Short-term rentals in Big Island (Hawaii County), explained properly.

Ordinance 25-50, as amended by Ordinances 25-92, 26-51 and 26-63, added Article 6 (Transient Vacation Rentals) to Chapter 6 of the Hawaii County Code. A transient vacation rental (TVR) is a dwelling, dwelling unit, room, apartment, suite or similar space furnished and rented to a transient for less than 180 consecutive days, excluding hotels, motels, inns, apartment hotels, boarding facilities, lodges, timeshares and tents. No one may operate a TVR until the owner registers it with the planning director. The law took effect September 1, 2026; the planning director may delay enforcement of the registration requirement, but not beyond December 31, 2026. Rentals already registered as STVRs or holding a nonconforming use certificate are deemed registered, as are B&Bs operating under a County use permit or a special permit issued under HRS section 205-6; the Planning Department says these owners will receive a registration number by email and should not register again. Hosted rentals (a room, ohana unit or guest house at the owner's own home) are brought into the system for the first time. Article 6 does not apply to rentals exempt from the state TAT law (HRS chapter 237D), rentals subject to the residential landlord-tenant code (HRS chapter 521), housing for temporarily employed health care workers, or rentals authorized by an emergency declaration.

The registration fee is $250 for a hosted TVR and $500 for an unhosted TVR. Registration must be renewed every year, no later than one year after the registration number is issued (or another date the County sets), for $100 (hosted) or $250 (unhosted). If you miss the renewal, the County sends a notice of expired registration; you then have 90 days to renew with the renewal fee plus a $90 late fee, after which operating counts as failing to register. The Planning Department's FAQ says annual renewal applies to every TVR except B&Bs permitted before September 1, 2026.

The registration must include the street address and tax map key (TMK); the name, phone and email of the owner and of the host or other reachable person; the number of bedrooms for rent and whether they are rented individually or as a whole; a site drawing of all structures; a declaration that the rental meets County health and safety requirements; a tax clearance or other Department of Finance document showing no delinquent County real property tax or transient accommodations tax; copies of the owner's State general excise tax license and transient accommodations tax registration; a signed statement that operating a TVR may affect the owner's real property tax; and the fee. The Planning Department's FAQ adds a simple site plan and floor plan (hand-drawn is acceptable) and the building, electrical and plumbing permit numbers for the rental buildings, and says a registration will not receive full approval while real property taxes on the parcel are delinquent.

A TVR registration expires 90 days after a change in ownership of the property, and a TVR the new owner has not registered by then is unregistered. Owners must keep the registration information current and tell the County when it changes or when they stop renting.

In the zoning code a short-term vacation rental is a dwelling unit whose owner or operator does not live on the building site, with no more than five bedrooms for rent on the site, rented for 30 consecutive days or less (the short-term use of an owner's primary residence under section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code is excluded from this definition). These rentals are permitted only in the V, CG and CV districts; in residential and commercial zoning districts located in General Plan Resort and Resort Node areas; and in the RM district for multiple-family dwellings in a condominium property regime. Private covenants (for example, HOA or condominium rules) that prohibit vacation rentals remain enforceable.

An unhosted rental that operated outside a permitted zoning district before April 1, 2019 could keep operating only by obtaining a nonconforming use certificate, in addition to registering. Applications had to be filed by September 30, 2019, and the County says that window has closed. A new unhosted rental cannot be started outside the permitted areas.

A nonconforming use certificate must be renewed every year on or before the expiration date shown on it, with a $250 renewal fee paid to the director of finance. Renewal must be denied if the rental use has been abandoned, and may be denied if the owner owes State GET or TAT or County property taxes, fees or fines related to the rental, if there is evidence of non-responsive management (such as notices of violation, police reports or verified neighbor complaints), if the owner or reachable person has not been reachable, or if the renewal and fee arrive after the expiration date. A denial can be appealed to the Board of Appeals within 30 days. Current certificates must be displayed where an inspector can readily see them.

In the State land use agricultural district, a nonconforming use certificate for an unhosted rental may be issued only for a single-family dwelling on a lot that existed before June 4, 1976.

The zoning code permits bed and breakfast establishments in the RD, RM, RCX, V, CN, CG, CV and CDH districts. In the RS districts and in the RA, FA and A districts within the State land use urban district, each B&B needs a County use permit. A special permit is also required for any B&B in the State land use rural or agricultural districts. A B&B without the required permits is illegal under the zoning code. Conditions in a B&B's existing use permit continue to apply.

A bed and breakfast must be subordinate and incidental to the operator's use of the property as a residence, and the operator must live on the same building site. A B&B may be in single-family dwellings or guest houses on the site, may have no more than five guest bedrooms and no more than ten guests at a time, and may serve only breakfast, and only to registered guests. The zoning code's definition of a B&B covers stays of less than thirty days.

Unhosted short-term vacation rentals may have no more than five bedrooms for rent on the building site, and B&Bs no more than five guest bedrooms. The Planning Department's registration FAQ says a maximum of 5 bedrooms may be rented on a building site for periods of less than 180 consecutive days, and the bedrooms shown should match County building records.

No more than one accessory dwelling unit on a building site may be used as a transient accommodation rental, and only if there are no other transient accommodation rentals on that building site. Zoning limits on where vacation rentals may operate still apply.

A short-term vacation rental may be set up only in a dwelling that has final approvals from the County building division for building, electrical and plumbing permits. TVR registration also asks for the permit numbers for the rental buildings.

The County zoning code does not invalidate private covenants that prohibit using a unit as a short-term vacation rental, so HOA, condominium or deed restrictions can still bar rentals that zoning would allow.

