Maui Housing Crisis Continues?
Maui housing crisis continues to be a major issue for many of our local residents. Solutions continue to be elusive. Administration after administration promises to address this crisis but no reasonable solutions are in sight. This crisis is not going away any time soon—and our local residents are losing hope. Sadly, because of the lack of available affordable housing, many of our local residents are now forced to move from their island homes to the mainland to find housing they can afford for their ‘ohana. These hard-working families are being priced out of the housing market on Maui.
How did we get to this housing crisis? There are many blames and excuses to go around.
In his recent remarks on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Senator Brian Schatz said, “When it comes to one of the most basic necessities in the life of people—housing—both political parties have failed. This crisis was not inevitable. It is a problem that the government has created. There is not enough housing in this country because we have made it virtually impossible to build housing.” Maui is no exception—this has been going on for over decades.
On July 23, 2025, after a long and heated debate, the Maui County Council’s Committee on Housing and Land Use advanced Bill 9 aimed at phasing out over 6,000 short-term vacation rentals units in apartment-zoned areas. Supporters of this controversial bill believe it will free up these vacation rental units for local residents for long-term residential use—only time will tell if this policy actually brings about real solutions to Maui’s housing crisis.
At the committee’s meeting, representatives from the real estate industry stated there are over 170 units (ranging from studios to 2-bedrooms) on the list to be phased out available for sale within the $400K to $600K price range but no offers from local residents to date. Reasons for the lack of interest for these units are mixed: not desirable for local families, high interest rates, costly homeowners’ association fees, cost of insurance and much more. It was noted during the Committee’s deliberation some of these units are within the sea level rise and shoreline areas.
Councilmembers who voted to support this bill with reservation voiced concerns of its unintended consequences and its impact on the economy, loss of tax revenue that funds many social services, many displaced workers tied with short-term vacation rentals, and legal implications which potentially may cost the County millions of dollars to defend itself from lawsuits by property owners impacted by this bill.
Interestingly, Council Chair Alice Lee, who voted to support Bill 9 with reservations, called the bill “half-baked” and said it was “hastily put together by a lot of inexperienced people.” She also voiced concerns about unaddressed impacts of the bill. Councilmember Nohelani U‘u-Hodgins, who supported the bill, also voiced concerns about the “likelihood of legal challenges and expressed frustration that the bill will just gonna operate in theory to provide housing.” The proposed bill is now headed to the full council for first reading and appears to have the required votes to approve unless two of the councilmembers who voted with reservations at the committee miraculously change their votes not to pass the bill.
To address this national housing shortage, Senator Schatz recently introduced bipartisan bills, “Build More Housing Near Transit Act,” which incentivize local governments to build housing near federally-funded transit projects and “YIMBY Act” (Yes In My Back Yard) to encourage localities to cut onerous regulations and adopt pro-housing policies. In his remarks in Congress regarding the housing crisis facing our nation, Senator Schatz said, “This crisis was not inevitable. It is a problem that the government has created.
There is not enough housing in this country because we have made it virtually impossible to build housing. Ask anyone who has tried to build anything—a shed, a patio, or an accessory dwelling unit for their in-laws. They will tell you that the moment you try to do something, there are endless procedural hurdles and regulatory barriers that immediately get in the way. Exclusionary zoning.
Minimum lot sizes. Height restrictions. Requirements for multiple staircases, environmental reviews, dozens of public meetings where the grouchiest people in your neighborhood can stop the most virtuous project in your neighborhood.
Extensive permitting paperwork. Yearslong battles with community organizations and boards.” According to Sen. Schatz, “It is not a surprise that there is a shortage of housing because of the government itself, making it hard to construct the things that we all say we want. But the good news is this: If the government got us into this mess in the first place, it can help to get us out. And mainly that means getting out of our own way and not preventing the very things that we say that we like.”
Many of our ‘ohana are struggling to find a decent home they can afford. They are screaming for help—and our government has failed us in addressing this basic human need—housing. How do we solve this housing crisis? To begin with, consider deregulating the housing market. We need to reform our archaic land use laws for upzoning to allow higher density, reduce lot sizes, use of manufactured homes, expedite permit process and allow multi-family units within residential areas.
The sad truth is, we say we want housing but we don’t want them in our neighborhood; we say we need additional and reliable water supply for needed affordable housing but we don’t allow anyone to explore other water sources to develop from other areas of our island; we say we want housing but we are against opening up more lands and instead keep them open space; we say we want housing but we are not investing sufficient funds to build housing for our local residents. Frankly, enough excuses—and the only way out of this crisis is to build homes now for our hard-working families—and we must.
