Existing Short-Term Hawaii Rentals May Remain in Operation, Judge Rules
1/3/2024
A U.S. District Court judge has issued a summary judgement granting the Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance a permanent injunction that carves existing home rental owners out of a provision in a city law that sought to increase the minimum rental period for residential properties on Honolulu to 90 days from 30 days. The Alliance first contested Ordinance 22-7 in April 2022, as it redefined “short-term” from a minimum of 30 days to 90 days for residential properties, a change that meant any rental period from 30 to 89 days would be prohibited and subject to thousands of dollars in fines. U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson sided with the group, granting summary judgment to them and allowing existing short-term rentals (STRs) to continue operations and advertising. Watson had granted the group a temporary injunction allowing them to operate under the 30-day minimum just before the ordinance was set to go into effect in October 2022, but his new ruling grants them a permanent injunction, though it does not apply to any STRs that opened after the ordinance was put in place.
Courthouse News Service (12/21/23) Candace Cheung