Column: Neighborhoods need rentals of 30+ days

There is a push by the hotel lobby, some politicians and a few NIMBYs in wealthy neighborhoods such as Lanikai to increase the minimum stay requirement for rentals from one month to six months.

There are many instances when rentals of 30-plus days are needed in neighborhoods. With the rise in omicron, traveling nurses and other health-care providers need accommodations close to their hospitals. They should not have to commute from Waikiki and other resort areas for work.

There are digital nomads that have made Hawaii their home for a few months. These people should not have to pay sky-high hotel rates to stay in Waikiki. The Hawaii tourism industry lured these people here with the “Movers and Shakas” program dangling free air tickets and other incentives. Many digital workers who heeded the call found suitable and affordable accommodation in neighborhoods.

When tourism tanked, the hotel industry wanted the whole pie so they crafted and are now lobbying hard for Bill 41, which would eliminate rentals of less than 180 days in neighborhoods.

There are military personnel who often need accommodation for six to eight weeks while looking for permanent housing in Honolulu.

And there are visiting family members who want to stay close to their ohana. When our first son was born, many moons ago, my parents came to help. At the time, we lived in a studio apartment and did not have space for them. They rented a room from a retired couple down the street for about six weeks; it was affordable and convenient.

No one wants to live next to a home where tourists party all night and there is no homeowner in sight. Whole-house party rentals should be shut down. But why shut down a responsible homeowner who lives on site, provides parking and rents out a room to a digital worker, traveling nurse, family caregiver or even a snowbird here for a couple months? There has to be a balance when it comes to rentals in neighborhoods.

One cogent argument against allowing rentals past 30 days is that unscrupulous real estate agents are creating fake 30-day contracts. The answer is to shut these people down. If a neighbor sees this happening, report it to the authorities.

We now live in a house with a studio and since travel is not feasible for our families with COVID-19 restrictions, we rented the room for a few months to a 20-something teacher who moved to Oahu to teach at a school across the street. New teacher salaries are low and without an affordable and convenient rental nearby, he told us he would not have taken the job. After two months, when he found permanent accommodation sharing a home with others, we offered our studio to a COVID-19 healthcare worker who wanted to isolate from her family during the height of the surge. We’ve also had an older couple who came to Kailua to help their daughter with their new grand-baby. These are all real-life examples where there was a clear need for a 30-day-plus affordable rental in Kailua.

If Bill 41 passes, we probably won’t take a long-term tenant. We are fortunate that we now have space for family when they visit but not everyone does. We are also fortunate that we don’t have to rely on rental income to get by, unlike the retired couple that my parents rented from many years ago.

Bill 41 might be attractive to the wealthy, but it will be a huge disservice to the majority of Oahu residents who live in cramped homes with no space for guests, and to people who need month-to-month accommodation outside resort areas.

Shiyana Thenabadu is a small business owner, community volunteer and longtime resident of Kailua.