The Workforce Employer Rental Incentive Program, or “WE RIP” for short, is now in its third year.
It’s a collaboration between the Park City Chamber, the nonprofit Mountainlands Community Housing Trust and several companies, including Rossignol, JANS and Fishwest.
Through the program, local landlords who rent to the workforce during the winter season can receive incentives including skis, fly fishing packages and $300 gift cards.
Mountainlands Community Housing Trust Executive Director Jason Glidden said a similar program in Colorado inspired the group to start one in the Wasatch Back.
Glidden said landlords can apply on Mountainlands’ website.
“There are some guidelines that they have to meet, mostly regarding rent,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Oct. 2. “There are max rents that are set, and those would be $1,000 per room, or $1,500 for a studio or one bedroom, or I think it’s $750 if it’s a shared room — so if there’s two beds within the room. In addition to that, there’s a minimum of three month lease that they have to sign.”
The other requirement is the housing must be close to Park City Transit or High Valley Transit bus stops.
“The intent of the program was to really try to address some of the issues that we were hearing about, some of the J-1 [visa] workers coming in, but also the seasonal employees that had trouble finding places to stay,” Glidden said. “But what we’ve seen is it’s not just that. We are seeing actual full-time workforce that are actually benefitting from this program as well.”
Once Mountainlands approves a landlord’s rental application, the units are listed on the nonprofit’s website.
Last year the program incentivized 13 listings, with 22 rooms with a total of 36 beds. Glidden said the group wants to provide 50 beds to workers this winter.
Complete program information, rental applications and available rentals can be found here.
