The Nantucket Affordable Housing Trust spent the bulk of its Dec. 16 meeting discussing a proposed rental‑preservation incentive pilot designed to preserve existing year‑round rentals.

Staff and consultant Placemate outlined program guardrails: eligible properties must have been year‑round rentals for the prior 12 months, eligibility limited to one property per ownership group, and priority for units renting below 100% of area median income. The incentive structure proposed payments in installments over three years (example: $6,000 per year per unit, for up to $18,000 total). Staff said annual rent increases would be allowable up to a stated maximum (the draft set 5% as the cap), though Dylan emphasized the figure would be a maximum and not mandatory.

Several members pushed back on the 5% cap because compounding could produce large real‑dollar increases; Penny said she preferred closer to 3% tied to CPI, while Christie (staff) suggested a 3% base with a staff review process to allow higher increases when rising taxes, insurance or other costs demanded it. Members also discussed administrative costs: Colin (Placemate) estimated administrative fees could be 20–25% on top of incentive totals; staff noted the per‑unit administrative fee declines slightly with scale.

Placemate presented budget scenarios showing incentive costs (not including admin fees) ranging from $360,000 for 20 units to $900,000 for 50 units; with an estimated 20–25% admin add‑on, the trust would face higher total outlays. Members asked staff to return with refined scenarios for 20–30 units, clearer admin fee breakdowns, and analysis of the program’s interaction with existing deed‑restriction pilots and long‑term bonded borrowing.