Is short-term rental legal in Maui County, HI?
Maui County allows permitted STRs in hotel districts and certain apartment districts today — but Bill 9 (Ordinance 5909, signed December 15, 2025) phases out the apartment-zoned 'Minatoya List' condos: West Maui loses STR rights January 1, 2029, the rest of the county January 1, 2031. Takings litigation is pending and a rezoning escape hatch (Bill 88, H-3/H-4 districts) is moving property-by-property.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Maui County verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | Maui County allows permitted STRs in hotel districts and certain apartment districts today — but Bill 9 (Ordinance 5909, signed December 15, 2025) phases out the apartment-zoned 'Minatoya List' condos: West Maui loses STR rights January 1, 2029, the rest of the county January 1, 2031. Takings litigation is pending and a rezoning escape hatch (Bill 88, H-3/H-4 districts) is moving property-by-property. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | STR Home Permit / TVR registration by district — issued by Maui County Department of Planning |
| Fee | Permit fees run several hundred dollars |
| Renewal | Permits renew per county schedule; phase-out dates do not renew |
| Primary-residence rule | No primary-residence rule; the district and the phase-out calendar decide. |
| Whole-home rental | Whole-home rental is lawful today in hotel districts and (until the phase-out dates) in the apartment districts on the Minatoya List. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Per permit conditions |
| Minimum stay | Under 180 days defines transient vacation rental in Maui County |
| Zoning | Hotel districts: durable. Apartment districts (Minatoya): a countdown, not a right — 2029 (West Maui) / 2031 (rest of county). |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | Operating outside the permitted districts draws county fines per day under the county schedule, plus permit revocation |
| Taxes | Hawaii GET + TAT registration required before listing. |
| Platform duties | County enforcement uses listing data; permit numbers belong in ads. |
| State layer | No state preemption — counties are the regulators, and Hawaii's counties run some of the strictest regimes in the US (resort-zone-only rules in Honolulu, a legislated phase-out on Maui). |
| Phase-out clock | STR rights end Jan 1, 2029 (West Maui) / Jan 1, 2031 (rest of Maui County) for apartment-zoned Minatoya List units — applies to apartment-zoned condos on the Minatoya List |
What trips hosts in Maui County
- Maui's verdict is a date, not a yes: identical condos in the same building share one countdown.
- Buyers price Minatoya units on rental income that statute has already scheduled to end — the screening worksheet in the kit exists for exactly this.
The private layer still applies
These are the city's rules. Your HOA, condo board, lease or mortgage can say no on top of them — that layer is printed as a warning in the checker, never merged into the city's verdict.
Sources: Maui County Code Ch. 19; Ord. 5909 (Bill 9, 2025) · Maui County Planning STR program. Rules checked October 2026.