Honolulu Council Approves Crackdown On Vacation Rentals

[TexasTowelie]

Oahu property owners who illegally use their units as short-term vacation rentals could face fines of up to $10,000 a day under a bill passed unanimously by the Honolulu City Council in a packed council chamber Monday.

Under Bill 89, a limited number of units, about 1,700, could be rented in homes where the owner lives, but the measure doesn’t allow for any new permits for whole-home rentals, which have become an increasingly popular alternative to hotels.

“Illegal short-term rentals have gone unchecked for too long,” said the bill’s sponsor, Councilman Ron Menor.

The measure, which now awaits Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s signature, is the result of months of contentious debate about how the island should handle thousands of illegal vacation units in neighborhoods outside of resort zones.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/06/honolulu-council-approves-crackdown-on-vacation-rentals/

[msongs]

1. the problem with airBnb etc is

it originally began as a way to rent out a spare room in your house to make a few $$. now it is speculators buying housing and renting out all the rooms short term vacation rental at exhorbitant rates. this of course reduces the amount of housing available for actual island residents and drives up housing prices overall, all for speculators and gougers feeding profits to air whats it and similar companies

[TexasTowelie]

2. It also affects the hotel industry and government funding,

particularly when the short-term rentals do not pay hotel taxes. The neighbors also aren't very happy with the increased traffic and late night parties which can affect the quality of life in the neighborhood. Having the guests go outside and urinate in the yards is also a minus.

[Phoenix61]

3. Good for them.

Short term rentals take housing and turn it into a money making business which artificially inflates comps making it even more difficult for people who actually want to live in a home be able to afford one.