Visitors looking for a quick stay on the Hawaiian island of Oahu will have a hard time finding an Airbnb in the future.
Hawaii’s most visited island recently passed a law requiring visitors to stay at least 90 days under short-term rental agreements.
The minimum period for people renting vacation homes is currently 30 days.
The new law was signed by Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi late last month and will go into effect Oct. 23.
The rationale for the new law is to protect local communities and preserve natural resources for decades to come, according to Blangiardi.
Today, alongside Councilmember @BrandonElefante and Councilman Esther Kiaʻāina, I signed Bill 41. This bill aims to reclaim our neighborhoods, protect local communities, and preserve our natural resources for decades to come. https://t.co/LyeNTbFEqk pic.twitter.com/URMnBD35gr
— Mayor Rick Blangiardi (@MayorRickHNL) April 27, 2022
The new law states that there are two types of short-term rentals (STR):
Guest houses (B&B)
The owner or the permanent resident is present during the stay. Up to two bedrooms can be rented with a maximum of two adults per bedroom during the transitional stay.
Transient Vacation Units (TVU)
These are non-hosted rentals or called whole houses. A maximum of two adults are allowed per room for the transitional stay.
The new law emphasizes that advertisements for rentals or accommodation that are not STRs cannot include rental rates of less than three months and must include the following statement: “This property cannot be rented for less than 90 consecutive days. The rental prices will not be reduced or adjusted according to the number of days of use or occupation of the rental.
These short-term rentals will only be permitted on certain parts of the island, which have already received zoning for resorts such as Waikiki, the region’s famous tourist district, Turtle Bay and Ko Olina.
There will be some exceptions in residential areas close to stations, where it will be possible to obtain temporary accommodation.
Airbnb opposed this new law.
The rental app said it was “deeply concerned” by the changes expressed.
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