Short-term vacation rentals on Oʻahu could soon be regulated

Short-term vacation rentals on Oʻahu like Airbnb could soon be regulated.

A Honolulu City Council committee moved a bill forward Monday that would cap the amount of residents allowed to rent out rooms on their properties to 4,000 units on Oʻahu.

According to the council, there's an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 short term rental units being advertised on the island at any given time.

The bill would also eliminate short term rentals altogether on investment properties.

A 2018 report from the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice stated more than 80 percent of short term vacation rentals in Hawaiʻi are not owner-occupied.

Bill 89 is now up for second reading at the Honolulu City Council.