Bill 9 & The Minatoya List
South Maui's Most Consequential Real Estate Issue. Explained Clearly.
If you own, are considering buying, or are thinking about selling a condominium in South Maui, Bill 9 is the single most important regulatory development affecting your property's value, your investment strategy, and your long-term options.
It is also one of the most misunderstood.
This page is designed to give you a clear, current, and honest understanding of what Bill 9 is, what it means for your specific situation, and what the strategic options are for buyers, sellers, and current owners navigating the uncertainty it has created. I update this page as the legal and legislative landscape evolves, because in a situation this fluid, outdated information is worse than no information at all.
Last updated: March 2026
What Is Bill 9?
Maui County has a longstanding housing crisis, worsened by the August 2023 wildfires, which destroyed over 5,400 households and displaced 12,000 residents. Bill 9 was the County's legislative response, a law designed to convert thousands of short-term vacation rental units back into long-term housing for residents.
The Maui County Council approved Bill 9 with five votes in favor and three opposed. It was signed into law on December 15, 2025. Bill 9 directly addresses short-term rental use in apartment-zoned districts by proposing a phase-out of transient vacation rentals, making the Minatoya List central to determining which properties are affected.
Critically, and this is a distinction many buyers and sellers miss , Bill 9 does not impact all vacation rentals on Maui. The measure is targeted specifically at a subset of short-term rental properties operating in apartment-zoned districts and does not apply to vacation rentals located within hotel or resort-zoned districts where transient use is already permitted.
What Is the Minatoya List?
The Minatoya List is a collection of apartment-zoned condominium complexes in Maui County that have long been allowed to operate as legal short-term rentals, even though apartment zoning is generally intended for long-term residential use. The list is named after Richard Minatoya, a former Deputy Corporation Counsel for Maui County. In 2001, his legal opinion confirmed that certain apartment-zoned condos could continue short-term rental operations if the building was built before the early 1990s, the condo association had already approved short-term rental use, and short-term rental use had not stopped for more than 12 consecutive months.
These properties were effectively grandfathered into vacation rental use despite their apartment zoning, a status that has now been directly challenged by Bill 9. Approximately 7,000 units across Maui fall under this designation, with a significant concentration in South Maui's Kihei corridor.
The Phase-Out Timeline
Bill 9 does not end short-term rentals immediately. It establishes a staggered amortization period that gives current operators time to transition:
West Maui: Short-term rental operations must cease by January 1, 2029.
South Maui and all other districts: Short-term rental operations must cease by January 1, 2031.
Existing TVRs in apartment districts are able to continue operating until the amortization period ends. This means that a Minatoya List property in Kihei can continue operating as a vacation rental today, but the clock is running.
The Current Status: March 2026
The situation continues to evolve rapidly across three parallel tracks: legislative, legal, and market.
The Legislative Track: H-3 and H-4 Zoning
When Bill 9 passed, a parallel effort began immediately to create new hotel zoning classifications, H-3 and H-4, that would allow approximately 4,500 qualifying units to rezone out of apartment classification and into hotel zoning, preserving their short-term rental rights permanently.
On January 7, 2026, the Maui County Council voted 8-1 in favor of referring the proposed H-3 and H-4 hotel zoning districts to the County's planning commissions, a meaningful step forward signaling broad Council support for advancing the zoning work.
However, on February 24, 2026, the Maui Planning Commission rejected the proposed creation of new H-3 and H-4 hotel zoning categories. This denial does not end the H-3/H-4 process, the recommendation now moves to the Molokai and Lanai Planning Commissions, with the Maui County Council making the final decision. Because the Planning Commission denied the proposal, a supermajority vote, six of nine Council members, will now be required for the measure to pass at the Council level.
The path to H-3/H-4 relief remains open but has narrowed. The political math is harder. The timeline has extended. And the outcome remains genuinely uncertain.
The Legal Track: Active Lawsuits
The complaint in the first lawsuit challenges Bill 9's phase-out of short-term rental use in apartment-zoned properties and alleges that the new law establishes an unconstitutional taking of property rights without just compensation. The legal theory centers on vested rights, a concept in land-use law that protects existing lawful uses from being eliminated without due process or compensation.
Two significant cases are now active:
Malter v. County of Maui: Filed by owners at the K?'anapali Royal complex, this lawsuit argues that Bill 9 is "wrongful, oppressive and unreasonable" and contends that by phasing out these rentals, the county is violating vested property rights protected by the Hawai?i and US constitutions. The plaintiffs are asking for a preliminary injunction to prevent the County from enforcing the bill while the case is litigated.
Lynam v. County of Maui: A class-action lawsuit seeking to represent all 7,000 Minatoya List properties, asking the court for declaratory relief regarding the right of Minatoya owners to provide short-term rentals and seeking to block any attempt by Maui County to enforce the phase-out.
There is also recent legal precedent in Hawai?i. In 2022, a federal judge in Honolulu blocked enforcement of a law that would have banned 30 to 89 day rentals in certain residential zones, ruling that forcing property owners to abandon long-standing lawful uses would likely violate constitutional protections.
