Workforce housing in Tahoe gets funding boost

Addressing shortage of local worker housing

Tahoe City, Calif. – More than half-a-million dollars in additional funding has been made available for homebuyers in eastern Placer County to address the shortage of local worker housing.

With a unanimous vote, the Placer County Board of Supervisors recently approved $600,000 of reserved transient occupancy tax dollars to increase funding for the county’s incentive-based home buying assistance program, the Workforc e H ousing Preservation Program. WHPP is designed to address the rising cost of home purchases, specifically in eastern Placer County, by assisting local workers with grant funding to help them purchase homes near where they work.

Up to 16 percent of purchase price

The program pays homebuyers up to 16% of the purchase price and the funds can be used towards a down payment (based on available funding) in exchange for deed restricting their home so that it can only be occupied by local workers. The deed restriction runs with the land for 55 years and auto-renews with each sale or transaction of the property.

Program’s goal

“The program’s goal is to deed restrict as many homes as possible to create a secondary market for local workers seeking housing in east Placer,” said Placer County Community Development Resource Agency Deputy Director in Tahoe Crystal Jacobsen. “Along with other housing programs and projects the county is working on, we’re hopeful this will help address the critical need for affordable housing in our region.”

The Board of Supervisors originally approved this new program in February 2021, and authorized spending $500,000 of general funds and TOT dollars to provide assistance. During the first round of funding, a total of $390,000 was allocated to help purchase three homes in the Tahoe region. Each of these homes is now deed restricted for local worker occupancy.

An additional 33 applicants have qualified for future funding through this program. The grant award can also be used to complete renovations and does not need to be paid back.

“I think what’s so important about this program is obviously getting people into necessary housing, but more importantly, it’s a way of giving young people hope that they can stay and build a career and build a family in our community,” said District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson.

To learn more about this program and eligibility requirements, or to apply online, click here.