The Planning Department says the registration law does not cap the number of rentals on the island. Unhosted rentals are limited by where zoning allows them and by the closed nonconforming use certificate window, not by a numerical cap.

For an unhosted short-term vacation rental, the owner or a reachable person must live in the County of Hawaii and be reachable by guests, neighbors and County agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Reachable means answering a phone request within one hour and being physically present at the rental within three hours when asked. The owner must tell the Planning Department about any change to contact details right away. The TVR registration law uses the same one-hour and three-hour standard.

The owner or reachable person of an unhosted rental must make sure activities fit the character of the neighborhood. At a minimum, the following must be prominently displayed in the unit and recited in the rental agreement the guest signs: quiet hours from 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., when noise must not unreasonably disturb neighbors; sound audible beyond the property line at other times no more than is usual in a residential area; and guest vehicles parked in the designated on-site parking area.

Unhosted rentals must meet the County's off-street parking requirements (section 25-4-51), and guest vehicles must use the designated on-site parking area. A B&B must provide one off-street parking stall for each guest bedroom in addition to the stalls required for the home; the stalls must be paved except in the RS, RA, FA and A districts, where other materials that prevent erosion, mud and standing water are allowed.

All print and online advertising of an unhosted rental, including listings with a rental service or real estate firm, must include the County registration or nonconforming use certificate number. The Planning Department says deemed-registered rentals will be sent a TVR registration number to use in ads. A copy of the registration and the reachable person's name and phone number must be displayed on the back of the front door of the sleeping quarters. Hawaii's separate requirement to show the State TAT license number in ads is listed under state rules below.

If the County finds an unregistered TVR operating, the planning director orders the owner to stop until it is registered and to pay a civil fine of $1,000 to $10,000. Where the director considers it necessary, a further fine can be charged for each day the violation continues, up to twice the highest daily rate at which the rental was advertised in the previous twelve months. An unregistered unhosted rental is also an unpermitted use under the zoning code.

Any advertising that offers a property as a short-term vacation rental is prima facie evidence that one is operating there, and the owner must prove otherwise. Under the registration law, the County can rely on an active rental ad, the fact that the property can be booked through a booking service, or transient accommodations tax returns.

The planning director cancels a TVR registration and orders the rental to stop if the rental (including the building or activity on the property) violates any applicable law, if registration information is found to be inaccurate or fraudulent, or if the owner owes delinquent real property or transient accommodations tax or unpaid fees, fines or penalties on the rental. Operating after cancellation counts as failing to register. For hosted rentals, the owner and the host are jointly liable for fines. Planning director decisions can be appealed under the zoning code's appeal procedures.

Hosting platforms that provide booking services for rentals in the County must register with the County ($1,000 fee) and may book only TVRs that are registered (or exempt because of a use permit or special permit) and whose owners consent to the platform's reporting. Platforms report each listing's TMK, State TAT registration number, County registration number and web link every month, and must remove listings the County identifies as unregistered within 30 days of notice. The rules do not apply to owners booking their own rental or to a real estate licensee handling only one rental.

Hawaii County charges its own 3% transient accommodations tax (HCTAT) on the gross rental proceeds and fair market rental value that are taxable under the state TAT law, levied since January 1, 2022 (Ordinance 21-89). Owners registered with the State for TAT are automatically registered for the County TAT, and the State TAT returns (Forms TA-1 and TA-2) filed with the Department of Taxation count as the County return. The County TAT must, however, be paid separately to the County Director of Finance, on the same due dates as the State TAT (by the 20th day of the month after the filing period).

Rental income in Hawaii County is subject to the State general excise tax plus the Hawaii County surcharge of 0.5%, in effect from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2030, for a total of 4.5%. If you pass GET on to guests, the most you may charge is 4.7120%.

Hawaii's transient accommodations tax applies to short-term rentals, meaning rentals of less than 180 consecutive days. It is charged on the gross rental proceeds and is paid to the Hawaii Department of Taxation. Act 96 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2025) raised the rate from 10.25% to 11% for January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030. Rentals of 180 consecutive days or more are not subject to the TAT. Each county also charges its own county TAT, paid directly to the county.

Hawaii's general excise tax is a tax on the business, charged on the gross income from renting real property, whether the rental is short-term or long-term. Gross income includes any GET you visibly pass on to guests. The state rate for renting real property is 4%; the Legislature lets each county add a surcharge of no more than 0.5% on activities taxed at the 4% rate. Owners may pass the GET and any county surcharge on to guests but do not have to; the Department of Taxation publishes the maximum pass-on rate for each county. GET is reported on Forms G-45 (periodic) and G-49 (annual).

The Hawaii Department of Taxation says operators of short-term rentals (less than 180 consecutive days) must register for a GET and TAT license, file periodic and annual GET returns (Forms G-45 and G-49) and TAT returns (Forms TA-1 and TA-2), and pay GET on all gross receipts and TAT on all gross rental proceeds unless an exemption applies. You register with Form BB-1, online through Hawaii Tax Online or by mail or in person with the registration fee. Failing to register for a GET license before doing business carries a $500 fine ($2,000 for a cash-based business). Using a property manager or other rent collector does not relieve the owner of these tax duties.

The Hawaii Department of Taxation fines operators who fail to display their TAT license number on any advertisement, including online listings: at least $500 per day for a first violation, $1,000 per day for a second and $5,000 per day for a third or later violation.

The Department of Taxation says each Hawaii county imposes its own county transient accommodations tax, which is paid directly to the county rather than to the state, and that counties have their own short-term rental rules, including zoning, permits and operating requirements. Check the county where the rental is located.