If you own, or are thinking about buying, a condo that currently operates as a short-term rental anywhere in Hawaii, the last few weeks brought real news. On July 28, the Maui County Council voted 7-1, twice, to push forward a plan that would permanently shift roughly 2,056 apartment-district vacation rental units into hotel zoning. A few weeks before that, Hawaii County's long-delayed short-term rental registration law, Bill 47, finally took effect on July 1. Neither change happened in isolation, and together they signal where county governments across the state are heading on visitor accommodations. Whether you're weighing an STR purchase, already own one, or are simply selling a condo in a building that has rental income potential, here's what actually changed and what it means for your next move.
Maui Just Took Its Vacation Rental Phase-Out a Step Further
Maui's Bill 9, signed into law by Mayor Richard Bissen in late 2025, set a plan in motion to convert more than 6,200 short-term rental units in apartment-zoned districts back into long-term housing, with West Maui properties required to transition by January 1, 2029, and South Maui units by January 1, 2031. That timeline alone reshaped how buyers value STR-zoned Maui condos. The move in late July adds a wrinkle: the Council is now pushing roughly 2,056 of those units into permanent hotel zoning instead, which would let them keep operating as vacation rentals under a different classification. The Maui Planning Commission had already rejected a softer version of this idea back in February, so the fight over which units survive as rentals and which convert to housing is still very much alive. For anyone evaluating a Maui condo purchase, the zoning status of that specific building, not just its history of renting nightly, is now the single most important thing to confirm before you write an offer.
Big Island Owners Now Have a Hard Registration Deadline
Hawaii County's Bill 47, now Ordinance 25-50, had already been pushed back once, from December 2025 to July 1, 2026, to give the county time to build out its enforcement system. That extension has run out. Hosted rentals, including owner-occupied units that were previously exempt, must now register annually and pay a $250 fee. Unhosted vacation rentals pay $500 and must resubmit their tax map key, bedroom count, and proof of safety compliance every year. Registrations expire 90 days after a sale, so if you're buying an existing Big Island STR, don't assume the registration transfers with the deed. Fines for operating unregistered run as high as $10,000, and the booking platforms themselves, Airbnb and Vrbo included, now have to match every listing against a valid county registration number or risk fines of their own.
Why This Matters Even If You're Buying on Oahu or Kauai
Maui and the Big Island are setting the pattern, and Oahu and Kauai have already shown they'll follow it. Both islands run their own STR registration systems, and the direction of travel statewide is toward tighter oversight, not looser. Layer on top of that the statewide Transient Accommodations Tax increase that took effect January 1, bringing the TAT to 11% on hotel and vacation rental stays, and it's clear that operating an STR in Hawaii carries more compliance overhead and cost than it did two years ago. That doesn't mean STR investing is dead here, but it does mean the math has changed, and buyers who run their numbers on 2023 assumptions are going to be disappointed.
What This Means If You're Buying or Already Own
If you're shopping for an income property, verify the zoning and registration status of a specific unit before you fall in love with its rental history. A building's past Airbnb income tells you nothing if the zoning under it is shifting. Ask your agent for the county's current STR registry status on any unit you're serious about, and budget for registration fees, TAT, GET, and county surcharges as real, recurring costs, not afterthoughts. If you already own a Big Island rental, get your registration filed now; the county has made clear it intends to enforce the $10,000 penalty, not just threaten it. And if you own in a Maui apartment-zoned building, watch the Planning Commission's next moves closely. Whether your unit ends up in hotel zoning or gets converted to long-term housing will materially affect both your income and your resale value.
None of this is cause for panic, but it is cause for homework. Hawaii's short-term rental landscape is being rewritten island by island, and the owners and buyers who come out ahead will be the ones who track these rules as closely as they track prices. If you're weighing a purchase or sale that touches any of this, it's worth a conversation before you commit.