Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 6 votes
Does anyone have clear info on this topic? According to most of the info I can find online & in the law itself it seems that if it's really your primary residence, the law doesn't apply.
But I've been told by a couple realtors that it's not legal. Is there something I'm missing? Any investor friendly realtors/originators out there have the scoop?
@Aaron Wisch here’s the actual law linked below. Hosted STVRs are exempt but as @Paul Winchell pointed out be very mindful of HOA developments. Several large HOAs are actively trying to block them so do your homework.
I just spoke to my agent again about this. She knows at least half a dozen people doing exactly this right now on the Kona side of the island. Ohana (mother-in-law style) studio units are extremely common and it is common practice to live in the main house and rent the ohana (short or long term). She thinks it's a bit of a grey area -- not specifically defined by the new code and thus left to interpretation. So perhaps the agents you spoke to are just erring on the side of caution. There would seem to be some risk to consider that even if it is not restricted now, that the county could step in at some point and redefine the rule, specifically ruling out "hosted" STVRs.
My agent does a lot of business in Waikoloa -- both the village and the resort area. She says the Waikoloa Village Association is currently taking steps to write their own code in the CCRs to disallow hosted STVRs, which also lends credibility to the idea that the county itself is not enforcing against hosted rentals currently (if the county was restricting them, there would be no need for the HOA to write their own code). Always check to make sure your property isn't governed by any CCRs that restrict use, and that aren't managed by active HOA's that are likely to change the rules after you buy.
Of course, if you want to be sure, you could always call the County of Hawaii Planning Department directly. If you do, I'd love to hear what they have to say.
@Paul Winchell Thanks for the info. I know at some point it can cross into the realm of an actual bnb, but I think for in-law apartments it's fine. I do plan on calling the county next week so I'll let you guys know what I find out.
@Aaron Wisch here’s the actual law linked below. Hosted STVRs are exempt but as @Paul Winchell pointed out be very mindful of HOA developments. Several large HOAs are actively trying to block them so do your homework.
I was just reading up on this the other day - from what I remember the big island doesn't have the same restrictions as the other islands for stvr. Here is an in depth article for each island what areas are allowed etc etc https://realhawaii.co/blog/air...