Second webinar about Hawaiʻi County transient accommodation rental proposal

Hawai’i County Council members Ashley Kierkiewicz and Heather Kimball, and the Hawaii County Department of Planning will hold a second information session about the draft transient accommodation rental proposal.

The webinar will be on Jan. 20, 2023 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. To register for the webinar, click here.

In addition to the webinar, Council Members Kierkiewicz and Kimball have created an  informational webpage at www.hawaiicountytar.com. It has the latest draft proposal,  frequently asked questions, and a form to submit questions or comments on the proposal.

A transient accommodation rental (TAR) is a dwelling unit or rooming house that provides transient accommodations, but is not a hotel, apartment hotel, motel, lodge, condominium, timeshare or cooperative apartment. A TAR can be hosted (operator resides onsite during rental operations), unhosted (the operator does not reside onsite) or a principal home.

There are two main purposes of the county bill, according to the webpage. First, the bill is meant to ensure that all transient accommodation rental operations in Hawaiʻi County are legal, safe and following standards of operation so that they are not disruptive to the neighborhoods where they are located.

The second reason for the bill is that due to the impact that TARs have on the housing market. TARs reduce the inventory of housing available for residents and increase area housing costs and rents. Hawaiʻi County has a significant problem with the availability of housing and this bill is intended to reduce speculation by outside investors on our island.

Additionally, the goal is to make it easier for people to develop additional housing units in some areas for long term housing but if these are just converted to TARs it will not make any improvements to the housing situation.

The webpage also has the video of the first informational session.

This webpage is provided for informational purposes only, and is subject to change. It is not an  official webpage of the County of Hawai’i.