Housing Assistance Expands Rent 365 Program

With a grant from Barnstable County, Housing Assistance has expanded its Rent 365 program, which incentivizes homeowners, particularly people owning second homes, to convert their rental properties from seasonal to year-round rentals.

The Cape and Islands nonprofit launched Rent 365 in 2018 as a pilot program strategically designed to help solve the housing shortage by increasing the number of year-round rental opportunities for the region’s workforce. Year-round rentals offer landlords predictability of income and less hassle than the constant turnover associated with short-term rentals.

“Our Rent 365 program is an important tool to help provide housing for the people who work in our schools, restaurants, hospitals and public safety organizations,” said Housing Assistance CEO Alisa Magnotta. “By addressing the seasonal nature of rentals and encouraging homeowners to embrace long-term, year-round rentals instead of weekly or monthly vacation rentals, Rent 365 aims to help foster a thriving stable housing market in the region.”

The initial Rent 365 incentive program created 26 year-round rentals in one year. The program continued in 2024 with a $30,000 grant from Cape Associates. The Barnstable County Commissioners recently awarded $70,000 from the Cape Cod and Islands License Plate Grant to support the expansion of Rent 365.

Rent 365 now features increased cash incentives of $4,000 for a one-bedroom unit, $5,000 for a two-bedroom unit, and $6,000 for units with three or more bedrooms, as well as $10,000 for an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). Homeowners seeking to participate in the Rent 365 program are required to meet specific eligibility criteria.

“I think the Rent 365 incentive program is a great bonus,” said a landlord who participated in the initial program. “I want to support year-round living.”

Half of all registered short-term rentals in Massachusetts are located in Barnstable County, even though the Cape contains only 6% of the state’s total housing units, according to “A Home for Everyone,” a statewide housing plan released earlier this year.

“When thousands of homes on Cape Cod are ‘lost’ to the seasonal rental market, that makes it even harder for our workers to find stable and affordable housing,” said Magnotta. “When owners rent their property year-round instead of seasonally, they make an important contribution to our community.”

To learn more, visit www.haconcapecod.org/program-services/rent365/. The webpage includes links to an application and FAQ page for interested homeowners.

About Housing Assistance

Housing Assistance has provided a spectrum of services to help our homeless and vulnerable neighbors secure a safe, stable place to call home since 1974. These programs and services include homeless outreach, family shelters, rental vouchers, affordable housing development, energy efficiency programs, and first-time homebuyer support. Housing Assistance also works to address the root causes of housing instability – lack of inventory and lack of affordability – that affect almost all income levels in our region. To learn more, visit www.haconcapecod.org.