"Registering does not authorize a use the Zoning Code does not allow." That line sits in the middle of the public information sheet Hawaii County Council members put out before registration opened. It's the most useful sentence a Keauhou condo buyer can read this fall.
On September 1, 2026, Hawaii County began requiring owners of hosted and unhosted transient vacation rentals to register through an online portal. The law's definition of a transient vacation rental is what matters for anyone pricing a Keauhou condo around rental income. Ordinance 25-50 covers a furnished dwelling rented to a transient for "a rental period less than one hundred and eighty consecutive days." A winter rental of two, three, or five months falls inside that window.
Two definitions now apply to the same condo
The county's 2019 vacation-rental zoning law, Bill 108, defines a short-term vacation rental as a dwelling not occupied by its owner that is rented for "thirty consecutive days or less." That definition hasn't changed. A monthly rental of a Keauhou condo now sits in a gap. It's too long to count as a short-term rental under zoning, but short enough to count as a transient rental for registration and lodging tax.
| Rule | Rental length it reaches | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Bill 108 zoning, County Code Chapter 25 | 30 consecutive days or less | Where unhosted short-term rentals may legally operate |
| Ordinance 25-50 registration, in effect Sept. 1, 2026 | Less than 180 consecutive days | Whether the rental must carry a county registration number |
| State Department of Taxation | Less than 180 consecutive days | Whether general excise tax and transient accommodations tax licensing and returns apply |
Registration costs $250 for a hosted rental and $500 for an unhosted one. The County Council passed Bill 175, which keeps the registration window open through the end of 2026 as a grace period. Enforcement after that is serious. The information sheet lists fines of $1,000 to $10,000 or more for operating an unregistered rental, based on nightly rates, and continued violations can bring daily penalties, court action, and liens on the property.
How the county will find unregistered rentals matters more than the fine amounts. Booking platforms must register with the county for $1,000, report their Hawaii Island listings every month with TMK and registration numbers, show registration numbers on listings, and remove unregistered listings when ordered. Advertising a property as a vacation rental is treated as evidence that it is operating as one. Council member Heather Kimball has said the county is "failing to collect about $12 million annually" in transient accommodations tax, citing an economic study, and that collecting it is one of the goals.
The ordinance does leave one open question. It excludes rental activity "subject to" Hawaii's residential landlord-tenant code, HRS Chapter 521, and the county guidance we reviewed doesn't explain how that exclusion applies to an ordinary furnished snowbird lease. Until the county clarifies it, treat it as open, and get advice on your specific lease rather than assuming you're exempt.
What the Alii Drive zoning map shows
Zoning is where Keauhou differs from much of the island, and the news is mostly good for condo owners. Bill 108 allows unhosted short-term rentals in V resort, CG, and CV districts, in areas the General Plan designates Resort or Resort Node, and in RM multifamily zoning for units within a condominium property regime.
We checked the county's zoning GIS layer at the address points of several Keauhou and Alii Drive complexes. Here's what came back:
- Keauhou Kona Surf & Racquet Club, 78-6800 Alii Drive: RM-3
- Keauhou Gardens, 78-6842 Alii Drive: RM-2
- Country Club Villas, 78-6920 Alii Drive: RM-2
- Keauhou Punahele, 78-7070 Alii Drive: RM-2
- Kona Bali Kai, 76-6233 Alii Drive, further north toward town: V-1.25
- Casa de Emdeko, 75-6082 Alii Drive: V-1.5
All of these are districts Bill 108 names. Even so, the county says its GIS zoning layer is a planning guide, not the official legal zoning map, and should be verified with the Planning Department. An address point is a single dot on a map, not a ruling on the whole parcel. RM eligibility also depends on the building being within a condominium property regime, and Bill 108 keeps in place any private covenants that prohibit short-term rental use.
In RM- and V-zoned Keauhou buildings, then, the question has shifted. For years the main question was whether a building could legally rent nightly. Now buyers also need to know whether this specific unit is registered, whether the association allows the rental pattern they have in mind, and whether the taxes are filed.
The proposed amendment that shows where the county is heading
Bill 147, introduced by Kimball, would bring the zoning code in line with registration. It would use the 180-day standard for rental terms, remove use-permit requirements for hosted rentals that meet certain standards, expand the zoning districts where short-term rentals are allowed, and add management standards and fines. The Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development deferred it on September 15. It's scheduled to come up again on October 6. After committee, it still needs at least two full Council hearings before it can become law, and the details may change.
