Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)
On September 22, the Maui Planning Commission voted 6-2 to recommend hotel zoning for only 5 of the 48 vacation rental properties the County Council had sent it. A week later, the Council voted 5-4 to send the commission another 32 shoreline condo complexes in Maalaea, Kihei and West Maui. Neither vote rezoned anything. Both tell you a lot about how Maui's condo vacation rental phase-out is likely to play out.
The right read depends on where you sit, so I'll take it one situation at a time.
Where things stand this fall
Bill 9, now Ordinance 5909, was adopted December 15, 2025. It ends transient vacation rental use in Maui County's apartment districts after an amortization period. That use is allowed through December 31, 2028 in the West Maui community plan area and through December 31, 2030 everywhere else. Validly existing timeshare units and uses operating under a variance are exempt.
Bill 88, now Ordinance 6008, took effect June 22, 2026 and created two new hotel districts, H-3 and H-4. They're reserved for properties that were zoned A-1 or A-2 and had permitted vacation rentals. The ordinance itself rezoned nothing. Each property needs its own rezoning and community plan change, which goes to the planning commission for a recommendation and then back to the Council.
Of the five properties the commission endorsed, two have decades-old variances, two are entirely timeshare, and one was found to operate as a hotel. For the larger complexes billed as hotel-like, commissioners said they wanted more objective standards than a front desk or housekeeping staff. The commission's public hearing on the second group of 32 shoreline properties is set for November 24, 2026. The Council can still approve a property the commission rejected, but that takes 6 of its 9 votes, and the September referral passed with 5.
Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)
You own in West Maui and your building was in the first group
West Maui has the earlier deadline, so the math is tighter. If your property was among the 43 the commission recommended against, I'd plan as if December 31, 2028 is your last night of legal short-term rental use. If the Council later finds six votes, that's upside.
The two lawsuits filed in December 2025 by condo owners argue the phase-out is an unconstitutional taking. As far as I can find, neither has produced a ruling or an injunction, and the deadlines are still running. More than once I've had an owner ask me whether the lawsuits will make this go away. Maybe, but I wouldn't build a plan around a court date nobody can schedule.
The practical choices are the same ones owners have had all year: keep renting short-term until the deadline, convert to a long-term rental, use the unit yourself, or sell. I'd look at the long-term rent the unit can actually get against the maintenance fee, taxes and insurance before deciding.
Your building is one of the 32 shoreline complexes
To make the second list, more than half of a building's footprint had to sit in the state's sea level rise exposure area (at 3.2 feet of rise), a special flood hazard area or the shoreline setback area. Buildings originally meant for affordable or workforce housing were left out. So were properties where at least 25 percent of units were classified as long-term residential in 2008. That test drew pushback in testimony, and two other complexes dropped under it couldn't be added back because they weren't on the agenda.
The Maui Planning Commission has scheduled its public hearing on the 32 shoreline properties (Resolution 26-129) for November 24, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in Wailuku, with a videoconference option. Given how the first group went, I'd treat inclusion as a chance, not a plan. The same shoreline exposure that put these buildings on the list is something I'd raise with any buyer, because it bears on insurance, reserves and future repairs whatever the zoning ends up being.
Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)
You're shopping for a Maui condo now
Sales picked up in September. The Realtors Association of Maui reported 72 condo sales countywide in September, up 56.5 percent from a year earlier, at a median of $660,000, up 1.1 percent. The median condo took 199 days to sell, so sellers are waiting longer.
When a buyer asks me about a Maui condo, the first thing I want to know is whether the building is on the Minatoya list, and if so, which resolution it's in and where that resolution stands. Then I underwrite it on long-term rent or personal use, not on vacation rental income that may end. I also check tenure. Several properties in the first group were partly or fully leasehold, and some of those leases end in the 2030s. If you're still choosing an area, my Maui neighborhoods guide is a good place to start.
FAQ
If my building gets H-3 or H-4 zoning, can every unit keep renting short-term?
Not automatically. The new districts carry over the same conditions that applied under apartment zoning, including that vacation rental use was legally conducted before September 24, 2020. I'd confirm your unit's own history with the county and your association.
Does the phase-out apply to timeshares or hotel-zoned resorts?
No. It targets transient vacation rentals in apartment districts. Validly existing timeshare units and uses operating under a variance are exempt, and hotel- and resort-zoned properties aren't covered.
Is it a bad time to buy an affected Maui condo?
Depends on why you're buying. If you'll live in it or rent it long-term and the numbers work on that basis, the phase-out matters less. If the deal only works with nightly rental income past the deadline, I'd pass or wait for a final Council vote.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, insurance or financing advice.
Sources: Maui Department of Planning staff report on Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111, September 22, 2026; Maui County Ordinance 5909; Honolulu Star-Advertiser, September 23, 2026; Maui Now, September 30, 2026; Maui Now, June 22, 2026; Honolulu Star-Advertiser, December 24, 2025; Maui Now, October 9, 2026 (Realtors Association of Maui September data); Notice of Public Hearing, Maui Planning Commission (Star-Advertiser legal notice, Oct 23, 2026).
Tony Kawaguchi, REALTOR, license RS-66616, The Kawaguchi Group, eXp Realty (RB-21841). 20+ years and $1B+ in Oahu sales, leading a team of 20+ agents.
If you own or are eyeing a Maui condo and want help reading where your building stands, call me at 808.201.3577.