TRUCKEE, Calif. – The Town of Truckee is excited to announce the launch of its Rooted Renters pilot program on Monday, July 15 at 9 a.m. PDT. Designed to provide long-term stability for the local workforce, Rooted Renters builds on the success of the Lease to Locals program, offering financial incentives to property owners who rent to local workers for up to three years. 

The Rooted Renters program is a collaborative effort between the Town of Truckee and Placemate, Inc., a leader in creating housing solutions for vacation communities. The Town has allocated $1,250,000 for the two-year pilot and will evaluate its effectiveness in addressing the housing needs of the Truckee-North Tahoe region.

The program has been in development for a year and a half, with the team, including CivicSpark AmeriCorps Housing Fellow Anika Kimme, conducting extensive research. Kimme examined a year’s worth of rental listings on Facebook to develop rent caps and incentive amounts tailored to Truckee’s market rates.

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“This is a new, innovative program that only our jurisdiction is doing,” Lynn Baumgartner, the Town of Truckee’s Housing Program Analyst, said. 

Rooted Renters addresses a critical gap in the community by “locking in” existing housing units as workforce housing without the cost and time commitments associated with new construction. “We don’t anticipate this housing program solving our housing crisis, but every step we take makes a real difference for people,” Baumgartner said.  

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The new program is set to create a more stable rental market for the local workforce. “Our hope is that more people will be able to stay in their rental longer and know what their rent is going to be for at least a year,” Baumgartner said. 

Program Highlights:

– Financial Incentives: Property owners can receive total payments ranging from $9,000 to $26,000, distributed in four installments over three years.

– Eligibility: Both new participants and those who have completed their Lease to Locals lease are eligible to apply. Properties must be within Truckee town limits and rented to households earning 150% or less of the area median income, with at least one member working 20 hours or more per week locally.

– Application Process: Preliminary Application Forms will be available exclusively on the Placemate website starting at 9 a.m. PDT on July 15. Early registration of interest does not count as an application, and forms will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

As the community faces ongoing housing challenges, the Rooted Renters Program represents a proactive approach to creating additional housing options for the local workforce. For more information and to apply, visit the Placemate website starting July 15.

Zoe Meyer is a reporter for the Sierra Sun, a sister publication for Tahoe Daily Tribune. She can be reached at zmeyer@sierrasun.com.