Maui County, HI Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)
Short-term rental permit rules in Maui County, HI, also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration, list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Key Facts
- Permits per applicant
- One permit maximum
- Dwelling age/ownership
- 15 years minimum, both
- Initial permit term
- 3 years
- Molokai community-plan cap
- Zero permits allowed
- Unpermitted operation penalty
- 5-year application ban
Summary
An applicant may hold no more than one short-term rental home permit in Maui County, and the dwelling itself must be at least fifteen years old and owned by the applicant for fifteen years before applying. Community-plan-area caps under Maui County Code Section 19.65.030 further limit how many permits the county can issue island-wide.
H.An applicant may hold no more than one short-term rental home permit. ... O.A short-term rental home permit is limited to a single-family dwelling constructed at least fifteen years prior to the date of application for the short-term rental home permit, and the dwelling unit must be owned by the applicant for at least fifteen years prior to the date of application.
Full Breakdown
030(O) requires the dwelling to have been constructed at least fifteen years before the application date and owned by the applicant for at least fifteen years before applying, closing off newly built or recently purchased homes from entering the program. 050, which requires proof of a transient accommodations tax license, a general excise tax license, a certified home inspection report, and certification that the property was not used for short-term rentals before permitting except as separately disclosed and taxed. 030(R) layers a numeric ceiling on top of the individual requirements: total permits are capped by community plan area, for example 15 in Hana, 46 in Kihei-Makena, 50 in West Maui, and zero on Molokai, and the council must review those caps once approved permits reach 90 percent of the ceiling. 070. 060(D).
Violations & Fines
Operating a short-term rental home without a valid permit is prohibited under Section 19.65.080(E) and makes the property owner ineligible to apply for a permit for five years. Providing false or misleading information during the application process results in permit denial and a two-year bar on reapplying under Section 19.65.060(D), and advertising without a valid permit number triggers escalating civil fines under Section 19.530.030 after a seven-day cure notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many short-term rental permits can one person hold in Maui County?
How old does a house have to be to qualify for a Maui short-term rental permit?
Can I get a short-term rental permit anywhere on Molokai?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Maui County
How Maui County compares: Most Airbnb-Friendly Cities in America·Compare Maui County to another location·View the Hawaii short-term rentals overview
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