Last year’s deadly Maui wildfire revealed the extent of short-term rentals and their contribution to the state’s housing shortage
Hawaii lawmakers have voted to put limits on short-term rentals such as Airbnbs. On Friday, the governor, Josh Green, signed a bill that would give counties the power to regulate short-term rentals and even phase them out to become long-term housing for local residents.
The move on short-term rentals was one of several legislative decisions to come out of Friday’s meeting of the state legislature. It also appropriated $1bn to go toward the ongoing recovery from the Lahaina fire on 8 August, including more than $120m in rental assistance for people who are ineligible for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and $500m for emergency housing for residents who remain displaced, according to ABC News.
I agree. I love the ability to rent something away from the tourist areas that isn’t a hallway full of slamming doors and cleaning staff. But it’s hell on the housing market.
Maybe a limited amount of permits with a regulated price/quality, and the demand will quickly limit the bookings. I’d rather wait a year or two for my preferred accomodation than stay in the usual suspects.
Tourism is a double edged sword. It’s nice to get free money from outside, but once the corpos get involved, the local economic benefit fades quickly.
Yep. Hawaii has the upper hand as it’s an extremely desirable vacation destination and they should regulate the hell out of this. Good for them.