Is Kauai the New Maui?

With Maui phasing out thousands of vacation rental condos, a lot of buyers are asking the obvious next question: if Maui’s closing the door, is Kauai the new place to own a Hawaii vacation rental?

The short answer is no, at least not in the way people hope. Kauai shut down most new vacation rentals back in 2008, years before Maui’s Bill 9. If anything, Maui is becoming more like Kauai, not the other way around.

But the longer answer is more interesting. Kauai’s homes have quietly become pricier than Maui’s, its rules have stayed stable for almost two decades, and for some buyers that predictability is exactly the point.

Why people are asking

Maui’s Bill 9, signed in December 2025, ends vacation rental use in roughly 7,000 apartment-zoned condos, the so-called Minatoya list. West Maui units lose that right at the start of 2029 and the rest of the county at the start of 2031, unless a building gets rezoned into the new H-3 or H-4 hotel districts. So far, only five of the first 48 buildings reviewed got a favorable recommendation from the Planning Commission.

That leaves a lot of owners and would-be buyers holding money they planned to put into a Hawaii vacation rental. Some will sell and 1031 exchange into something else. The natural instinct is to look at the neighbor islands and ask where the rules are friendlier.

On Maui itself, most of that money is shifting into hotel- and resort-zoned condos that Bill 9 doesn’t touch. Whether Kauai is a good alternative comes down to one thing: its zoning.

Kauai’s rules: the door closed in 2008

Kauai runs on what it calls the Visitor Destination Area, or VDA, system. Vacation rentals (stays under 180 days) are allowed inside designated visitor areas, such as much of Poipu, Princeville, and parts of the Kapaa and Lihue coast. Outside those areas, new vacation rentals generally aren’t allowed, and you can’t apply for one.

The exception is grandfathered homes. Single-family vacation rentals that were already operating outside a VDA before March 7, 2008 could get a Nonconforming Use Certificate, or NUC. No new ones have been issued since. Existing NUC holders have to renew every year, and the certificate can be lost if the rules aren’t followed. When a NUC home goes up for sale, ask the seller for the full original file, the latest renewal, and the county’s renewal letter, then check the county’s published list of approved properties by tax map key.

That makes the comparison with Maui pretty clear:

• Maui let apartment-zoned condos rent short-term for decades and is now taking that away, with a phase-out and rezoning fights still underway.
• Kauai made its hard decision nearly 20 years ago. Inside the VDA, rentals are allowed. Outside it, they mostly aren’t, unless you buy one of a shrinking number of grandfathered homes.

So Kauai isn’t an escape hatch from Maui-style restrictions. It’s where Maui is heading. The upside is that there’s no comparable phase-out hanging over properties that are legally renting inside Kauai’s visitor areas today.

Kauai vs. Maui side by side

A few things stand out:

• Kauai homes are now more expensive than Maui’s. September’s single-family median was $340,000 higher on Kauai, after Maui’s fell and Kauai’s rose. Kauai’s sales volume is thin, though, so monthly medians swing a lot.
• Kauai condos aren’t cheap either. Year-to-date, the Kauai condo median is around $845,000. Maui’s condo prices have softened under Bill 9, which is where the bargains are right now, if you’re careful about zoning.
• Kauai’s resort condos are a buyer’s market. One local analysis put resort-area condo inventory at about 10 months of supply in mid-2026, with association dues commonly $1,300 to $1,900 a month.
• Sales are way down on Kauai. September condo sales fell 63% and home sales 53% from a year earlier. Fewer transactions means fewer choices and less reliable price data.

Both islands share the same state taxes on vacation rentals: an 11% state TAT since January 2026, a county TAT of up to 3%, and GET of 4% to 4.5%.

Where Kauai does make sense

Kauai isn’t the new Maui for someone hoping to find loose vacation rental rules. It can be the right island for a few other kinds of buyers:

• The buyer who values rule stability over yield. A condo legally renting inside a Kauai VDA today doesn’t face a Bill 9-style deadline. You pay for that certainty up front, but you’re not betting on a council vote.
• The buyer in a resort condo market with leverage. With roughly 10 months of resort condo supply, buyers can negotiate. Just budget for dues that can top $1,500 a month.
• The second-home buyer who mostly wants to use it. If rental income is a bonus rather than the plan, Kauai’s quieter pace and stricter tourism controls are part of the appeal, not a drawback.
• The buyer who can find a legitimate NUC home. Grandfathered single-family rentals outside the VDA are rare and command a premium. Verify the certificate with the county before you treat it as part of the value.

And where Maui still makes more sense: if you want the widest choice of hotel- and resort-zoned condos, or you’re looking for discounted Minatoya-list units to live in or rent long-term, Maui’s softer condo market offers more options right now.

FAQ

Is Kauai easier than Maui for vacation rentals? No. Outside its Visitor Destination Areas, Kauai hasn’t allowed new vacation rentals since 2008. Maui is only now phasing out its apartment-zoned rentals.

Can I buy a home on Kauai and Airbnb it? Only if it’s inside a Visitor Destination Area and the project allows it, or if it already holds a valid Nonconforming Use Certificate. Otherwise, rentals have to be 180 days or longer.

Are Kauai home prices higher than Maui’s? Right now, yes. September 2026 medians were $1.49 million on Kauai and $1.15 million in Maui County, though Kauai’s thin sales make monthly numbers jumpy.

Is Kauai planning its own phase-out like Bill 9? We haven’t seen a comparable proposal. Kauai’s restrictions are already built into its zoning.

Where are the best Hawaii vacation rental opportunities in 2027? Hotel- and resort-zoned condos on any island, where short-term rentals are clearly allowed by zoning. Always verify the specific property before you buy.

Weighing Kauai vs. Maui?

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Sources

• Kauai County Code, Article 17: Time Sharing and Transient Vacation Rentals
• Kauai STR regulations and NUC verification, Hawaii STR
• Kauai real estate report, September 2026, Locations
• Kauai market report, Jan–Sept 2026, Kauai Property Search
• Kauai condo market by price range, Kristine Dugan
• Maui County September 2026 sales, Maui Now
• Maui Bill 9 guide, updated Oct. 9, 2026, The Maui Property Team
• Hawaii Green Fee raises TAT to 11%, Hawaii Tribune-Herald

This article reflects publicly available information as of October 2026 and is general information, not legal or financial advice. Zoning and rental rules apply parcel by parcel; confirm any property’s status with the county planning department before buying.