Short term rentals, long term issues for Hawaiʻi County

Like other communities across the pae ʻāina, Hawaiʻi Island is struggling with the issue of illegal short-term rentals, also called transient accommodation rentals (TARs), that cater to tourists rather than locals.

According to an analysis by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, one in 24 homes on Hawaiʻi Island are short term rentals—52 percent of which are owned by non-Hawaiʻi residents.

To address this problem, Hawaiʻi County Council Chair Heather Kimball and Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz introduced a three-bill package (Bills 121, 122 and 123) to register all TARs in the county.

“We are in a housing crisis in the county. Across the state, local residents are having a harder time finding places to live,” said Kimball. “We need that middle income housing, and this bill package was really designed to address two of what I think are three prongs that we have to address when it comes to housing.”

The first prong is ensuring more housing is built in the islands. The second prong is that housing doesn’t slip into other uses, like TARs. The third prong is helping locals keep their homes.

Bill 121’s objective is to register all TARs in the county and ensure they’re operating safely and adhering to the same standards. This includes new regulations for owner-hosted, operator-hosted and non-hosted TARs.

Bill 122 would repeal provisions for bed and breakfast establishments and include them under Bill 121.

Bill 123 seeks to amend the county’s ʻohana dwelling code, changing the name to “accessory dwelling unit.” This removes restrictions for these buildings providing they serve as long-term housing.