Maui Short-Term Rental Update for 2027

2027 is the year Maui’s short-term rental rules stop being a debate and start being a deadline. Nothing shuts off in 2027. But it’s the last full year a West Maui owner of a Minatoya-list condo can make a calm decision before the final guest nights in 2028, and it’s the year the County Council is expected to decide which buildings get rescued by the new H-3 and H-4 hotel zoning and which don’t.

If you’ve been following our earlier coverage of Bill 9 and Bill 88, this is the forward-looking piece: what’s settled, what’s still open, and what to actually do about it in the next twelve months. Status below is current as of late October 2026.

The short version

Hotel- and resort-zoned condos, permitted B&Bs, and permitted short-term rental homes are not affected by Bill 9.

Where things stand going into 2027

The phase-out itself is settled law. What’s still moving is who gets out from under it.

Bill 9 isn’t going anywhere on its own

Mayor Bissen signed Bill 9 on December 15, 2025 after a 5-3 Council vote. It removes “transient vacation rental” as a permitted use in the A-1 and A-2 apartment districts. That’s the Minatoya list: condos that have rented short-term since a 1989-era county legal opinion said they could. About 60% of the affected units are in South Maui and about 36% in West Maui, with the rest in Hana, Paia, and Molokai.

There are no renewals or opt-outs. Owners can rent legally right up to the deadline, and after that the units can still be lived in, used as second homes, or rented long-term (generally 180 days or more).

Bill 88 opened a door, not a free pass

Bill 88, now Ordinance 6008, created two new hotel districts. H-3 is for buildings currently zoned A-1, H-4 for A-2. A building rezoned into one of them keeps its vacation rental rights for good.

The catch is that every property has to be rezoned individually. Each one goes to the Maui Planning Commission for a recommendation, then to the nine-member County Council. If the commission says no, the Council needs six votes to approve it anyway. Owners can also apply on their own, but testimony put that cost at roughly $200,000 to $500,000 per property.

Wave 1: a tough first result

Resolutions 26-110 and 26-111 covered buildings with timeshare, leasehold, single-owner, or variance status, plus ones the county says already run like hotels. By the time they reached the Planning Commission that was 48 properties and about 3,400 units.

On September 22, 2026, the commission recommended rezoning for just five:

• Hale Kaanapali (262 units) and Kuau Plaza in Paia (30 units), which already hold variances
• Maui Schooner in Kihei (58 units) and Hono Koa in West Maui (28 units), both fully timeshare
• Hana Kai Maui in Hana (19 units), which holds a condo hotel operator’s license

It recommended against the other 43. That list includes some big names: Kamaole Sands (440 units), the Resort at Papakea (364), Maui Sunset (225), Maui Eldorado (205), Kauhale Makai (169), Maui Hill (140), Kuleana (118), Kaanapali Royal (105), and Kanai A Nalu (80). The Council can still approve any of them, but it would take six votes each.

Wave 2: shoreline buildings

Resolution 26-129 targets 32 oceanfront complexes in Maalaea, Kihei, and West Maui: 19 moving from A-1 to H-3 and 13 from A-2 to H-4. The logic is that buildings sitting mostly in the 3.2-foot sea level rise zone, a flood hazard area, or the shoreline setback make poor candidates for long-term housing anyway. The Council sent it to the Planning Commission on September 29, 2026, by a 5-4 vote. A smaller measure, Resolution 26-130, covers two individual properties and is still in committee.

The lawsuits

Two cases are pending in Second Circuit Court on Maui. Malter v. County of Maui was filed December 19, 2025 by owners at Kaanapali Royal. Lynam v. County of Maui, filed three days later, seeks class-action status for all Minatoya-list owners. Both argue the phase-out takes established property rights without compensation. As of now no judge has paused anything.

