New Rental Units Added on Kauai

Ordinance 1026 is a bold move responding to the lack of long-term rental housing inventory on Kauai. The County has announced an amendment to its County Code 1987, allowing the building of new rental units as an addition to existing rental dwellings in an attempt to provide more affordable rentals. The new rental units to be permitted for construction will come with strict compliance regulation governing how and where they can be built and is focused heavily on alleviating some pressure off the rapidly increasing rents and limited inventory island wide. It may take some time to actually get these units to market but before initiating, here are some key points for owners to consider:

• Only one unit may be added. It must be in a residential zoning district and is to be built within an existing long term rental units property, attached or detached from the primary unit.
• The additional rental unit must include a kitchen, bedroom(s), bathroom facilities and is limited to a total maximum area of 800 square feet, excluding unenclosed areas as lanais, porches or breezeways.
• The new units must have availability of water and public sewer or private waste management systems.
• An additional off street parking space must be provided and the unit must be accessed by a paved road.
• The Kauai Fire Department and other county offices will need to be notified and approval received to complete the Clearance Form prior to submitting the actual application.
• New units are prohibited from Tsunami Evacuation Zones West of the Hanalei River as consideration of the lack of evacuation infrastructure in those specific areas.

This new ordinance can easily be seen as a win-win for all, with much needed new rental inventory and investors of long term rental units potentially converting to Multi-Family Dwellings thereby maximizing their ROI. Does your property qualify? How would a new unit impact your property value or return? Contact me for further details on the ordinance or to discuss potential strategies to leverage your investment.

It’s great to see the county taking action to support the continuous growth of our community.