Holiday scheduling delays at the Honolulu City Council mean owners of short-term rental properties will likely have to wait longer for a decision on new rules that would extend the minimum stay for guests from 30 days to 180 days.

The Council is required to vote on bills proposed by the administration that deal with land use ordinance amendments within 90 days from when a measure is transmitted to the Council by the Planning Commission. Bill 41 on short-term rentals was transmitted Oct. 16, meaning Council action is due by Jan. 13. However, there are no Council committee hearings in December, a crucial step in the law-making process.

“We support the extension of time. Given the holiday schedule and the Council’s agenda, I think it’s prudent to just give us a little more time to work on a bill,” Department of Planning and Permitting Director Dean Uchida told the Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee on Thursday.

The committee voted unanimously to extend the deadline for taking action by 120 days, with a final vote on the extension expected at the Council’s Dec. 1 meeting.

Short-term rental rules that were negotiated during former Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration have been in effect since August 2019, but enforcement of the rules has been challenging for the DPP. In some cases, such as the implementation of a lottery system to select new short-term rental permits, the rules have yet to come to fruition.

When the full Council passed Bill 41 on first reading, it did so with the intention of amending it because DPP accidentally submitted the wrong version of the measure.

Notable changes in the suggested amended version add exemptions to the 180-day minimum stay for “transient occupants,” such as military personnel, full-time students and travel nurses.

Another change removes a special fund that would divert increased property tax revenue from legal short-term rentals, because the city administration discovered that it would require an amendment to the city charter.

Councilmember Esther Kiaaina expressed concern at Thursday’s committee meeting about the removal of the special fund for rule enforcement from the proposed amended version.

“I believe that’s a cornerstone,” she said. “I’m hoping that all of us collectively could work on what mechanism we’re going to use to introduce a measure that would amend the charter to create such a fund.”

The current version of Bill 41 would allow new permits for short-term rentals to be issued only in resort areas such as Kuilima, Ko Olina and Waikiki. Properties would be required to display their certification registration number on all advertisements.

The proposed amended version adds Makaha to the areas where short-term rentals would be allowed.

Kiaaina also had concerns about the potential expansion, saying: “It may have the unintentional consequence of impacting and displacing local families and rentals.”

Most testifiers Thursday were opposed to the rules altogether, although some were in favor of allowing the Council more time to consider the matter.

The Oahu Short Term Rental Alliance, a group advocating for short-term rental owners, urged rejection of Bill 41.

“This 120-day extension request shows how rushed and flawed the entire process around Bill 41 has been from the get-go,” the group said in a statement.

“Rather than allowing this unsound measure to proceed any further, we encourage lawmakers to i nstead focus on implementing the enforcement regulations found in Ordinance 18-19 in cooperation with major rental platforms.”