Backlash grows as Hawaii County defers vacation rental overhaul proposal
Hawaii County paused Bill 147 after more than a dozen testifiers, as owners warned tighter rental rules could cut income and housing advocates pressed for more homes.
The Leeward Planning Commission unanimously deferred Bill 147 on July 1 after more than a dozen residents testified, most of them opposing the measure. The proposal would rewrite county vacation-rental rules on Hawaii Island, raising the short-term rental threshold from stays under 30 days to stays under 180 consecutive days and adding new operating standards, registration fees and fines.
The draft would confine short-term vacation rentals mostly to resort areas, with limited exceptions in Multi-Family Residential and Neighborhood Commercial zoning, while hosted rentals would be allowed in a broader set of zones.
Bill 147 would also give county enforcers a stronger tool against unregistered listings. A property advertised online, including on Airbnb or VRBO, could be treated as evidence of illegal operation, shifting the burden to owners to show they are in compliance. The draft enforcement schedule would start at $5,500 for a first violation and rise to $10,000 for a third and subsequent violation.
The registration fees would also change. New bed-and-breakfasts would pay $250 to register, with a $100 annual renewal, while new STVRs would pay $500 up front and $250 each year after that. Bed-and-breakfasts would be allowed in a wider mix of residential, commercial and agricultural zones, but not on State Land Use Agricultural land. That restriction follows the Hawaii Supreme Court's 2024 Rosehill v. State of Hawaii decision, which barred STVRs on state-designated farmland because they clash with the purpose of the agricultural district.
The Windward Planning Commission deferred the measure on June 6 and will revisit it July 2 after more time to consider amendments. The County Council Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development had already forwarded the bill unanimously on April 7. Bill 147 comes after Hawaii County adopted its original vacation-rental ordinance in November 2018.
Bill 147 also builds on Bill 47, signed June 23, 2025 and set to take effect Dec. 20, 2025. That law applies to rentals lasting less than 180 consecutive days and, for the first time, required both hosted and unhosted STVRs to register with the county.
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