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A Guide For Maui's Short-Term Rental Rules in 2025
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As a realtor on Maui who has helped buyers and sellers of short-term rental condos for years at many complexes around the island, I have developed a guide to help anyone navigate the Maui County rules around short-term rentals.
In this guide, I’m going to discuss why Maui is such a popular choice for a location for investing in short-term rental condos (STR), all of the things you need to know about owning and operating an STR on Maui, and how the rules for short term rentals govern owning and operating your investment here.
You are likely aware that Maui County is currently in the middle of a debate surrounding a proposal from the Mayor to ban short-term rental rights for around 7,000 condo units across 85 condo complexes.
Whether or not the County will attempt to move forward with this will be known soon. The Maui County Council is slated to hold public testimony at the end of May 2025 and needs to vote on it by June 19th or the proposal expires. I will be adding updates here as new information becomes available.
What are the Current Short-Term Rental Complexes in Maui?
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Maui County defines a short-term rental unit as having any rental occupancy of less than 180 days. Long-term rental leases require a minimum 180-day rental agreement to begin. It’s also important to note that the County passed Bill 159, a moratorium on the construction of any new short-term rental condo complexes around the island, in 2022. That means no new short-term rental complexes will be built on Maui for a very long time, if ever.
In addition, while an application process still exists for converting a single-family home into a short-term rental B&B, the process was redesigned to make it impossible, cost-prohibitive, and there is a zero percent chance that after the 5-year approval period, it would be approved.
There are two zoning types where short-term rentals are currently allowed. Hotel and Apartment. The apartment zoned units were codified as STRs via the Minatoya Decision and comprise the Minatoya List, which is the list of complexes currently under attack.
Click this link to view all of the currently allowed short-term rental units on the market or give me a call at 808-214-4799 if you’re wondering about a unit. I have all of the current listings on this website, and the units that are allowed to rent short-term will have a badge that says ‘short-term rental’.
Will the Ban Actually Pass and Be Enforced?
It seems highly unlikely that the proposal will pass in its current form. Asides from the economic damage it will do to Maui, the Mayor has walked back his goal on the number of units he wants to convert over the last year and the council may table to the vote or recommend rewriting it to eliminate resort areas from the bill (Wailea, Ka'anapali, Kapalua), per the Maui Planning Commission's recommendation from their meeting in the summer of '24.
There are non-STR condo complexes that are apartment zoned, and that is the basis of their argument, which is very flimsy, as the zoning requirements when most of these complexes were built during 1970-2000 had no stipulations against STR construction.
There is no coherent argument that a complex like Kamaole Sands, Papakea, Wailea Ekahi, and many other similar complexes on the list were built for anything other than transient accommodations. They are functionally obsolete as primary residences with one parking stall for 2-bedroom units, smaller kitchens, a lack of storage, and onsite resort amenities that create high monthly HOA fees.
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Implications for Buyers In the STR Market Right Now
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The Mayor’s proposal last May sent shockwaves through the apartment-zoned complexes on the Minatoya List, where values have decreased significantly while inventory has skyrocketed. This created great opportunities for buyers willing to absorb the risk. Prices remain down in these complexes, and because of the broader buyers' market we are in, they will likely not recover immediately, even if the ban fails.
Having been on both sides of many apartment-zoned STR deals during this period, it's certainly been a challenging thing to navigate. I’ve been advising buyers interested in these units to wait and see what happens with the ban effort getting its direction in the next month. I’ve been giving sellers who can afford to wait the same advice.
We are thankfully at the finish line of this unnecessarily long and somewhat excruciating period. I personally don’t think the ban, if the council votes in favor, will pass the legal test it will inevitably face from the coalition of affected owners who have had a whole year to gear up for this.
Hotel Zoned STRs aren’t facing any potential loss of rights like the Apartment Zoned units. The market for these complexes has remained consistent, with prices staying relatively flat, but slightly up, over the last year.
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Why Maui Is a Great Place to Own an STR Condo
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Some of the best beaches in the world, a year-round tropical climate that never gets too hot or too cold, and a vast variety of activities and great restaurants are just some of the reasons owning an STR on Maui is a life-changing experience. Many seek the opportunity to enjoy their investment by spending quality time on the island, and others are seeking the best ROI on their investments. In both cases, Maui offers a lot of options at a variety of price points.
