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US: Governor Josh Green has claimed that the State will move 10,000 homes from the vacation rental market to long-term housing for local families.
In his State of the State address this week, Green said: “We will deliver at least another 10,000 new homes this way.”
Critics say the claim is not supported by anything currently in Hawaii law, policy, or planning.
The only place in Hawaii where a large-scale vacation rental phaseout is actually being pursued is Maui. Maui’s Bill 9, signed into law late in 2025, is the only mechanism that could convert Hawaii vacation rentals into long-term housing in significant numbers.
At most, the law could apply to 6,208 apartment-zoned units, with conversion deadlines of January 1, 2029, for West Maui rentals and January 1, 2031, for those in South Maui. But within weeks of Bill 9 becoming law, the Maui County Council took steps that could dramatically reduce how many units are ever converted. On January 7, the council voted 8-1 to advance proposed H-3 and H-4 hotel zoning districts to the two involved planning commissions for review. Those zoning changes could allow approximately 4,519 of the 6,208 affected units to continue operating legally as vacation rentals.
Bill 9 is also being challenged in the courts. A lawsuit filed by Kaanapali Royal on December 19 challenged Bill 9 as an unconstitutional taking, although no court rulings or injunctions have been issued to date. A second class-action lawsuit has already followed, raising similar claims. Both cases argue that eliminating long-standing legal vacation rentals without compensation violates property rights.
If the lawsuits succeed, the number of converted units could drop to zero. If they fail and rezoning does not pass, Maui could see all 6,208 units convert to long-term rentals. But the rest of Hawaii is not following Maui’s lead. Outside of Maui, there is no comparable policy in motion. Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island all have vacation rental restrictions in place, but none are advancing new phaseouts that would add thousands of housing units. No county has produced any legislation on a scale needed to make up the difference.
Depending on what happens with Maui’s vacation rental rezoning and lawsuits, the Governor’s 10,000 number could require between 4,000 and 8,500 additional units to come from other islands. There are no publicly known plans, bills, or timelines to produce those numbers.
For travellers, the immediate impact is expected to be minimal. Maui still has more than 12,500 legal vacation rentals entirely outside the scope of Bill 9, along with hotels and timeshares. Most popular resort areas, including Wailea, Kihei, and Kaanapali, sit largely within uncontested hotel-zoned districts and continue operating as normal.
Highlights:
- Governor Josh Green has claimed that the State will move 10,000 homes from the vacation rental market to long-term housing for local families
- Critics say the claim is not supported by anything currently in Hawaii law, policy, or planning
- The only place in Hawaii where a large-scale vacation rental phaseout is actually being pursued is Maui
• Maui’s Bill 9, signed into law late in 2025, is the only mechanism that could convert Hawaii vacation rentals into long-term housing in significant numbers but it is being challenged in the courts
