Law allowing more B&B permits and stiffer regulations on the way

In related news, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice last week released a report on the impacts vacation rentals are having on state’s the housing market and economy.

The report said one in every 24 housing units in Hawaiʻi is being used as a vacation rental, taking a bite out of available housing inventory for Hawaiʻi residents.

“Families who have lived in Hawaiʻi for generations are being displaced from their homes and their islands by a steady flow of short-term visitors,” the Appleseed report concluded.

The report estimated that at least 52 percent of vacation rentals are owned by nonresidents, and that between 74 percent and 93 percent were for entire houses or condominiums.

The report recommended, among other things, that there be increased enforcement, new laws that would make advertising an illegal site the trigger for citations, fines for platforms that advertise illegal rentals, and a requirement for the platforms to identify illegal operators.