For a lot of my clients, owning a short-term rental on Maui was inevitable. After spending years vacationing on Maui they fell deeper in love with the island and wanted to deepen their connection and spend more time here with their families. Owning a condo that they can stay at and generate revenue from year round was the perfect solution.
What You Need to Know About Owning an STR on Maui
If you are new to owning a short-term rental unit on the island, you'll need to know a few things. First, you actually do not need to apply for a separate rental permit to operate. That is one of the biggest misconceptions. However, you do need to get a GE (General Excise) Tax license and a TAT (Transient Accommodation Tax) license.
Property taxes are also higher for STR units. If you're curious about the property taxes on any of the listings on my website, there is a link in each description that will take you to that specific property's public tax record.
Your guests will pay the GE and TAT taxes at booking, and they are pass-through costs that won’t go into your pro formats while property taxes will be one of your largest costs of ownership. Your responsibility is to make sure they are paid on time. If you’re working with a property management company, they will take care of this for you.
If Maui isn’t home for you, you will need to designate an on-island contact for your unit and guests. This doesn’t need to be a licensed real estate agent; it can be a trusted friend or trusted service provider, such as a cleaner, which leads me to the next section.
Do You Need to Hire a Property Management Company?
If you’re thinking about managing the unit yourself, consider the time involved in marketing, strategic pricing, responding to questions and guest issues, coordinating cleanings, maintenance, etc. Managing one unit is not time-intensive and is very possible for anyone with the time to dedicate to the management. The savings of doing it yourself are also pretty significant.
However, if that isn’t the best use of your time, a property management company will eliminate all of those concerns and potential headaches for 20-25 percent of your gross annual revenue. A property management company will develop your Airbnb, VRBO, and alternative website listings. They will manage your pricing dynamically to adjust to the seasonality of rates(highest in winter, lowest in shoulder seasons of May and October/November).
I usually recommend clients call a few property management companies to compare rates and services. Please email or call me for my list of my personally vetted property managers.
If you can manage the listing and guest communication, there is a local company called Maui On Island Agent that will coordinate cleanings, act as your on-island contact, and coordinate routine inspections/repairs. They don’t charge on the typical percentage model. They charge à la carte per service. I have several clients who are currently in their program and have been happy with their service.
Short Term Rental Condos For Sale on Maui
Association Rules Are Important to Consider When Operating
Every condo association will have its own subset of rules and regulations about operating your short-term rental. At some complexes, the guests will need to go to the front desk to register; at other complexes, they will not. Some complexes may have amenities that are reserved for owners. Occupancy limits can vary from complex to complex as well.
During escrow, as provisioned by the Hawaii Purchase Contract, you will receive the association documents that will include all of this information. This is where working with a buyer's agent can save you time and ensure that you don’t waste your time pursuing properties that don’t meet your needs or don’t have the ROI you’re looking for.
What You Get When You Work With Evan
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Having an agent that is very active and highly educated in this space is critical, as it is a much more involved process than purchasing other types of properties. From seeing so many pro formas, getting client feedback, and staying in touch with the market, I can tell you off the top of my head which complexes are high ROI and which ones I would consider a lifestyle purchase.
A lifestyle purchase is in a complex like Wailea Elua or Ka’anapali Alii, where the market value and cost of ownership far exceed what they can generate in revenue on an annual basis. I love Elua and Alii; they are exceptional properties, but they are low on the ROI scale and are more for owners who have a connection with the property and want to enjoy the oceanfront experience more themselves.
During our search for short-term rental complexes, I can get pro formas based on current data from my property management contacts, negotiate the best deal possible in the situation, develop a comprehensive list of your costs of ownership, and help ensure that we avoid any obstacles that may arise during escrow.
After closing day, my service doesn’t end, I will also connect you with my highly vetted list of service providers, including cleaners, plumbers, electricians, handyman services, remodel services, and anything else that I can be of assistance with. So, if you are in the market to either buy or sell an STR unit on Maui or just kicking the idea around, please reach out to me at 808-214-4799 or email at evan@mauieliteproperty.com. You can also fill out the contact form below. Mahalo for reading!
Evan Harlow ranks among the best real estate agents on Maui annually and is in the top 1% of Coldwell Banker agents worldwide in production. Evan has the expertise,
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