Mammoth Lakes Lease to Locals Program Details

1. Property requirements:
   1. The property must be located within the Town’s Urban Growth Boundary.
   2. The property must be a single-family home, condo, townhome, mobile home, accessory dwelling unit, or a single room or group of rooms in an owner-occupied property,
      1. Multi-family apartment properties with two or more units must demonstrate that the unit applying to participate in the Program has been continuously operated as a licensed short-term rental unit over the past 12 months. Hotels and motels are not eligible for the  Program. 
   3. The property cannot have been leased long-term in the past 12 months, even if it was on a month-to-month basis.
   4. The property cannot be rented to family members. 
   5. The maximum rent per month (excluding utilities) that can be charged is based on unit size (see below chart). Please note that a loft can be considered a bedroom:

      Unit Size	Rent cap per month
      Private Room	$1,200
      Studio	$1,800
      1BD	$2,040
      2BD	$3,000
      3BD+	$4,200

   6. Additional Charges to Monthly Rent –  Any recurring charges in addition to rent or standard utilities may be counted toward the Program rent cap. All fees listed on a lease (including rent, utilities, and other charges) are subject to review and approval by the Program Administrator. Any fees deemed unreasonable or viewed as an attempt to circumvent the rent cap must be remedied prior to acceptance into the Program.
2. Incentive amount:
   1. Incentives are based on lease length and the number of Qualified Tenants:    
      
   2. Incentive amount is capped at four (4) Qualified Tenants.
   3. There is a limit of one grant per Property for the life of the Program. 
3. Qualified Household and Tenant criteria:
   1. At least 50% of the household must be a Qualified Tenant.
   2. A Qualified Tenant is an adult over 18 currently employed an average of at least 30 or more hours per week, or who meets full-time employment equivalency with employer verification, based out of or at a site within the Mammoth Unified School District geographical boundary, who is not of blood relation to the Property Owner.
   3. The average annual income of all adult residents of a household (related or unrelated) cannot exceed 150% AMI for Mono County (the 2025 150% AMI limit for a 1-person household is $124,450).
   4. Dependent children will count as one (1) additional Qualified Tenant, for every two children, rounded down when necessary. Three children will count as two (2) Qualified Tenants.
4.  Applications for the Lease to Locals program must be submitted within 60 days of the start of the lease.
5. The Lease to Locals program is focused on housing creation, as such, each property may participate in the Lease to Locals program one time. There are no additional incentives after year one.

Mammoth Lakes Lease to Locals Program Process

1. Determine if you are going to rent seasonally (5-11 months) or long-term (12+ months), list the property for rent, and start screening tenants.
   1. To post your property on our Listings Page and connect with renters in our database, reach out to your Placemate representative.
      1. Note, renters in our database have not pre-applied for the Lease to Locals program. They will still need to be qualified based on the steps laid out in this intake packet.
   2. Additional listing site suggestions are at the bottom of this page.
2. Verify that the group you select qualifies for the Lease to Locals program before passing them onto Placemate as directed in step 3. Required documents from each tenant (regardless of qualification) 18 years or older:
   1. A copy of a government issued photo ID
   2. Employment documentation (any one of the following 3 options, as applicable):
      1. Two (2) pay stub covering the most recent 90-day period, OR;
      2. A signed employer or offer letter; OR
      3. If self-employed, required documents include:
         1. A valid business license registered to a local address
         2. If the business has been operational for more than 1 year
            1. Most recent tax returns, OR; 
         3. If the business has been operating for less than one year, is off the books, or tenant is self-employed via gig work
            1. Internal P&L, OR;
            2. Employer letter, OR;
            3. Recent Contracts that show volume of work/pay
3. Email your Placemate rep your tenants’ contact information (name, email, phone, number of children – if applicable), so they can send them a Lease to Locals tenant application to collect the documents described above. It helps if you let them know we’ll be reaching out.
4. Sign a lease agreement (It is entirely your decision when to sign a lease: before or after the tenants have completed their Lease to Locals application and we verify eligibility).
5. Complete the property owner application, which is a 2-step process:
   1. Fill out a Property Owner Lease Summary form, which gathers basic info about your property and lease, and requires that you upload a fully executed Lease Agreement.
   2. Fill out a Property Owner Grant Application which includes
      1. Property and lease detail attestation
      2. Preview of your expected incentive amount
      3. Check request form 
      4. W-9
6. After we review your completed documents and verify the tenants moved in, we will submit your application to the Town of Mammoth Lakes. You can expect to receive the first half of your incentive payment mailed directly from the Town within 30 days of submission.
7. At the midpoint of a long-term lease, Placemate will check in with both the tenants and owner to ensure that the terms of the lease are being upheld.
8. At the end of the lease, Placemate will check in with both the tenants and owner to verify compliance and submit a request to the Town for the second half of the incentive payment.
9. If at any point during the lease, your tenant group changes or the tenants move out, you must contact your Placemate rep to let them know.

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Listing Language
If you still need to secure tenants, here is some language you can put in your ad to let interested renters know you are participating in the Lease to Locals Program.
Note, property owners must comply with the State and Federal Fair Housing Act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial status, or disability.

Draft listing language:
The owner of this property is participating in the Mammoth Lakes Lease to Locals Program aimed at unlocking existing homes for local employee needs. As such, interested tenants must meet the following qualifications to be considered for this home:

1) Work for an Employer in the Region – At least half of the adults over 18 in the household (related or unrelated) must work or will work an average of 30 hours or more per week for an employer based out of or at a site within the Mammoth Unified School District geographical boundary.

AND

2) The household’s gross annual Income can not average more than $124,450 per adult.

Lease Template
You can use any lease you wish so long as your terms meet the program requirements. Placemate cannot legally prepare the lease for you. 

Zillow provides free lease agreements that you might consider using – you can find them at this link. Please note, you and your tenants will have to create a profile on Zillow to use their services.

Sites to List Your Property On: 
The following websites are used by local workforce members looking for housing. These would be great places to list your property, but you may list your rental unit wherever and however you wish. Each of these options requires that you monitor their various communication channels.

Zillow 
The housing site with the largest reach. A possibility of numerous non-responsive tenant applicants.

Facebook Marketplace
You must have a Facebook account and/or be a member of a specific housing group to post here. Monitor and respond to comments/direct messages to ensure you see inquiries come in. 

Craigslist
Make a post and include your property details. People will reach out via email and phone.