On May 2nd, 2024, Richard Bissen, the Mayor of Maui, proposed legislation that could significantly impact the island’s condo market. The legislation targets condos on the Minatoya List. If passed, the legislation would sunset short-term rentals in these condominiums. This post provides greater details on the Minatoya List, the condos potentially impacted, and the additional steps necessary before the legislation is enacted.
What is the Minatoya List?
The Minatoya List is the list of apartment-zoned condominiums (A-1 and A-2) on Maui currently allowed to offer short-term rentals. To be on the list, an apartment-zoned condominium development needs to meet a series of criteria, the most significant of which is that the building or structure received a building permit, SMA use permit, or planned development approval prior to April 20th, 1989. The list is named after the county attorney who provided the legal opinion that condos meeting the series of criteria could legally be used for vacation rentals. The legal opinion was later codified under chapter 19.12.020 of the Maui County Code.
What Legislation is Being Proposed and Why?
The Hawaiian Islands have struggled with affordability issues for some time. It worsened with the significant appreciation in the market during the COVID-19 real estate boom. The fires in Lahaina on August 8, 2023, significantly exacerbated the problem on Maui. The local government has previously looked at the Minatoya condos as a potential relief valve for the housing shortage. As recently as 2022, there was a county council planning committee meeting to discuss prohibiting short-term rentals in the apartment district. That effort was abandoned after strong public testimony against the proposal.
Late last year and earlier this year, the Governor discussed a two-year ban on vacation rentals in West Maui in order to generate long-term rentals for displaced fire victims. He backed off those plans as more people made long-term rentals available to FEMA.
The state legislature took up Bill SB2919 earlier. The bill grants “the counties authority to regulate the time, place, manner, and duration in which uses of land and structures may take place.” It specifically mentioned the right to phase out short-term rentals. The bill passed in both the State House and Senate.
The day before the governor officially signed the bill, Mayor Richard Bissen announced his plan to introduce legislation that would “phase out and repeal decades-old transient vacation rentals (TVRs) operating in the Apartment District, also known as the Minatoya list TVRs.” The proposed sunset date for short-term rentals at Minatoya List condos in West Maui is July 1, 2025. The proposed sunset date for vacation rentals at Minatoya list condos throughout the rest of the island is January 1, 2026.
What Condos Would be Impacted?
The Minatoya List comprises 7,069 properties including 6,823 units on Maui and 246 on Molokai. Condos on the list are spread throughout Maui, with condos on the list located in West Maui, South Maui, the North Shore, and East Maui.
Kihei Condos on the List
Over 60% of the vacation rental condos in Kihei are on the Minatoya List. The table below lists the ten largest Kihei condo developments this legislation could impact.
| Project Name | Number of Units |
| Kamaole Sands | 428 |
| Maui Kamaole | 316 |
| Maui Vista | 280 |
| Maui Sunset | 225 |
| Hale Kamaole | 188 |
| Pacific Shores | 136 |
| Kauhale Makai | 133 |
| Kihei Bay Surf | 118 |
| Luana Kai | 113 |
| Kihei Garden Estates | 74 |
Wailea Minatoya Condos
As with its neighbor to the north, the new legislation could impact the majority of the condos in Wailea that currently allow vacation rentals. All of the lowest-priced developments in Wailea are on the Minatoya List.
| Project Name | Number of Units |
| Wailea Ekahi | 296 |
| Grand Champions Villas | 188 |
| The Palms at Wailea | 150 |
| Wailea Ekolu | 148 |
Wailea has always been an expensive place to vacation and purchase a condo, but the remaining condo options with legal rentals will be particularly expensive. The remaining hotel/resort-zoned condos include Wailea Beach Villas, Ho’olei, and Wailea Elua.
Ma’alaea Condos on the Minatoya List
All of condos that vacation rent legally in Ma’alaea are Minatoya List condos. This new legislation would prohibit any short-term rentals in Ma’alaea after January 1, 2026.
Kapalua Condos on the List
Kapalua is another resort community where the proposed legislation could impact the majority of the vacation rental condos.
| Project Name | Number of Units |
| Kapalua Golf Villas | 186 |
| The Ridge | 161 |
| Kapalua Bay Villas | 141 |
Much like Wailea, Kapalua is an expensive place to own or visit. The three condos above are the three lowest-priced options in Kapalua. If this legislation is passed, the two hotel/resort condos that would allow short-term rentals are the Montage Residences and the Ritz Carlton Residences.
