Hawaii Appeals Court Upholds ‘Non-owner-occupied’ Tax Classification for Wailea Palms Condos

The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed the Tax Appeal Court’s decision to classify condominium units as “Non-owner-occupied” rather than “Apartment” for property tax purposes. The case involved taxpayers who owned units at Wailea Palms challenging a change in their property tax classification, which resulted in higher tax rates. The court found that individual condominium units do not qualify as “multi-dwelling-unit improvements” under the county code, and therefore do not meet the criteria for the “Apartment” classification. Instead, the court ruled that the units were correctly classified as “Non-owner-occupied” based on the plain language of the relevant ordinance. [In re ...