Hosted (owner occupied) Short Term Vacation Rentals

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

New rules and regulations have been proposed for home owners on Big Island with short term vacation rentals.  Register with the county, pay a yearly fee, etc, etc, etc

comply with a host of rules. Some of the rules relate to on-site parking, the submission of site and floor plans, contact information for all registered property owners and managers, notification to surrounding properties and more.
Failure to do so could result in $10,000 in fines.
The bill would set a guest limit of no more than two adults per bedroom and an additional two adults for the unit as a whole. Individuals could operate no more than one transient accommodation rental, besides their principal home, unless they’re a licensed realtor.
Commercial weddings, wedding receptions or events would be prohibited unless operators get special permits.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hawaii-island...28448.html

[terracore]

"One of the goals is to curb the growing number of vacation rentals which the sponsors say is reducing long-term housing stock for residents and increasing housing costs and rents."

I see. So it's not the inability of landlords to evict people who don't pay rent that's the problem. Are BI police still prohibited from doing evictions? Last I checked a few years ago it cost over $10k to hire Maui police to travel here to perform that function.

"Individuals could operate no more than one transient accommodation rental, besides their principal home, unless they’re a licensed realtor."

WTF?

"Others worry the proposed bill will have negative financial consequences if they can no longer operate a transient or vacation rental for whatever reason."

Like there aren't enough operators currently "under the table" the county wants to create more of that to drive away tax revenue. Another excellent choice, right?

[ChunksterK]

The politicians and bureaucrats really want to kill one of the last ways for middle class folks to make some money while providing the visitors our so-called economy depends on a more personal, real experience. The previously passed regulations were proposed and pushed through by a councilwoman from Kona who owned a rental unit in one of the exempted areas. And to add insult to injury the "Ethics" Commission said it was OK. Now the good old boys and girls want to eliminate more opportunities. This latest round of restrictions claims to grandfather in existing properties, but a host of cumbersome regulations, fees, and taxes say they really want to kill them.

In rural areas like Puna, rental income can make a huge difference for some families, and the noise and congestion these rules are supposed to prevent are virtually nonexistent. Can these jokers honestly say that visitors cause more problems than locals setting off illegal explosions, letting their vicious dogs run loose, and keeping a hundred roosters on a half acre? Gimme a break.

[Chas]

When I was vacationing here, I preferred staying in a Puna rental as opposed to a hotel. VRBO allowed me to stay at many different areas around the island as opposed to (at that time) one of the 2 hotels in Hilo, or Kona. Definitely couldn't afford the Kohala area. Plus you could get a whole house, oceanfront, for about the same price as a hotel.

Oh... I guess that was the "problem".

[randomq]

That exception for realtors... WTH?

Leave hosted vacation rentals alone. Maybe restrict it to properties with the homeowners exemption, so no one can run more than one, on their primary residence.

[dobanion]

Community feedback. What you'd expect. Fun read.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...edit#gid=0

[randomq]

A lot of the criticism points out that locals can't afford to keep their homes without renting rooms, and that when they sell there is no guarantee it won't be to some off island investor anyway.

Also that the legislation is surely written by the hotel and realtor lobbyists.

Good read...

[VancouverIslander]

This sounds nuts. It is already bad enough without making it worse. Hotel prices are out of this world. Being a landlord here is a very risky business and at this point there isn't even a lot of expectation for capital gains to make it worth while as prices have already had a long run up. There's plenty of land for people to build on with at least roads, power poles and Hawaiian Telecom for infrastructure. In short there's room for both residential use as well as STVR and LTVR uses. Making it difficult for local people to do these things to help pay for their homes is silly and short sighted.

[dobanion]

The point repeated a few times I found interesting, as it pertains to my place, is the "nobody wants to do long term rentals because everyone knows you can stop paying rent and there's no way to get evicted."

IE, for every short term rental you shut down, you either create a for sale sign and/or a vacant house, not housing for resisdents.

I know that point has been discussed here more than a few times.

[leilanidude]

AIR BNB has dozens of Puna area listings and I only saw a couple while browsing, that appeared to be "licensed".