Anyone who has tried to find a year-round rental in Narragansett knows the frustration: plenty of houses sit empty all winter, only to fill up with summer renters paying far more than most working families can afford. That tension was front and center Thursday night, when the Narragansett Town Council spent a special work session questioning executives from a company that wants to run the town's proposed Homeowner Rental Incentive Program.
As a reporter who lives here and writes for neighbors, not tourists, I know how many of us have watched this debate play out over backyard fences and at the transfer station. This meeting, held over Zoom and later posted as a recording by the Narragansett Town Council Work, was the council's first chance to question a vendor directly. Town Council President Alexander Menzies said it was a new format for the board, and no vote was taken. He said the council looks forward to continuing the conversation.
The company, which markets its program as Lease to Locals, was founded in 2019 in Truckee, California, and has seven employees. Its chief executive and co-founder told the council the company runs 15 similar programs nationally, including five in Massachusetts, and has helped house more than 2,000 people in over 900 properties. In Truckee itself, the program has run since 2020 and housed 660 people in more than 250 units, with an average one-time incentive of about $7,600 paid in two installments over a year.
Menzies pressed the executive on what stops owners from pocketing the incentive and returning to short-term rentals later. The executive said the program is not meant for every homeowner and targets those for whom conversion already makes sense, citing a roughly 70% national retention rate after the one-time payment. Multi-year incentives are possible, the executive said, noting that Provincetown and Nantucket already use them.
Council members James Durkin and Ryan Torrealday pushed on other details: rent caps tied to unit size, a 120% area median income limit for tenant households, and the requirement that units be a renter's primary residence, not an existing long-term rental. The company does not run background checks itself but recommends owners do so. Durkin also asked whether local residents could get priority for units, and the executive said that would likely run afoul of the Fair Housing Act.
The executive said a Narragansett pilot could launch in spring, aiming for 20 to 30 converted units in the first year, with individual conversions possible in as little as 20 to 30 days in ideal cases.
What it means for residents
No contract has been awarded. Menzies asked the company to share its presentation slides so the town can post them in its newsletter and on its website for residents to review. He also thanked the vice chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Collaborative for bringing the proposal forward. For now, the program remains under discussion, with the council expected to keep weighing whether it can meaningfully add year-round housing stock without simply paying for temporary fixes.
Source: Uprise RI
Our last article on this: One Dead Aboard Boat That Departed From Block Island
