Hawaii lawmakers take aim at vacation rentals after Lahaina wildfire amplifies Maui housing crisis
HONOLULU (AP) — A single mother of two, Amy Chadwick spent years scrimping and saving to buy a house in the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. But after a devastating fire leveled Lahaina in August and reduced Chadwick’s home to white dust, the cheapest rental she could find for her family and dogs cost $10,000 a month.
Chadwick, a fine-dining server, moved to Florida where she could stretch her homeowners insurance dollars. She’s worried Maui’s exorbitant rental prices, driven in part by vacation rentals that hog a limited housing supply, will hollow out her tight-knit town.
Most people in Lahaina work for hotels, restaurants and tour companies and can’t afford $5,000 to $10,000 a month in rent, she said.
“You’re pushing out an entire community of service industry people. So no one’s going to be able to support the tourism that you’re putting ahead of your community,” Chadwick said by phone from her new home in Satellite Beach on Florida’s Space Coast. “Nothing good is going to come of it unless they take a serious stance, putting their foot down and really regulating these short-term rentals.”
Related articles
- The Met Gala is arguably fashion's biggest night of the year - but several celebrities stepping out2024-05-08
Bookings for cultural, culinary travels surge ahead of Spring Festival
As the countdown to the Spring Festival continues, China is experiencing a surge in advance bookings2024-05-08Nepali mountain guide climbs Mt. Qomolangma 26th time
Kami Rita Sherpa, a well-known Nepali mountain guide, broke his own record on Saturday by climbing t2024-05-08- South Korea will lift a post-arrival test requirement for travelers from China next month as the COV2024-05-08
- Two friends decided to embark on a 500-mile trip in toy cars with their hearts set on achieving a ne2024-05-08
This congresswoman was born and raised in Ukraine. She just voted against aid for her homeland
SHERIDAN, Ind. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, the first and only Ukrainian-born member of Congres2024-05-08
atest comment