Condos Potentially Impacted in Napili
At this point, Napili is the one area where condos are unlikely to be affected by restrictions on short-term rentals in apartment zoning. The condos in this area are part of the Napili Bay Civil Improvement District. Short-term rentals are allowed in the NBCID.
Kahana Area Condos Impacted
The bulk of the condos in the Kahana area have Hotel zoning. There are a handful of Minatoya List condos. They include Kahana Reef, Kahana Outrigger and Kahana Village.
Honokowai Condos on the List
The Honokowai area would feel some of the strongest impact if short-term rentals were prohibited in apartment-zoned developments. There are 22 apartment-zoned condo developments that currently allow vacation rentals in Honokowai. Depending on where you draw the line between Ka’anapali and Honokowai, all of the short-term rental condos in Honokowai could be impacted.
| Project Property | Number of Units |
| Papakea | 364 |
| Kuleana | 118 |
| Paki Maui | 108 |
| Hale Ono Loa | 67 |
| Kaleialoha | 64 |
Ka’anapali Minatoya Condos
Ka’anapali has three condo projects with apartment-zoning currently allowed to provide short-term rentals.
| Project Property | Number of Units |
| Maui Ka’anapali Villas | 258 |
| Maui Eldorado | 205 |
| Ka’anapali Royal | 105 |
Lahaina Condos on the List
There are three condos in Lahaina that are apartment-zoned that could be impacted. Pu’unoa Beach Estates, Lahaina Roads, and The Spinnaker. The Spinnaker was destroyed in the August 8th fire.
North Shore and East Maui Condos on the List
Kuau Plaza, next to Mama’s Fish House, is on the Minatoya List. It has 30 units. Hana’s only condo development, Hana Kai, is apartment-zoned. This oceanfront condo development has 19 units.
The Full List
The condos listed in the sections above do not constitute the entire Minatoya List. These are just some of the largest and most notable condominiums. Clicking this link will take you to the full list of Minatoya Condos.
Next Steps in the Legislative Process
At this point, the Mayor’s legislation is proposed but still needs approval. The proposed bill will go before the planning commission next. After the planning commission comments, it will go in front of the planning committee of the Maui County Council. From the planning committee, it will go in front of the full county council. The council will, in turn, vote on the bill. Of course, there could be changes and amendments to the bill along the way.
June 2025 Update
On June 9th, 2025, the Maui County Council started to hear public testimony on the proposed Minatoya Ban. The mayor’s proposal hadn’t seen too much activity since the summer of 2024, when the Maui Planning Commission recommended that the bill be advanced for review by the county council. Since then, there have been two notable updates.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) published an economic impact study earlier this spring. While the report indicated that the proposal would create housing for local residents, it also pointed to significant economic impacts, including significant job losses.
The other significant news was proposed amendments to the bill by Council Member Tasha Kama. The most significant amendment would push implementation of the ban until 2030. Although not specifically mentioned in the amendment, it is suggested that a longer time horizon would allow condo associations to apply for rezoning.
Public testimony will resume next week. We shall see if that is the last of the testimony, or if it will be extended. It seems quite possible that a third day of testimony will occur, with just one-third of the people who signed up to testify having spoken to date. Once public testimony is completed, the council should vote on the proposal unless they choose to make additional amendments to the bill.
If the bill passes, lawsuits are anticipated. As a former Judge, Mayor Bissen already stated he expects litigation. How long all of this will take to play out is unknown. The results of these efforts will have significant ramifications on the real estate market and the local economy. We will continue to provide updates on the process and its implications on The Maui Real Estate Blog.
September 2025 Update
In July, Bill 9 advanced out of committee by a 6-3 vote. To pass, the bill now needs to be approved by the County Council. While all members of the council were part of the committee that passed the bill, it is not a foregone conclusion that the bill will pass the council vote by the same margin. One council member voted yes with reservations, and a second expressed significant concerns about the bill before voting yes.
Since the bill passed out of committee in July, the county council appointed a Temporary Investigation Group (TIG) consisting of four council members. The group is tasked with further reviewing the economic and social impacts of the bill, identifying apartment-zoned condos where continued vacation rentals might be appropriate, suggesting bills to facilitate changes in zoning or conditional permits where short-term rentals may still be appropriate, and identifying potential changes in county code to make any changes more efficient.
