Aloha WB Owners,

 

With the passing of Ord 22-07 which includes our carve out, short term rentals (STR) are permitted at the Waikiki Banyan subject to having a valid NUC or STR permit issued by DPP.

  1. You may not rent nor even advertise your unit(s) for rent for periods of less than 30 days unless you have a current, valid NUC or until you have registered your unit with DPP as a short-term rental (STR) and have received your approval with your STR permit number.
  2. You may NOT rent or advertise while registration is in progress.
  3. Your STR or NUC must be renewed annually, and you must provide your permit number and the renewal information to the AOAO office each year.
  4. The unit owner is fully and solely responsible for fulfilling all requirements of short-term rental registration and for following all pertinent rules and laws.

 

ORD22-007 https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpp/dpp_docs/ORD22-007.pdf

 

The Waikiki Banyan House Rules require owners to always act and operate in a legal manner.  This includes full compliance with City & County Short Term Rental Ordinance 22-7 and any other applicable laws.

 

  1. Under our House Rules, all owners (or their agents) are required to annually declare how their unit is being used (residence, vacation home, short-term or long-term rental) and to provide evidence of legality in the case of a short term rental by providing up-to-date STR registration or NUC information.
  2. The unit registration form must be filed with the AOAO office no later than January 31 of each year and include the STR/NUC registration number and the expiry date. If this form has not been submitted, you (or your agent) will be asked to provide this information prior to picking up your unit parking pass for the following year.
  3. Owners who are found to be non-compliant with the STR law will be issued a warning letter (copied to their rental agent of record) giving them two weeks to initiate registration AND to halt advertising and renting their unit until registration is complete and evidence of such is provided to the AOAO office.
  4. If this corrective action is not taken, fines will be levied against the unit owner under our House Rules.

 

Especially important for Banyan owners:

 

  1. A smoke detector is required in each room in which sleeping accommodation is provided, plus hallways. The Banyan originally provided a smoke detector in the living room only. The owner will need to replace and/or install additional smoke detectors as necessary to comply.
  2. In addition, all units at the Waikiki Banyan have been fitted with sprinkler heads and hardwired loudspeakers that are part of our building fire alarm system as required by law. DO NOT, MOVE, ALTER, HANG ITEMS FROM, TAMPER WITH, PAINT OR OTHERWISE MODIFY, THE LOUDSPEAKERS OR THE SPRINKLERS in your unit as this will cause a general alarm in the building with the fire department responding along with possible sprinkler activation and will result in a $500 fine to the owner plus repair and remediation costs.
  3. Occupancy in any unit at the Waikiki Banyan used as a STR is limited by law to four (4) adults; two only in the bedroom plus two in the living room if an additional bed such as a sofa bed is provided.
  4. Please also note the requirements for guest registration, record-keeping, providing the informational binder with the House Rules regarding behavior and quiet hours and the legal limitations on gathering size as detailed in the STR registration and renewal requirements.

 

Registration information:

The Waikiki Banyan AOAO is prohibited from giving legal or financial advice. The following information, while it represents our best efforts to be timely, helpful, and accurate, cannot be guaranteed and must be used at your own risk. The Waikiki Banyan AOAO assumes no liability under any legal theory whatsoever for returned or denied registrations or for any damages of any sort, whether direct, indirect, consequential, special, or otherwise, arising out of the use of this information, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

 

STR registration must be done on-line at the City & County of Honolulu DPP registration site.

Step by step instructions and other information can be found at https://www.honolulu.gov/dpp/permitting/short-term-rentals.html?fbclid=IwAR2RknigdkIALivj4BiCj6h131glrKRmE2wm-rX0UhSdxgAGlqfBTRfp5uA

While we have summarized the requirements below, the C&C site will always have the latest information and is the one upon which to rely.

