On April 1, 2008 the County of Kauai Planning Department issued a press release (you may find it online at kauai.gov) that explained the following regarding transient vacation rentals (TVRs) on Kauai . . .

"A bill recently passed by the County Council requires owners of single- family transient vacation rentals to register their TVRs or apply for a Non-Conforming Use Certificate.

"The application is now available at the Real Property Assessment office located next to the Motor Vehicle Registration office at the Lihue Civic Center. Or, you may download a form from the home page of the County's web site, www.kauai.gov (on the "What's New" section) or www.kauaipropertytax.com (on the forms & handouts page).

"All existing TVRs in Visitor Destination Areas (VDA) must be registered by Sept. 3. All others must apply for a Non-Conforming Use Certificate by Oct. 15 and receive approval by March 30, 2009.

"Applicants are required to submit the following documents:

• A registration form/certificate application.
• A plot plan & building plans, signed & stamped by a Hawaii-licensed architect or engineer, showing all existing structures.
• General excise tax (GET) & transient accommodation tax (TAT) licenses.
• Authorization letter, if applicant is not the owner or a fractional owner of less than 75%, including CPRs (condominium property regimes).

" After registering with the assessment office, applicants are also asked to submit the aforementioned documents along with a copy of "For the Safety & Comfort of You and Your Neighbors" document to the Planning Department.

"Any person, firm, company, association, partnership or corporation found to be in violation of the TVR ordinance will each be assessed a fine of not less than $500 or more than $10,000 for each offense."

For more information, please contact the Real Property Assessment Office at (808) 241-6222 or the Planning Department at (808) 241-6677. Owners who are not sure if their property is in the VDA or not, should call the County Planning Dept.

Known as Ordinance #864, you can read the new bill online at KAVA's (Kauai Alternative Vacation Accommodation Assoc.) Web site http://kavaassociation.org/PDF/4-4-7Bill%202204.pdf

Sources: kauai.gov and kavaassociation.org

Debra A. Jason, RA, ABR

When paradise is calling you, call me!

(808) 826 1846, cell: (808) 635 8031

www.kauaihawaii-realestate.com

dajason@hawaii.rr.com

Vision Realty All Islands Kauai