Amy Chadwick spent years scrimping and saving as a single mother of two to buy a house in the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. But after a devastating fire leveled Lahaina in August and reduced Chadwick含羞草研究社檚 home to white dust, the cheapest rental she and her now-husband could find for their family and dogs cost $10,000 a month.
Chadwick, a fine-dining server, moved to Florida where she could stretch her homeowners insurance dollars. She含羞草研究社檚 worried Maui含羞草研究社檚 exorbitant rental prices, driven in part by vacation rentals that hog a limited housing supply, will hollow out her tight-knit town.
Most people in Lahaina work for hotels, restaurants and tour companies and can含羞草研究社檛 afford $5,000 to $10,000 a month in rent, she said.
含羞草研究社淵ou含羞草研究社檙e pushing out an entire community of service industry people. So no one含羞草研究社檚 going to be able to support the tourism that you含羞草研究社檙e putting ahead of your community,含羞草研究社� Chadwick said by phone from her new home in Satellite Beach on Florida含羞草研究社檚 Space Coast. 含羞草研究社淣othing good is going to come of it unless they take a serious stance, putting their foot down and really regulating these short-term rentals.含羞草研究社�
The Aug. 8 wildfire killed 101 people and destroyed housing for 6,200 families, amplifying Maui含羞草研究社檚 already acute housing shortage and laying bare the enormous presence of vacation rentals in Lahaina. It reminded lawmakers that short-term rentals are an issue across Hawaii, prompting them to consider bills that would give counties the authority to phase them out.
Gov. Josh Green got so frustrated he blurted out an expletive during a recent news conference.
含羞草研究社淭his fire uncovered a clear truth, which is we have too many short-term rentals owned by too many individuals on the mainland and it is b含羞草研究社敽卟菅芯可鐢含羞草研究社攖,含羞草研究社� Green said. 含羞草研究社淎nd our people deserve housing, here.含羞草研究社�
Vacation rentals are a popular alternative to hotels for those seeking kitchens, lower costs and opportunities to sample everyday island life. Supporters say they boost tourism, the state含羞草研究社檚 biggest employer. Critics revile them for inflating housing costs, upending neighborhoods and contributing to the forces pushing locals and Native Hawaiians to leave Hawaii for less expensive states.
This migration has become a major concern in Lahaina. The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, a nonprofit, estimates at least 1,500 households 含羞草研究社� or a quarter of those who lost their homes 含羞草研究社� have left since the August wildfire.
The blaze burned single family homes and apartments in and around downtown, which is the core of Lahaina含羞草研究社檚 residential housing. An analysis by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization found a relatively low 7.5% of units there were vacation rentals as of February 2023.
Lahaina neighborhoods spared by the fire have a much higher ratio of vacation rentals: About half the housing in Napili, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) north of the burn zone, is short-term rentals.
Napili is where Chadwick thought she found a place to buy when she first went house hunting in 2016. But a Canadian woman secured it with a cash offer and turned it into a vacation rental.
Also outside the burn zone are dozens of short-term rental condominium buildings erected decades ago on land zoned for apartments.
In 1992, Maui County explicitly allowed owners in these buildings to rent units for less than 180 days at a time even without short-term rental permits. Since November, activists have occupied the beach in front of Lahaina含羞草研究社檚 biggest hotels to push the mayor or governor to use their emergency powers to revoke this exemption.
Money is a powerful incentive for owners to rent to travelers: a 2016 report prepared for the state found a Honolulu vacation rental generates 3.5 times the revenue of a long-term rental.
State Rep. Luke Evslin, the Housing Committee chair, said Maui and Kauai counties have suffered net losses of residential housing in recent years thanks to a paucity of new construction and the conversion of so many homes to short-term rentals.
含羞草研究社淓very alarm bell we have should be ringing when we含羞草研究社檙e literally going backwards in our goal to provide more housing in Hawaii,含羞草研究社� he said.
In his own Kauai district, Evslin sees people leaving, becoming homeless or working three jobs to stay afloat.
The Democrat was one of 47 House members who co-sponsored one version of legislation that would allow short-term rentals to be phased out. One objective is to give counties more power after a U.S. judge ruled in 2022 that Honolulu violated state law when it attempted to prohibit rentals for less than 90 days. Evslin said that decision left Hawaii含羞草研究社檚 counties with limited tools, such as property taxes, to control vacation rentals.
Lawmakers also considered trying to boost Hawaii含羞草研究社檚 housing supply by forcing counties to allow more houses to be built on individual lots. But they watered down the measure after local officials said they were already exploring the idea.
Short-term rental owners said a phase-out would violate their property rights and take their property without compensation, potentially pushing them into foreclosure. Some predicted legal challenges.
Alicia Humiston, president of the Rentals by Owner Awareness Association, said some areas in West Maui were designed for travelers and therefore lack schools and other infrastructure families need.
含羞草研究社淭his area in West Maui that is sort of like this resort apartment zone 含羞草研究社� that含羞草研究社檚 all north of Lahaina 含羞草研究社� it was never built to be local living,含羞草研究社� Humiston said.
One housing advocate argues that just because a community allowed vacation rentals decades ago doesn含羞草研究社檛 mean it still needs to now.
含羞草研究社淲e are not living in the 1990s or in the 1970s,含羞草研究社� said Sterling Higa, executive director of Housing Hawaii含羞草研究社檚 Future. Counties 含羞草研究社渟hould have the authority to look at existing laws and reform them as necessary to provide for the public good.含羞草研究社�
Courtney Lazo, a real estate agent who is part of Lahaina Strong, the group occupying Kaanapali Beach, said tourists can stay in her hometown now but many locals can含羞草研究社檛.
含羞草研究社淗ow do you expect a community to recover and heal and move forward when the people who make Lahaina, Lahaina, aren含羞草研究社檛 even there anymore?含羞草研究社� she said at a recent news conference as her voice quivered. 含羞草研究社淭hey含羞草研究社檙e moving away.含羞草研究社�
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Audrey Mcavoy, The Associated Press
