffected.
8. Would property owners be able to convert their TVRs to long-term rentals?
Property owners may convert their apartment-zoned properties to residential use now or at any other time, whether Bill 9 gets enacted or not.
9. Would there be a process for appealing or requesting an exemption?
As introduced, Bill 9 would not provide exemptions or an appeal process. Property owners wishing to continue conducting TVR uses could consider applying with the Department of Planning for a zoning change, bed and breakfast home permit, short-term rental home permit or conditional permit.
10. How would this legislation impact Maui County’s economy and tourism industry?
No one can predict for certain what the economic impact would be if Bill 9 is enacted as an ordinance. But the following analytical reports are available in a document prepared for Council Chair Alice L. Lee at https://tinyurl.com/Bill9Reports:
- “An Economic Analysis of the Proposal to Phase Out Transient Vacation Rentals in Maui County Apartment Districts,” dated March 31, 2025, by the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaiʻi for Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
- “State of Hawaiʻi and Maui Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Short-Term Rental Industry,” dated June 12, 2024, by Kloninger & Sims Consulting LLC for the Travel Technology Association.
- The planning director’s report on the mayor’s proposal to phase out TVRs in the A-1 and A-2 zoning districts, dated June 25, 2024.
11. Who can I contact for more information?
While Bill 9 is still under consideration by the Maui County Council, please contact the Office of Council Services for information on the bill’s status at county.council@mauicounty.us or (808) 270-7664.
If Bill 9 gets enacted, please contact the Department of Planning for information on the bill’s implementation at planning@mauicounty.gov or (808) 270-7735.