 

 

Required Documentation

 

Initial registration for a STR permit:

A list of all the documents required for first time registration can be found here:

https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpp/str/STR_Registration_Req_Summary__Checklist.pdf

 

** Title report:

  1. a title report, or
  2. a copy of the real property tax records listed on the department of budget and fiscal services property records search website, or
  3. a copy of a deed or conveyance document showing all owners of the property.

This is provided by the owner. Your agent or realtor can probably help with this.

 

** Licenses:

You must maintain valid, current licenses for your STR property. These are distinct licenses and are provided by the owner.

  1.  State of Hawaii General Excise (GET) tax license, and
  2. Transient Accommodations (TAT) tax license, and
  3. City and County Transient Accommodations (OTAT) tax license

 

** Proof of $1,000,000 in general liability insurance.

This is provided by the owner.

The owner must always maintain a minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence via:

  1. commercial general liability insurance, or
  2. homeowner’s insurance with business liability coverage. Additional homeowner’s insurance umbrella coverage to meet the $1,000,000 in homeowner’s insurance business liability coverage is also acceptable, or
  3. proof of insurance through coverage offered by a hosting platform such as AirBnB or VRBO provided the insurance coverage satisfies the minimum requirements.

 

** A letter from the Apartment Owner’s Association (AOAO) dated no more than one year prior to the date of the registration application confirming that transient vacation rentals are permitted. The AOAO has provided this for you below and you may use this for your registration.

 

 

** Informational binder

The owner or operator shall create a binder that must be always kept in the unit. The binder must provide guidance to occupants on being respectful of neighbors and responding to emergencies. The binder must be made available for inspection by DPP upon request. At a minimum, the binder must include the following:

  1. Floor plan;
  2. Parking plan;
  3. Trash collection/disposal instructions;
  4. House rules’ quiet hours;
  5. Emergency contacts;
  6. Copies of general excise tax and transient accommodation tax licenses; and
  7. A copy of the STR registration certificate or nonconforming use (NUC) certificate.

 

See below for explanation of each item and the documents we have provided.

 

  1. Floor plan:

A floor plan of the unit identifying the location of the bedroom and the living room sofa bed (if applicable), the maximum occupancy of each sleeping area (2 in bedroom, 2 in living room for a maximum of 4), and the location of all fire exits. We have provided a fire exit plan for both towers below, but you will need to provide a floor plan of your own unit with the required sleeping area information.

 

Waikiki Banyan Fire Exit Plan March 2023 T1          Waikiki Banyan Fire Exit Plan March 2023 T2

For more information enter the Waikiki Banyan Owner Forum or email info@waikikibanyan.org

 

 

  1. Parking plan:

We have provided a statement about our parking plan, together with a drawing below.

 

Short-Term Rental Parking Plan

Parking for short-term renters is provided in the on-site parking structure on floors 2 through 5. A parking pass is required. Each short-term rental unit owner has one parking pass and at the option of the owner or rental agent this pass may be provided to the short-term renter. Alternatively, the renter may pay for daily parking privileges. There are no reserved parking places, but the garage has 932 parking places, enough to accommodate short-term renters.

WB Parking A100 SITE PLAN-A

For more information enter the Waikiki Banyan Owner Forum or email info@waikikibanyan.org

 

 

  1. Trash collection:

Trash disposals chutes are provided in trash rooms at the end of each floor. Trash chutes may be used seven days a week between 8 AM and 10 PM. Trash that does not go into the chutes is collected daily from trash rooms. The hour of collection is not fixed and depends upon the workload of the cleaning staff.

 

  1. Quiet hours:

House Rules stating that quiet hours are between the hours of 10:00pm and 7:00am.

Refer to the House Rules found on this website, which should be included in the information binder. Our house rules prohibit disturbing noises at all hours, not just between 10:00PM and 7:00AM.

