The debate over vacation rentals hit the courts again on Monday. Judge Michael Seabright denied the Maui Vacation Rental Associations complaint against Maui County. The MVRA was seeking an injunction that would have halted the County’s January 1st shutdown date for any non-permitted vacation rentals outside of resort areas. While Seabright expressed empathy with the MVRA last week, he asked their attorney to provide more legal evidence that the county was violating due process. The MVRA’s case was not strong enough for the judge to support their claims. The judge has not issued a final ruling, but it does not look promising for the MVRA at this point in time. Check out today’s Maui News for a more in depth review of the court proceedings.

With the vacation rental shut down drawing closer, there has been a growing chorus of people calling for the county to back down from their January 1st deadline. The Maui News had a editorial within the last couple of weeks calling for the county to hold off on the shut down. Today’s paper had guest viewpoint from Native Hawaiian Cultural Rights Activist Ed Lindsey. Lindsey argues that county policy makers do not realize the true impact of the shut down. He points out that the crack down on vacation rentals has already hurt businesses and families in Paia, Makawao, Haiku and Hana. Lindsey calls for county council to become involved in the process and work towards an equitable solution for all parties.

We will continue to provide updates on the vacation rental situation on THE Maui Real Estate Blog.