Introducing Nantucket's Rooted Renters Program

The unit must meet the following eligibility criteria: 

1. The unit must have been rented to Year-Round Tenants for the past 12 months or longer.
2. The unit must be located on Nantucket and must meet basic health and safety criteria as may be required per Massachusetts State Law and/or Nantucket Bylaws and Regulations.
3. The unit must be a house, condominium, multifamily (4 or fewer unit building), mobile home, or accessory dwelling unit.
4. Deed-restricted, employer leased or owned, and otherwise subsidized units including properties that participated in the Lease to Locals program are not eligible.
5. To participate with a room in a shared home, Property Owners must also occupy the home.

Following their intake call, owners will be required to verify the participating unit’s current rental rate and that the property has been rented for the previous 12 months by providing a copy of their current lease agreement. 

To verify that your tenants qualify for Rooted Renters, you can follow the same steps we go through. By reviewing the below documents yourself, you can confirm your tenants qualify before passing their names and emails onto Placemate for us to send them the online tenant application. As part of their application, each tenant (including tenants that don’t qualify) will be required to submit income documents to ensure the group as a whole qualifies for the program.

All tenants 18 years or older must provide a copy/photograph of a government-issued ID and verification of income. Qualifying tenants must provide the below documentation, depending on what their qualifying circumstances are.

Year-Round Employee/New Employee: 

1. Two recent paystubs from the past 60 days from an employer located on or that serves clientele on Nantucket, or;
2. A signed employer or offer letter that includes the following details:
   1. Employer name, logo, and address
   2. Name of employee
   3. Anticipated start date (if new offer) or when they started originally
   4. Number of hours (ie; full time, 40 hours week / seasonal, 20 hours week)
   5. Pay rate (hourly or salary)
   6. Location of where they are working
   7. Name, signature of manager / HR, and date signed, or;

Self-Employed: 

1. If the business has been operational for more than 1 year 
   1. Most recent tax returns, or; 
2. If the business has been operating for less than one year or tenant is self employed via gig work
   1. Internal Profits & Losses statement, or;
   2. Employer letter, or;
3. 3 recent Contracts that show volume of work/pay  

Disabled Adult: 

1. Copy of disability benefits, or;
2. Proof of supplemental income

Community Contributor 

1. A signed letter from the local organization, board, committee, gallery, group etc… that they are involved with that provides their weekly time commitment to the organization, responsibilities and details of involvement, and how long they have been involved.

Retiree

1. A Social Security benefit verification letter sent to a Nantucket address dated 12 months prior to the application date and a letter from the most recent month

Full-time Parent(s)

1. Most recent copy of tax returns showing each child as a dependent

Property Owners renting a whole home may only participate in the Program with one unit per application cycle. Property Owners renting a shared home may participate with up to two shared rooms. An individual application with a separate signed lease must be submitted for each room.

1. Signed attestation acknowledging terms and conditions of the Program. 
2. Signed lease agreement with a Qualified Household for a minimum of 12 months.
3. Signed Property Owner application.  
4. A check request form for the first incentive payment.  
5. Completed W-9.  

If there are any changes to the tenant group, the owner must notify Placemate. Note, the owner has 90 days to replace the tenants who moved out to maintain a qualified household.

If the entire existing household group moves out, they must be replaced with a new qualified household on a new 12 month lease.

If a portion of the group moves out, the tenants who moved out must be replaced such that the group as a whole remains qualified. New tenants can be added onto the original lease by drafting an addendum, subleasing from the original tenants, or the whole group may sign a new 12 month lease.

Following the first 12 months of program participation, the property must continue to rent to a qualified household by moving to a month-to-month agreement, signing a 12 month extension to the original lease agreement, or a new 12 month lease.

A month-to-month agreement or a lease extension are only permissible if at least 1 Qualified Tenant from the original lease agreement remains in the qualified household currently renting the property.

Each subsequent payment is sent to owners once they have rented their property to a qualified household for a cumulative 12, 24 and 36 months (see schedule above). In order to be issued a subsequent payment, Placemate must collect the following info and documentation from participating owners and their tenants at the 12 and 24 month mark:

• Completed check ins from the qualified household and property owners
• Confirmation of a qualified household residing in the house, as documented by:
  • New 12 month signed lease with the existing qualified household, OR;
  • Confirmation that the existing qualified household has stayed in a property on a month-to-month agreement or a lease extension, OR;
  • Confirmation that a qualified household that partially or completely replaced the previous qualified household in the middle of a lease term is still in the property.
• If a qualified household has changed any adult tenant members, application documents from any new adult tenants.
• If the qualified household has completely changed from past occupants to a new qualified household, new 12 month signed lease and confirmation of move in

At the 36 month mark, Placemate will collect:

• Completed check ins from qualified household and property owners