PROVIDENCE – Gov. Daniel J. McKee and Amos House are “challenging” landlords to use an incentive program that will pay them bonuses for providing housing to families and individuals who have been experiencing homelessness and staying in hotel shelters since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rhode Island Landlord Incentive Program will issue landlords $3,000 bonuses for the first unit rented with a one-year lease under the program and $1,000 for each additional until.
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A news release from the governor’s office said it’s hoped that the “challenge” will provide more than 150 families and individuals permanent housing. The initiative was jointly announced with Amos House, R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. and the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
The state also said up to $3,000 per unit is available to reimburse landlords for repairs. In some cases, will provide guaranteed rent for up to one year.
All participating units must be available, safe and habitable to be eligible for program funding.
“A lack of housing is one of the most critical challenges facing too many Rhode Islanders – and the rapid decline of available affordable units over recent years has only exacerbated this crisis,” McKee said in the news release. “We have neighbors currently in hotel shelters who need to be re-housed, and this program will help meet that important need.”
The incentives build on the 2020 “Housing Now!” program, in which then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo looked for landlords to pledge to rent 100 vacant units to housing-insecure residents. Under that program, landlords received a $2,000 signing bonus for one unit and then a $500 bonus for every additional unit.
Monday’s news release termed the previous program as “successful” but did not provide data on how many units were rented through the initiative.
“Families are in need in every part of our state – we want to see families stay in the communities they know and love,” Philip Tedesco, CEO of Rhode Island Association of Realtors, said in the news release. “With our wide network of Realtors statewide, we hope to engage more properties to participate in this program to support the immediate need of safe, available housing units. This program is mutually beneficial for landlords and for those in need of housing.”
