The Minatoya List Explained: What Every Maui Condo Buyer Needs to Know

If you're shopping for a condo on Maui, you're going to run into this term sooner or later: the Minatoya List. It sounds bureaucratic (it is), but understanding it could be the difference between buying a condo that can legally operate as a vacation rental and one that can't — which affects everything from your rental income potential to your financing to what you can eventually sell it for.

Here's what it is, why it matters right now in 2026, and what to check before you write an offer.

What Is the Minatoya List?

Back in 2001, a Maui County attorney named Richard Minatoya issued a legal memo to clear up confusion about where short-term vacation rentals could legally operate. His opinion: condos zoned as apartments (A-1 or A-2, meaning they were never technically zoned for hotel or resort use) could still legally operate as short-term rentals, as long as they were already doing so before the county passed an ordinance on April 20, 1989 restricting new short-term rental permits in apartment-zoned districts.

That memo got folded into county practice, and the properties it covers have been known as the Minatoya List ever since. It's essentially a “grandfather clause”: these buildings don't have hotel zoning, but they've been allowed to operate like hotels because they were doing it before the rules changed.

Why It Matters

The list covers roughly 7,000 condo units across Maui, concentrated in West Maui (Lahaina, Kaanapali, Napili, Kahana, Honokowai, Kapalua) and the South Side (Kihei, Wailea) and Ma'alaea. If you're buying a condo in one of these areas with the intention of renting it out short-term, whether or not that specific building is on the list is the single most important thing to confirm before you make an offer — not the view, not the amenities, not the price per square foot.

Two condos on the same street or block, or right next door to each other, can have completely different rental rights depending on their zoning history. That's not something you can tell by looking at a listing photo.

What's Changed in 2026

This is where it gets more urgent. In December 2025, the County Council passed Bill 9 (now Ordinance 5909) — the largest short-term rental phase-out in Hawaii's history. Under this law, Minatoya List properties will be required to stop operating as short-term rentals by January 1, 2029 in West Maui, and January 1, 2031 for the rest of the county.

There's a wrinkle, though: in June 2026, the county also passed Bill 88 (Ordinance 6008), which created new Hotel District zoning classifications (H-3 and H-4) that offer a potential rezoning pathway for some of the affected buildings to keep their short-term rental rights. Confused yet? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Whether a given property qualifies for that pathway is still being worked out building by building, and it's exactly the kind of detail that can make or break a purchase decision if rental income is part of your plan.

What This Means If You're Buying

If a vacation rental income stream is part of why you're buying a Maui condo, here's what I'd tell you to check before you get too far into the process:

Confirm whether the specific building is on the official Minatoya List (the County of Maui keeps the current version on file, and I can help pull it for any property you're considering). Ask whether the building's HOA or ownership group has pursued or discussed the Bill 88 rezoning pathway. And think through your timeline — a property with rental rights that sunset in 2029 or 2031 is a very different investment than one with no expiration in sight.

None of this means you shouldn't buy a Minatoya List condo. Plenty of these units make sense as a personal home, a long-term rental or even a short-term rental for the years of income they have left. It just means going in with clear eyes about what you're actually buying.

If you're weighing a condo purchase on Maui and want to know exactly where a property stands, reach out — I'm happy to walk through it with you.

*This post is for general information purposes and isn't legal advice. Zoning status, permits, and county ordinances can change; always verify current details with Maui County and your own attorney before making a purchase decision.