The Town of Mammoth Lakes in partnership with Placemate, Inc. is launching the “Lease to Locals” pilot program - an innovative initiative aimed at addressing the lack of long-term rental housing options in Mammoth Lakes for local workers.
Lease to Locals will build on the tenant-landlord matching efforts already underway by the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce, and streamline the process with the help of Placemate, Inc. This new program will provide up to $18,000 in incentive payments to property owners who convert their housing units from short-term rentals or from sitting largely vacant, into year-round or seasonal rentals for the local workforce.
The Town has allocated $450,000 for one year of funding for the Lease to Locals program and will consider renewing the program based on performance and funding availability.
“The Town is excited to partner with Placemate on this program that will allow for the targeting of higher Area Median Income (AMI) households than other traditional housing financial assistance programs,” stated Nolan Bobroff, Town of Mammoth Lakes Community & Economic Development Director.
Placemate brings a proven track record and operational capacity to the community of Mammoth Lakes.
They operate similar Lease to Locals incentive programs across the country in several resort communities. These include the Tahoe region of California; Ketchum, Idaho; Summit and Eagle counties of Colorado; and Nantucket and Provincetown, Massachusetts.
The programs incentivize long term rentals to full time workers, as an alternative to short term renting. Across the various markets Placemate operates, as of July 2024, they’ve unlocked 570 units and housed 1,290 locals.
“While the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Workforce Housing Program has experienced some success the last few years, we are looking to forward to increased housing offerings for our local workforce through the ‘Lease to Locals’ program,” explains Brianna Goico, Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce President & CEO. “We applaud the Town of Mammoth Lakes for diversifying housing assistance to include those with average median incomes (AMI) above the qualifying threshold of The Parcel.”
Program Details
To qualify, properties must be located within the Town of Mammoth Lakes Urban Growth Boundary, and not have been rented full-time in the past 12 months. Properties are subject to a maximum rental rate based on size; for example, studio apartments may be rented for $1,500 or less per month and properties with two bedrooms have a rent maximum of $2,500 per month.
Property owners who rent their property to “qualified tenants” for a minimum five-month period are eligible for a one-time financial incentive ranging from $2,000 to $18,000, based on the size of their property, the number of qualified tenants they rent to, and the length of the lease. Visit the website for program details.
Local workers searching for a property can create a Renter Profile on the Placemate website. Creating a renter profile is fast, free, and easy, and allows Placemate to match renters to potential homes that fit their criteria.
Tenants and property owners can learn more about the program, and get started by creating their tenant or property owner profiles, by visiting the website or emailing timea@placemate.com.