HouseRules_rev10.27.22. 5.18 change docx

For more information enter the Waikiki Banyan Owner Forum or email info@waikikibanyan.org

 

 

  1. Emergency contacts:

A list of emergency contacts must be provided in the binder and must include:

  1.  a 24-hour a day telephone number for the owner or operator, and
  2. 911 identified as the emergency telephone number, and
  3. the website address for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. The Hawaii Emergency Management website is currently:  https://dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/

We also suggest including the phone number for Waikiki Banyan Security at (808) 380-4870 or  808-922-7172 Opt#1.

 

  1. Copy of the General Excise (GET) and Transient Accommodations (TAT) tax licenses. These are provided by the owner.

 

  1. Copy of the STR registration certificate or NUC.

 

 

8.** Statement of Compliance:

An attestation by the owner stating that the unit:

(i) Is not an affordable unit subject to income restrictions;

(ii) Did not receive housing or rental assistance subsidies; and

(iii) Was not subject to an eviction within the last 12 months.

 

The Statement of Compliance attestation is provided on the STR registration site here:

https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpp/str/Statement_of_Compliance.pdf

 

 

 

Annual renewal of a STR permit:

A list of all the documents required for the annual renewal of a STR permit can be found here:

 https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpp/str/STR_Renewal_Req_Summary__Checklist.pdf

 

** Real Property Tax Clearance

  1. a tax clearance certificate issued by the department of budget and fiscal services, or
  2. a copy of the real property tax records listed on the department of budget and fiscal services property records website verifying that property taxes were assessed at the proper (STR) tax rate required by Section 8-7.1 and paid in full during the preceding tax year

 

** Other tax clearance certificates:

  1. a) a tax clearance certificate issued by the State department of taxation, or
  1. b) a copy of the GET and TAT payment records from the State department of taxation tax online website verifying the payment of GET and TAT taxes during the previous tax year, and

 

  1. a) a tax clearance certificate issued by the department of budget and fiscal services or
  1. b) a copy of the Oahu transient accommodations (OTAT) tax payment records listed on the department of budget and fiscal services payment portal verifying the payment of OTAT taxes during the previous tax year

 

Proof of insurance coverage and the letter from the AOAO stating that STRs are permitted are no longer required for renewals unless specifically requested by DPP.

 

 

Common Questions

 

* Do I have to register my unit?

As stated at the beginning of this page, if you do short-term rentals, the answer is “yes.” You may neither rent nor advertise your unit(s) for rent for periods of less than 30 days unless you have a current, valid NUC or until you have registered your unit with DPP as a short-term rental (STR).

 

* How do I find my tax map key?

This is found on your property tax bill. You can also look it up online at City and County of Honolulu Public Access (qpublic.net)

 

* Where can I get a title report?

While the requirement for a title report has been replaced by other options, there may still be some circumstances in which a title report is needed. Some owners have reported ordering title reports from SERVICES | Title Guaranty (tghawaii.com). There are numerous other companies which can also provide this service. The AOAO is prohibited from recommending a specific company.

 

* Do I have a NUC and what is its status?

You can look this up online at:  https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpp/dpp_docs/nucs-by-tmk.pdf

 

* May I continue to rent my unit while my registration is in progress?

No. You may not advertise or rent your unit as a STR until you have received your approval from DPP with your STR Permit number. Both NUC and STR permits must be renewed every year.

 

STR permits must be renewed no earlier than three months prior to the expiration and no later than one month prior to expiration of the registration certificate. While you should get an email from DPP prior to your renewal date, it is not a certainty, and it is not clear if DPP is notifying all STR owners about expiring registrations. If your registration expires before you renew, you will have to register again starting from scratch. It is your responsibility to renew your STR permit or your NUC every year on time regardless of whether you receive a reminder. We strongly advise you to keep track of the expiration date so that you are not reliant on any reminders from DPP.

 

Please note that NUCs must now be renewed annually beginning in September 2024.

NUC renewal is between September 1 and October 15 of each year and the renewal process must be completed by October 15 of every year. Failure to renew will result in automatic loss of the NUC.