The Legislature convened the 2023 session Wednesday, with much fanfare not seen since before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
In reality, legislators have been working for weeks to come up with policy ideas for the session. One of those seeks to target short term vacation rentals in Hawaii
State Rep. Daniel Holt is among a group of legislators this session trying to eradicate short-term rentals in Hawaii, which he considers a primary cause of “overtourism.”
“Our quality of life is negatively impacted, our housing availability,” Holt said. “It has raised the cost of rents, it has raised the cost of buying a home. … The reality is, my community is suffocating.”
Residents have complained about the proliferation of short term vacation rentals in their communities for years. In response, Holt plans to introduce a package of bills that will strictly regulate and heavily tax vacation rentals. Holt said he wants to raise the transient accommodations tax on short term rentals up to 25%.
In addition, Holt said he hopes to clear up legal loopholes that are allowing short-term rentals to persist.
Short term rentals are defined as accommodation of less than 30 consecutive days according to the City and Council of Honolulu. These short term rentals are only allowed in certain areas, which vary by county.
“I’m going to give the counties the explicit authority to regulate short-term rentals,” Holt said, “Because right now there is a legal question as to whether or not they do...
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