As it stands, the county council is scheduled to resume discussions on the bill on October 13th. We will provide updates if the meeting proceeds as scheduled.
November Update
Over the past month, there were a few significant updates and developments regarding Bill 9. On October 14th, the Temporary Investigative Group issued its report on Bill 9. The group made some significant recommendations, including the creation of two new types of hotel zoning. These new zoning categories would allow some apartment-zoned condominiums to continue to offer short-term rentals moving forward.
The two new types of zoning, H3 and H4, would be equivalent to the current A1 and A2 zoning, with one key difference being that they would permit short-term rentals. In addition to the proposed new zoning, an attached appendix to the report identified apartment-zoned properties that the TIG believed would be best suited to short-term rentals. The county would help initiate the rezoning process for the identified properties when the new zoning is created.
The condos that made it into the TIG appendix were selected because they were deemed “unattainable” for Maui residents, located in areas with higher sea level rise exposure risk, or were home to a high number of timeshare units. Click here to review the full TIG report, including Exhibit 2 with all of the condos recommended for H3 and H4 zoning.
A significant caveat to this report is that it does not recommend modifying Bill 9 itself. The new zoning would be created through a separate bill, with the process expected to take up to a year. Then, the condos identified would still need to undergo a potentially expedited rezoning process. While critics of Bill 9 appreciated the proposed compromise, concerns were expressed that the extended process would spill past 2026, when elections would mean a new mayor and a new county council.
Sadly, the TIG bill was not the only notable headline related to Bill 9. County Councilmember Tasha Kama passed away on October 27th. Kama was the head of the housing and land use committee of the county council that reviewed Bill 9 and recommended its passage. She actually voted against the bill’s passage and was a key member in an ideologically split council.
Bill 9 had been scheduled for another county council discussion and a potential vote on November 12th. It appears that the final vote on Bill 9 will be delayed until a new council member is appointed. The county council will attempt to appoint a replacement for Kama before the end of November. While Kama suggested her own replacement before she passed, the council will consider other candidates for the position. If the council is unable to come up with an appointment, the decision will fall to the mayor.
December 2nd Update
On Monday, December 1st, the county council surprised some by taking up Bill 9 for discussion. Many thought a vote would not be held until the mayor appointed a new council member to replace council member Tasha Kama, who passed away in October.
The bill passed its first reading by a 5-3 margin. The vote followed a contentious debate and discussions on several proposed amendments to the bill. Two amendments were passed: one would require tracking tax classifications at impacted properties through 2030, and another would delay the notification to property owners at impacted properties from January 1, 2026, to March 1, 2026. South Maui Council Member Tom Cook proposed the most significant amendment. It would have incorporated some of the recommendations made by the Temporary Investigative Group (TIG). It failed to advance with members evenly split.
While the TIG amendment failed to advance, two council members who voted for the bill said they would support the TIG recommendation to create two new hotel zoning classifications. The new H3 and H4 zoning would allow selected apartment-zoned condos to apply for a new zoning classification that would allow continued short-term rentals. Discussions on that bill could start as soon as December 19th.
The process to create the new zoning could take as long as a year, and it brings continued uncertainty. The legislation’s timeframe means it could be new council members shepherding the bill towards passage, with an election coming in November.
Bill 9 is scheduled for a second and final reading on December 15th.
December 15th Update: Bill 9 Passes
Bill 9 passed today on its second and final reading by the same 5-3 margin as the first vote earlier this month. Shortly thereafter, the bill was signed into law by Mayor Richard Bissen. The bill will phase out short-term rentals in apartment-zoned condos in West Maui in 2029, with the rest of the island phasing them out in apartment-zoned districts in 2031.
The county council also announced that it will discuss Resolution 25-230 at its next meeting on Friday, the 19th. That proposed bill would change Maui’s current zoning ordinance by creating new H-3 and H-4 hotel districts. If created, this would allow as many as 4,500 of the Bill 9 impacted condos to continue short-term rentals. This legislation is based on the recommendation of the County Council’s Temporary Investigative Group (TIG), which reviewed the potential impacts of Bill 9. When the mayor signed Bill 9 into law, he indicated his support for the TIG findings and resolution 25-230.
We will continue to track resolution 25-230, litigation directed towards Bill 9, and any impacts we are seeing on the Maui Real Estate market.