What to watch in 2027

Most of the real decisions land in the next twelve months. Roughly in order:

1. Council votes on Wave 1. The Planning Commission has until November 24, 2026 to send the 48 rezoning bills back to the Council. Final votes would likely come in late 2026 or early 2027. Watch the five recommended buildings first, then whether any of the 43 denials can find six votes.
2. A new Council takes its seats. Maui County Council seats are on the ballot every two years, and the new term starts in January 2027. Several key rezoning votes this year were decided 5-4, so even one changed seat could swing which buildings make it.
3. Wave 2 hearings. The 32 shoreline complexes under Resolution 26-129 still need Planning Commission hearings, which haven’t been scheduled. Expect those in 2027. Because the referral passed 5-4, any building the commission recommends against would need one more Council vote than it had.
4. More resolutions. A next batch, expected to focus on affordability, has been talked about but not introduced. Resolution 26-130’s two properties are also still waiting.
5. The courts. Watch for any ruling on an injunction or on class certification in Lynam. A ruling either way would move prices on Minatoya-list units fast.
6. West Maui owners hit the planning wall. By late 2027 a West Maui owner has about a year of rental runway left. Expect more Minatoya listings in West Maui as owners decide not to wait out 2028.

If you own a Minatoya-list condo

The honest planning assumption is that your rental use ends on schedule unless your specific building gets rezoned. Treat rezoning as possible upside, not the plan.

From there, you’ve basically got four options:

• Sell while it still rents. A unit with bookings and a couple of years of legal runway is easier to sell than one with none. West Maui owners feel this most in 2027.
• Hold and convert. Keep renting short-term until the deadline, then switch to long-term tenants or your own use. Run the numbers on long-term rent against your HOA dues, taxes, and insurance before counting on it.
• Hold for rezoning. Reasonable if your building is in Wave 1 with a favorable recommendation, or in the Wave 2 shoreline group. Ask your association for written status on any rezoning effort.
• Exchange into hotel zoning. Some owners are selling and using a 1031 exchange to move into a hotel-zoned condo that isn’t affected. Talk to a tax advisor about timing before you list.

When pricing, assume a careful buyer will value the unit on what it can be after the deadline, not on this year’s rental income. It also helps to know who’s buying. The Maui Vacation Rental Association looked at 162 Minatoya-list sales from December 2025 through mid-August 2026 and found only about 7% were confirmed resident owner-occupants, closer to 13% counting probable ones. That’s an industry group’s count, not a county study, but it suggests most buyers so far are still second-home owners and investors.

If you’re buying on Maui in 2027

The rental rules have split Maui’s condo market in two, and you want to know which half you’re shopping in before you fall for a view.

• Need vacation rental income long-term? Stick to hotel-zoned or resort-zoned buildings. They aren’t touched by Bill 9 and are the most secure option. Expect to pay for that certainty.
• Looking at a Minatoya-list unit? Fine, but price it as a home or long-term rental. Any short-term income left before the deadline is a bonus, and rezoning is a maybe.
• Ask the association directly whether the building is in Wave 1, Wave 2, or pursuing its own rezoning, and get it in writing. Being named in a resolution is not the same as being rezoned.
• Verify the zoning yourself. Check the county’s short-term occupancy list by tax map key and confirm with the Maui Department of Planning. Listing remarks aren’t always right.
• Have a pivot plan. If rental rules shifted again, would you still be happy living in it, or renting it to a local family for a year at a time?

There’s an upside here for the right buyer. If you actually want to live on Maui, or want a second home you’ll use, the phase-out may bring more Minatoya-list inventory to market over the next few years.

FAQ

Do any Maui vacation rentals have to stop in 2027? No. The earliest deadline is the last guest night on December 31, 2028, for West Maui apartment-zoned units. South Maui and the rest of the county follow on December 31, 2030.

Is Bill 9 still in effect? Yes. It’s Ordinance 5909, and no court has blocked it.

Can my building still be rezoned to keep vacation rentals? Possibly. Bill 88 created the H-3 and H-4 hotel districts, but each building has to be rezoned individually by the Council after Planning Commission review. Only five have a favorable recommendation so far.

My building got a denial from the Planning Commission. Is it over? Not automatically. The Council makes the final call, but it needs six of nine votes to override a denial.

Are hotel-zoned condos affected? No. Hotel- and resort-zoned properties keep their short-term rental rights. So do permitted B&Bs and permitted short-term rental homes.

Can I still use my Minatoya-list condo after the deadline? Yes. You can live in it, use it as a second home, or rent it long-term. Only the short-term vacation rental use ends.