Short-Term Rental Laws in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Kailua-Kona sits in Hawaii County (the Big Island). Hawaii County's 2019 ordinance (Bill 108) created the Short-Term Vacation Rental (STVR) registration system and effectively grandfathered existing STRs in residential zones while preventing new STRs in those zones. New STRs are permitted only in V (Resort), CG (General Commercial), CV (Village Commercial), and the resort-overlay districts unless the operator holds a Nonconforming Use Certificate (NUC) issued before 2019. NUCs are tied to the parcel and the original-operator continuity test — buying a property with an NUC requires careful diligence to ensure the certificate transfers. The Kona resort-condo inventory (Kona Reef, Royal Kona Resort, Casa de Emdeko, Kona Coast Resort, etc.) carries most of the new legal STR capacity. Single-family residential parcels without a pre-2019 NUC are effectively banned from STR.

Hawaii County legal STR inventory: V (Resort), CG/CV (Commercial), resort-overlay PUDs in Kailua-Kona, Keauhou, Waikoloa Beach Resort, and Mauna Lani Resort areas. Residential zones (RS, RM, A-1A, A-2A) effectively closed to new STRs unless operator holds a transferable NUC. NUC due-diligence is the #1 acquisition risk — confirm transferability with Hawaii County Planning before any offer. The neighboring Kohala Coast resort areas (Waikoloa, Mauna Lani, Mauna Kea) are master-planned resorts with significant legal STR capacity. Hilo (east side) has a parallel framework with very limited resort zoning and most parcels effectively no-STR.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Hawaii County Planning Department + DOTAX jointly enforce. Operating an unregistered STR: civil penalty + back-GET + back-TAT + administrative fines escalating per day. NUC validity is re-verified at annual registration renewal — any break in continuous operation (vacancy, lease conversion) risks NUC voidance. Hawaii County cross-references Airbnb/Vrbo against the STVR registry. The 2024 county Council has been actively reviewing NUC enforcement standards in response to housing-supply pressure.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Kailua-Kona is approximately 17.420% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Hawaii State General Excise Tax 4.166% + Hawaii Transient Accommodations Tax 10.25% + Hawaii County TAT 3% — combined ~17.42% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.