A proposed amendment dated August 27, 2026 shows what the county expects to happen to monthly rentals if the 180-day definition reaches zoning. For districts outside the permitted list, it would allow an STVR to operate with a use permit if:
"At any time between April 1, 2019, and the effective date of this ordinance, the building site was in use as an STVR available exclusively for rental periods more than thirty days and less than one hundred eighty days"
Sites permitted this way could not be rented for 30 days or less.
That's still proposed text. But if a property needs grandfathering to keep renting by the month, then without it, monthly rentals in unpermitted districts would become short-term rentals that zoning doesn't allow. For condos in RM or V zoning, that risk is lower, because Bill 147's Planning Department recommendation keeps RM and V among the permitted districts. The amendment matters more for Keauhou-area properties outside those districts. It also suggests that a documented rental history could carry legal weight.
The tax math changes with the length of the stay
Under state rules, any rental of less than 180 consecutive days is a short-term rental for general excise tax and transient accommodations tax purposes. Act 96 raised the state transient accommodations tax from 10.25% to 11% on January 1, 2026. Hawaii County adds its own 3% county TAT. A four-month winter lease is in the same tax bracket as a four-night stay.
Property tax runs the other way. The county's FY2026–27 rate table, covering July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, has no separate vacation-rental class. Rates per $1,000 of assessed value are $11.70 for Apartment, $11.55 for Hotel/Resort, Residential tiers of $11.10, $14.50, and $17.00, and $7.75 for Long-Term Rental. The Long-Term Rental rate requires a lease of six consecutive months or more to the same tenants. Any rental of less than six months during the calendar year breaches the program.
Here's a hypothetical. On a unit assessed at $500,000, the Long-Term Rental rate works out to $3,875 a year, and the Apartment rate works out to $5,850. A monthly rental plan can't qualify for the lower figure. Which class a particular Keauhou unit is in depends on its assessment, so confirm it with the Real Property Tax Division.
What to ask for before you write an offer
- Ask for official zoning verification by TMK. The West Hawaii Planning Department office is at 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway in Kailua-Kona, (808) 323-4770.
- Ask for the unit's registration status. Rentals that were already registered as STVRs, or that hold a nonconforming use certificate, are deemed registered and receive a registration number to use in ads. A whole-home rental that was never registered in a non-permitted area can't be fixed by registering now, because the 2018 window for nonconforming use certificates has closed. A registration doesn't stay with the unit indefinitely after a sale. It expires 90 days after a change in ownership, and the new owner has to register again within that time or the rental becomes unregistered.
- Read the association's house rules alongside the bylaws. Kanaloa at Kona's posted house rules, for example, allow rentals, set guest occupancy limits, and require notice to the managing agent at least 48 hours before renters arrive. Every association sets its own rules, and a minimum rental term can appear in governing documents other than the house rules.
- Ask for rental history records. Under the proposed Bill 147 amendment, a record of exclusively 31- to 179-day rentals since April 2019 could decide whether a property qualifies for a use permit.
- Confirm property taxes are current. County taxes on the parcel must be current to register.
Questions buyers ask about the new rules
Does a lease of exactly 180 days count? No. Ordinance 25-50 covers rentals of less than 180 consecutive days, and the county's information sheet says tenants who stay 180 days or longer are outside the program. Some news coverage says "180 days or less." The ordinance wording is the one that controls.
Does registering make a rental legal? No. The ordinance says a registration number grants no right or privilege and doesn't remove any obligation under other laws.
Will the Kamehameha Schools plan for Keauhou Bay change rental rules nearby? Nothing in the plan changes condo rental rules. Kamehameha Schools has proposed 150 guest units on eight of its 25 resort-zoned acres. Big Island Now reported in June 2026 that a lawsuit challenging the environmental review was ongoing, and that the project would not happen for at least five to ten years, depending on permits.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. If you're weighing a Keauhou condo and want to know how its zoning, association rules, and registration status fit the rental plan you have in mind, Aloha Kona Realty Inc can help. Our vacation-rental management team works with these rules every day, and we're happy to go through a specific unit with you before you make an offer. Contact Us.
