Maui's plan to phase out thousands of vacation rentals in apartment-zoned buildings has been grinding through the county council for nearly two years, and this month brought a new twist that anyone who owns, or is thinking about buying, a Maui condo should understand. Rather than settling the fight, the council just adopted a narrower and more complicated set of rules for deciding which properties might qualify for an exemption, and it's tied to something most buyers never think to check when they're shopping for a vacation rental: how exposed a building is to sea-level rise. If you have money in Maui short-term rental real estate, or you're weighing whether to buy in, here's where things actually stand as of mid-September.
The Original Phase-Out Timeline Hasn't Changed
Bill 9, now Ordinance 5909, remains the law regardless of the side debates happening around it. It requires roughly 7,000 apartment-zoned units that have legally operated as short-term rentals for decades to stop doing so by:
- January 1, 2029 for properties in West Maui
- January 1, 2031 for properties everywhere else in the county
Nothing in the recent council activity pushes these dates back. If you're planning a sale, a 1031 exchange, or a conversion to long-term rental, treat these deadlines as fixed until you see otherwise in writing from the county.
The Hotel-Rezoning Escape Hatch Keeps Running Into Trouble
A companion law, Bill 88, created two new hotel zoning categories that could let certain buildings keep renting short-term by converting from apartment zoning to hotel zoning instead. Earlier this year, a broad version of this idea that would have covered roughly 4,500 units was rejected 8-1 by the Maui Planning Commission, and the Lana'i and Moloka'i commissions followed with the same recommendation. Anyone hoping this rezoning path would work as a blanket workaround for their building now knows that isn't happening.
A Narrower, Sea-Level-Rise-Based Standard Emerges
In late August and early September, the council's Housing and Land Use Committee voted 5-4 to revive a much smaller version of the idea, limited to as few as sixteen properties. To even be considered, a building now has to be "majority impacted," meaning 51% or more of it falls inside the state's mapped Sea Level Rise Exposure Area under the 3.2-foot scenario, or sit within a special flood hazard area, and it can't have been originally built as workforce housing. The committee planned to apply this standard to a specific list of properties on September 9, so the actual roster of buildings that might qualify, if any survive commission and full council votes after that, is still being written in real time.
A Lawsuit Is Still Pending
Separately, owners at more than one Maui condominium have sued the county, arguing that eliminating a legal use that's existed for roughly 45 years amounts to an unconstitutional taking of property without compensation. No court has issued a ruling or injunction as of this writing, so the phase-out deadlines remain fully in force while the case works through the system. It's worth watching, since a ruling for the plaintiffs could reshape the whole program, but it isn't something to plan a purchase or sale around today.
What This Means for Owners and Buyers
If you already own a Maui vacation rental condo in an apartment-zoned building, don't assume you'll land one of the handful of hotel-rezoning exemptions. The criteria are narrow, the committee vote was razor-thin, and full commission and council approval is still required after individual properties are identified. Build your financial plan around whichever deadline applies to your building, 2029 or 2031, and treat any exemption as a bonus rather than the plan itself. If you're shopping for a Maui condo with rental income in mind, get specific before you write an offer: ask the listing agent whether the exact unit appears on either resolution under discussion, check its address against the county's Sea Level Rise Exposure Area maps, and price the deal as though the short-term rental income ends on schedule rather than assuming a rezoning will rescue it. And if you own or are considering a similar apartment-zoned vacation rental condo elsewhere in the islands, Maui's experience is worth watching closely. Other counties have floated comparable restrictions, and how this legal and political fight plays out will likely shape those conversations too.
None of this is fully settled, and the details are shifting close to weekly right now. Whether you're holding a Maui vacation rental, shopping for one, or just keeping an eye on how these fights tend to unfold statewide, check the specific property address and resolution numbers rather than relying on a secondhand summary, including this one, since council decisions can move quickly. Reach out anytime if you want help sorting out what a deadline like this means for a specific building or purchase you're considering.