Complaints against vacation rentals can be filed online

Oahu residents can now go on the internet to lodge complaints with the city against neighbors operating illegal vacation rentals.

An online complaint form has been established by the city Department of Planning and Permitting for the public to request an investigation on a suspected illegal vacation rental or illegal short-term rental advertisement.

The form is available at honolulu.gov/dppstr. The law requires DPP to respond to complaints within 30 days; the names of complainants are kept confidential.

The link also provides the public with information about Ordinance 19-18, the broad short-term rental law that took effect earlier this year.

A complaint must include the address of a suspected illegal vacation rental, facts that cause a complainant to suspect a violation and the complainant’s address so the planning director can send a response.

It is illegal to rent a residential unit in a residential zone on Oahu for less than 30 days unless specifically permitted to do so. No new permits have been issued since 1989, although a new program set to begin next year would allow up to about 1,700 new permits for bed-and-breakfast establishments.

B&Bs are “hosted” rentals of less than 30 days where a homeowner or operator is onsite during the term of the rental. Transient vacation units (TVUs) are “whole-home” rentals of less than 30 days where a homeowner or operator is not onsite during the term of the rental. Both types fall under the definition of short-term rentals.

Since enforcement began Aug. 1, DPP inspectors have issued 242 notices of violations, many of which were the result of residents’ complaints, the department reported. DPP issued only 39 notices of violation for short-term rental laws in the previous year.

The clamor to crack down on the proliferation of vacation rentals accelerated in recent years as Oahu’s real estate prices have risen while housing stock has dropped. Proponents of B&Bs and TVUs, however, argue that the city is penalizing hard-working property owners trying to make ends meet and keep their homes.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who has supported the crackdown on illegal vacation rentals, said in a statement that “while tourism is an important part of our local economy, we must not allow our residential neighborhoods to negatively impact local families.”

Kathy Sokugawa, DPP acting director, said she anticipates the online form will increase the pace of violation notices her agency issues.

In related news, there are strong indications that the new law may be achieving the intended affect of reducing the number of vacation rentals on Oahu.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s monthly vacation rental performance showed that while the number of vacation rentals has increased 17% statewide over the last 12 months, Oahu actually saw a 4.4% drop in supply.

Statewide, the report said there are 919,132 units, up from 785,561 last November. Monthly demand was reported as 630,502 unit nights, a 13.1 % increase, resulting in an average monthly unit occupancy of 68.6%. That’s down 2.4% from a year ago.

By comparison, Hawaii hotels had a 78.8% occupancy rate. The average daily rate for vacation rental units statewide was $181 while hotel rooms cost $260 a night.

On Oahu, the report said, there are 252,415 short-term rentals, down from the 263,955 units a year ago. However, the number of vacation rentals available was up a whopping 19.7% in Waikiki only, which is largely zoned for hotel and resort use where short-term vacation rentals are allowed without any need for a vacation rental permit.

Unit demand for vacation rentals on Oahu was 170,236, a 5.4% drop from the 180,142 units a year ago. In Waikiki only, unit demand was 91,125, an 18.5% increase from the 76,918 units in November 2018.

Unit occupancy across Oahu was 67.5%, down 0.8% from a year ago. In Waikiki only, unit demand was 72%, down 0.7 from last year. Average daily rate per unit Oahu-wide was $146, down 0.8% from $144.81 in 2018. Waikiki only, the average daily rate per unit was $115.70, a 13.6% drop the $133.99 of a year ago.

Maui County vacation rentals saw a 32.9% increase in unit supply over a year ago. Unit demand was up 26.5% while unit occupancy percentage was down 3.8%. The average daily rate was $219.87, up 2.9% from a year ago.

Kauai County vacation rentals also saw a dramatic increase in unit supply of 32.8%. Unit demand was up 16.7% while unit occupancy percentage was down 9.4%. The average daily rate was $211.16 down 9.2% from 2018.

Hawaii County vacation rentals saw an 18.9% increase in unit supply over the last 12 months. Unit demand was up 18.4% while unit occupancy percentage was down 0.2%. Hawaii island’s average daily rate for a vacation rental remained the lowest in the state at $135.30, an 8.5% drop a year ago.

To see more figures on HTA’S hotel and vacation rental performance reports, go to hawaiitourism authority.org/research/infrastructure-research/.