Waikiki condo seeks to ban short-term rentals

A fierce battle is brewing at Waikiki Lanais over whether the condominium board has the right to ban short-term vacation rentals at the 160-unit building where the practice has been going on for decades. On Thursday, Waikiki Lanais’ current Association of Apartment Owners board faces being deposed by a group of short-term rental owners who oppose the board’s recent crackdown on short-term rentals.

This feud comes in the wake of a report issued last week by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice estimating that 1 in every 24 housing units in Hawaiʻi is being used as a vacation rental. The timing also coincides with the Honolulu City Council’s plans to hear a bill that would allow for a limited number of new bed-and-breakfast permits to be issued on Oʻahu while establishing stiffer fines for unlawful vacation rentals.