At this stage, no court rulings or injunctions have been issued. Bill 9 remains the law. But the legal challenges are substantive and the precedent is meaningful, and the outcome of these cases will directly affect the value of every Minatoya List property in South Maui.
The Market Track: What Is Already Happening
The uncertainty does not need to resolve for it to affect property values. It is affecting them right now.
Inventory in the Kihei condo segment has risen sharply as owners sensitive to the 2031 deadline and rising carrying costs have moved to exit. Days on market have extended. Prices in affected complexes have experienced meaningful downward pressure as buyers discount for regulatory risk. Financing has become more complex, some lenders are applying additional scrutiny to Minatoya List properties, tilting the buyer pool toward cash purchasers.
At the same time, a new category of buyer has emerged, lifestyle buyers and second-home seekers who value these properties for their location, their community, and their quality of life rather than their rental yield. For sellers who understand how to position their property for this buyer profile rather than the investor profile that dominated the pre-Bill 9 market, the opportunity to achieve strong prices remains real.
What This Means for You
If You Own a Minatoya List Property
Your options depend on your specific property's zoning, its position in the TIG Exhibit 2 list of H-3/H-4 candidates, your current income structure, and your timeline.
The questions you need answered are: Is your property a candidate for H-3/H-4 rezoning? What is the realistic probability and timeline for that relief? What is your property worth today versus what it might be worth under different regulatory outcomes? What is the right exit strategy if you decide to sell, and what is the right hold strategy if you decide to stay?
These are not questions with generic answers. They require property-specific analysis from someone who understands both the regulatory landscape and the current market in depth.
If You Are Considering Buying a Minatoya List Property
The risk and the opportunity are both real, and they are not the same for every buyer.
For buyers whose financial model depends on short-term rental income beyond 2031, a Minatoya List property today carries genuine regulatory risk that must be priced and planned for explicitly. For buyers seeking a second home, a long-term rental investment, or a lifestyle property whose value is not dependent on vacation rental income, the current price adjustments in the Kihei condo market represent some of the most compelling value opportunities South Maui has produced in a decade.
The key is knowing which category you are in, and buying accordingly.
If You Are Considering Selling a Minatoya List Property
Timing and positioning strategy matter more now than at any point in recent memory. The buyer pool for Minatoya List properties has bifurcated, investors and lifestyle buyers evaluate these properties very differently, and the marketing strategy, the due diligence package, and the pricing approach that works for one will not work for the other.
A proactive Bill 9 Compliance Package, one that answers every regulatory question a buyer's attorney will raise before it is asked, is now an essential component of any Minatoya List listing strategy. The sellers who present with clarity and confidence consistently outperform those who leave regulatory questions unanswered.
"Safe Haven" Properties: The Alternative
For buyers and owners who want to remove Bill 9 from the equation entirely, hotel and resort-zoned properties in South Maui remain fully exempt from the short-term rental phase-out and represent the strongest long-term regulatory stability in the market.
South Maui hotel-zoned properties unaffected by Bill 9 include:
- Wailea Beach Villas
- Ho'olei at Grand Wailea
- Wailea Elua Village
- Polo Beach Club, Makena
- Makena Surf
- Andaz Residences
- Specific resort-zoned buildings within the Wailea corridor
These properties are trading at a premium that reflects their regulatory certainty, but for buyers whose investment model depends on short-term rental income, that premium is justified by the elimination of the single largest risk factor in the current South Maui condo market.
The TIG Report
The Temporary Investigative Group (TIG) report is the foundational document for understanding which properties may qualify for H-3/H-4 rezoning relief. Exhibit 2 of the report identifies the specific complexes the TIG recommended as candidates for the new hotel zoning classifications.
Understanding where your property sits relative to the TIG recommendations is an important first step in evaluating your options under the current regulatory landscape.
I Will Keep You Updated
Bill 9 is a moving target. The legal challenges, the H-3/H-4 legislative process, the Planning Commission recommendations, and the market conditions surrounding affected properties are all evolving — and the decisions buyers and sellers make need to be based on current information, not last month's headlines.
I monitor this situation closely and update this page as significant developments occur. If you want to be notified directly when meaningful changes happen, a court ruling, a Council vote, a Planning Commission decision, contact me and I will make sure you are among the first to know.
Let's Talk About Your Specific Situation
Bill 9's impact on your property, or the property you are considering, is not a question with a generic answer. It depends on your specific complex, your current use, your financial model, your timeline, and your risk tolerance.
I have spent twenty years in South Maui's condo market and have developed deep expertise in exactly the regulatory landscape Bill 9 has created. Whether you are trying to understand what your Minatoya List property is worth today, evaluating a purchase in the current market, or developing a hold-versus-sell strategy for an existing investment, this is the conversation to have before you make any decision.
The consultation is confidential. The conversation is complimentary. The expertise is unmatched.
[Schedule a Bill 9 Strategy Consultation]
[(808) 283-2891] · [Ken@KenOnMaui.com]
Ken Wong · REALTOR® · RS-58204 · Coldwell Banker Island Properties Kukui Mall · 1819 South Kihei Rd Suite D111 · Kihei, HI 96753