The Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing) announced earlier this month that a pilot program aimed at helping older homeowners list their spare rooms for rent will likely become available this June.
The program is designed to reduce elderly Mainers’ living expenses while simultaneously expanding the availability of affordable housing options throughout the state.
In February, the Maine State Housing Authority signed a $200,000 contract with Nesterly, a platform that connects retirees and “empty nesters” with those in search of housing for more than thirty days.
Nesterly was founded in 2017 by two students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
According to a report from the City of Boston published in early 2020, the average home share rent was $700, and some of those renting spare rooms offered additional discounts to tenants willing to help with errands and other basic household tasks.
Of the thirty hosts and fifty guests to apply for the pilot program, eight pairs were matched “with no issues,” and eighty-nine percent said they would recommend the program to others.
Click Here to Read Boston’s Full Report on Their Nesterly Pilot Program
Working alongside Nesterly and MaineHousing on the state’s new pilot program are AARP Maine, the Maine Council on Aging, and the Governor’s Cabinet on Aging.
According to a press release published by the Maine State Housing Authority on April 12, access to this pilot program is expected to be available in several locations throughout the state by June of this year.
“Through the Nesterly platform,” MaineHousing explained, “eligible hosts are matched to renters after a careful screening process that is meant to ensure a safe, comfortable and productive living arrangements for all participants.”
“This pilot program is expected to be available in several Maine locations across the state for those seeking housing starting in June,” said the Maine State Housing Authority, “but the ultimate success of the program will depend on having enough available hosts sign up to participate.”
[RELATED: MaineHousing Signs Contract with Nesterly to Launch Home Share Pilot Program Aimed at Older Mainers]
Borne out of a resolution introduced by Rep. Maggie O’Neil (D-Saco) in February of last year, this pilot program is intended to “[assist] older persons to reduce living expenses, including housing costs, by matching older persons who own homes with spare rooms to adults in need of affordable housing.”
LD 709 required the Maine State Housing Authority to “issue a request for proposals for a vendor to provide a digital-based service for matching older persons who own homes with spare rooms to adults in need of affordable housing.”
The bill also stated that MaineHousing must produce a report by January 1, 2025 detailing the effectiveness of the program, including testimonials and relevant committee findings.
At the time, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee unanimously recommended the bill’s passage and was accepted by both chambers without any roll call votes.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of LD 709
Rep. O’Neil’s testimony introducing the resolution focused on the benefits that a program such as this would provide to older Mainers, while also diving into how it can play a role in expanding affordable housing options in the state.
“For home providers, shared housing enables them to offset housing costs and other costs of living by receiving rent,” O’Neil said. “For older adults who wish to age in place, home sharing can help them maintain independence longer and make housing costs and duties more manageable.”
“For renters, homeshare increases affordable housing options,” O’Neil said. “It can help address our affordable housing shortage and soaring rent costs by making use of extra space within existing housing stock that would otherwise be unused.”
Click Here to Read Rep. O’Neil’s Full Testimony
“MaineHousing is pleased to help launch this pilot and is optimistic it will help improve housing opportunities in parts of Maine that are facing some of our most acute housing shortages,” said Maine State Housing Authority Director Daniel Brennan in the agency’s April 12 statement.
“What we need now is for anybody who has ever thought about renting a room in their home to take a look at the options this pilot platform has to offer,” Brennan said.
“We are thrilled to partner with the forward-thinking team at MaineHousing to provide a safe and easy way for residents to gain additional monthly income, receive help around the house and connect with individuals often from another generation,” said Nesterly Founder and CEO Noelle Marcus. “With over 100,000 older adult households in Maine burdened by housing costs, we know this program can have a meaningful impact for communities across the state.”
“All over Maine, too many older folks are living alone in large family homes that are expensive to heat and hard to maintain,” said Jess Maurer, Maine Council on Aging Executive Director. “Meanwhile, younger folks are looking for housing, and our building efforts can’t keep pace. Home-sharing is an important part of the solution to our current housing shortage, and it creates a win-win for everyone involved.”
“This multi-stakeholder effort is poised to make a huge difference in the lives of both older homeowners and home seekers of all ages,” AARP Maine State Director Noël Bonam said. “We know that social isolation is a very serious issue among older adults across the state, and this innovative program offers older adults the opportunity to make a little bit of extra income while addressing social isolation.”
Click Here to Read the Maine State Housing Authority’s Full Press Release
Scott Thistle, Communications Director for MaineHousing, told the Maine Wire in February that the agency is “optimistic” about the program’s potential for success, expressing hope that it may “help with some of the housing shortages we are seeing.”
According to Thistle, however, the program is unlikely to remain a long-term responsibility of the Maine State Housing Authority.
“After the pilot period, we expect this service to be self-supporting and independent, to operate without any state funding,” Thistle said in a February statement to the Maine Wire. “The initial contract supports startup costs and provides a means for the platform to start working in Maine.”
“We do not see this as the ultimate solution to Maine’s overall housing shortage, but we do think it has the potential to play a meaningful role,” said Thistle. “We see this as a helpful tool for those who are inclined to take part in this sort of a home-sharing arrangement, to do so smoothly and safely.”
Click Here for More Information from MaineHousing on the Nesterly Pilot Program
As the Nation goes, so goes Maine.
How long before this becomes a way to stash “uninvited visitors” by “You know who”? My guess is it won’t take very long.
This sounds like a great way for elderly folks to be taken advantage of.
Scott Thistle is not very bright if he thinks this AARP affiliated program will not be sucking at the Maine State Government Tit forever. That appears to be the same Tit at which he has now come to suck on.
I fear this program could be fraught with potential issues, regardless of the stated intent. Seniors are vulnerable, just look at how many get phone scammed. The first issue that comes to mind is a squatting situation, should the senior change their mind.
I’d rather see seniors move in with one another.
Following this story closely as it evolves.
Bad Idea.Instead of solving the ever growing cost of living in Maine, this will cause just more problems.Poor older citizens who have worked their whole lives would now be letting strangers live with them in order to survive..Who would be regulating this?And would it be open to illegals? ( such a dirty word) .On the flip side,Gov Mills wants 75 thousand illegals coming into the State.Who thinks up these asinine “solutions”.?
Nesterly is nothing but a nice name for a program that will help state government thin the ranks of asylum seekers; avoid giving homeless people the mental health treatment they desperately need; and lend a helping hand to psychopaths, capable of elder abuse, theft, and squatting.
Nesterly is just another democratic scam to put a vulnerable population at risk to save a buck! If this was really about wanting to help seniors, why not resurrect the discontinued senior property tax break that was touted by its sponsor, Senator Donna Bailey, before the last election, but was quickly discontinued after she won the election?
This has ‘bad idea’ all over it.
This is a (1) horrible; (2) unsafe/dangerous; (3) democrat/idiot; (4) ridiculous idea. I can’t believe the state is really going to try this and waste taxpayer money on I!. What the ACTUAL F?
Agree with the majority of posters. In addition, how can you vet “new Mainers” properly without vetting them for communicable diseases first?
This is the most stupid thing I’ve seen on the internet lately.
Who thinks this is a good idea?
I would never, in a billion lifetimes, allow my elderly parents to rent a room to a stranger.