Maui Short-Term Rental Update: Where Bill 9 Stands Now

After nearly two years of debate, Maui’s most consequential short-term rental law is on the books — and the picture in mid-2026 is more nuanced than the headlines suggested. If you own a condo, are thinking about buying one, or just want to understand what’s actually enforceable right now, here’s a clear-eyed update on Bill 9.

A quick clarification up front, because the naming causes confusion: the law that phases out apartment-zoned vacation rentals on Maui is Bill 9, now codified as Ordinance No. 5909. There is no “Bill 88” in this saga, so if you’ve seen that floating around, it’s a mix-up. Everything below refers to Bill 9.

What actually passed

On December 15, 2025, the Maui County Council approved Bill 9 on second and final reading by a 5–3 vote, and Mayor Richard Bissen signed it into law the same day. The measure corrects a decades-old zoning exemption that allowed transient vacation rentals to operate in apartment-zoned (A-1 and A-2) districts — areas originally meant for long-term housing. These are the properties commonly known as the “Minatoya List” units.

The core idea: phase out short-term rental use in those apartment-zoned condos and return the units to long-term residential use. Roughly 7,000 units across the county fall under the original Minatoya List, with most concentrated in Kihei (South Maui) and West Maui.

Crucially, Bill 9 does not ban tourism or short-term rentals across Maui. Hotel- and resort-zoned rentals, hotels themselves, timeshares, and bed-and-breakfasts are untouched. Roughly 6,500 TVR parcels countywide, thousands of hotel units, and more than 2,400 timeshare and B&B operations continue to operate legally. The law is a targeted zoning correction, not a blanket prohibition.

The deadlines that matter

Bill 9 sets up a staggered “amortization period,” meaning affected owners get a fixed runway before short-term rental use must end:

• West Maui: short-term rental use must cease January 1, 2029 (the last legal guest night is December 31, 2028).
• South Maui and the rest of the county: use must cease January 1, 2031 (last legal night December 31, 2030).

There are no opt-outs or renewals written into the ordinance. The deadlines apply based on a property’s zoning and historic transient-rental status.

The rezoning fight — and why it stalled

When the Council passed Bill 9, several members wanted to pair it with a second bill that would soften the economic blow. The idea, drawn from a Temporary Investigative Group (TIG), was to create two new hotel zoning districts (H-3 and H-4) and move roughly 4,500 units into them — units deemed too expensive for local residents, too exposed to sea level rise, or otherwise better suited to remain vacation rentals. The mayor supported this.

That rezoning effort has run into trouble. The Council deadlocked on it in late December, then sent it to the county’s three volunteer planning commissions for review. In late February 2026, the Maui Planning Commission voted to recommend against the new hotel zoning framework. Because the commission recommended denial, the rezoning bill would now need a two-thirds supermajority of the nine-member Council to become law — a steep climb.

The takeaway: the “rezoning lifeline” that some owners were counting on is now much less likely. Bill 9 as written remains the controlling law, and a blanket fix can’t be assumed.

The lawsuits

Legal challenges were anticipated from the moment Bill 9 was proposed, and they arrived within days of signing.

• Malter v. Maui County (filed Dec. 19, 2025): brought by owners at the Kāʻanapali Royal complex in West Maui, seeking to block enforcement.
• Lynam v. County of Maui (filed Dec. 22, 2025): a proposed class action seeking to represent all roughly 7,000 Minatoya List properties.

The central argument is that because the county allowed these units to operate as short-term rentals for some 45 years, eliminating that use amounts to a “regulatory taking” without just compensation, citing the Hawaiʻi Constitution. Opponents point to Honolulu, where similar STR restrictions were previously blocked in federal court. County officials, for their part, have expressed confidence the ordinance is legally defensible, noting it relies on state-authorized amortization powers rather than an immediate ban.

The most important practical point: as of mid-2026, no court has issued an injunction. The lawsuits do not change the law’s current status, and the phase-out deadlines remain in effect. Litigation could still influence enforcement timelines down the road, but nothing has paused the clock yet.

What this means if you own or are buying

For owners of affected apartment-zoned condos, the prudent move is to plan around the law as written rather than betting on a rezoning rescue or a favorable court ruling. That means understanding your property’s “runway” — 2028 for West Maui, 2030 for South Maui — and thinking through whether to convert to long-term rental, sell, or hold.

For buyers, zoning is now the single most important due-diligence question. A hotel- or resort-zoned unit (for example, certain studios at properties like Kaanapali Shores or Royal Kahana) is not affected by Bill 9 and can continue operating short-term. An apartment-zoned Minatoya unit comes with a built-in expiration on its short-term rental income, and the purchase price should reflect that change in future use. Some of these apartment-zoned properties can still be excellent buys — as residences or long-term rentals — provided the price accounts for the loss of transient income.

Either way, check the zoning designation and use history of any specific property before making a decision. Because the situation is still moving, it’s worth confirming current status with a knowledgeable local agent and, for the legal and tax angles, a qualified attorney or advisor.

This update reflects publicly available information as of June 2026 and is intended as general information, not legal or financial advice. Bill 9 / Ordinance 5909 remains subject to ongoing litigation and possible further legislative action; verify current details before acting.