Older Mainers who have an extra room in their homes and would like to offer it for rent now have a program that provides an alternative to the transient nature of short term rentals or the expense of creating an accessory dwelling unit.

The program is the result of a housing bill signed into law in July, 2023. The bill established a $200K pilot program which will run through December 31 and is administered by MaineHousing. Bill sponsor Rep. Margaret O'Neil of Saco sponsored the bill, saying, "For homeowners, particularly on fixed incomes, the cost of housing is also a challenge. Many older adults own their homes, have lower incomes, and pay more than 30% of their budget on housing."

In its RFP, MaineHousing sought vendors for the program, hoping to help older residents with living expenses, "...by matching older persons who own homes with spare rooms to compatible adults in need of affordable housing." Nesterly, which was founded in 2017 provided an answer and Maine became the first to offer the program statewide.

During a phone interview with the Register, Erik Jorgensen, Senior Director of Government Relations and Communications for Maine State Housing Authority, explained that there are other organizations that do this work but the bill called for something electronic and Nesterly seemed to be "best in class."

Nesterly, Inc. provides a home sharing service to seniors, matching those over 60 who have space in their home with someone they can trust who is seeking a room. The program aims to address two significant housing issues: keeping the state's aging population in their homes while increasing affordable rentals for tenants. The minimum length of stay is one month.

Noelle Marcus founded Nesterly after years in urban development and planning when she realized "housing is mismatched," she told The Register in a recent interview. She created the company in response to seeing a shift in demographics.

"By 2035, half of all households with older residents are projected to be single person," she explained. Because of her urban planning experience, she realized that aging homeowners and younger renters could all benefit from home sharing. 

"In Maine there are over 100,000 housing cost-burdened senior households," Marcus said. Since the program started taking applications this summer, she said more than a hundred hosts and a hundred renters have joined. The Nesterly website lists rental locations in Edgecomb, Brunswick, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Portland and Saco.

Those interested can visit the Nesterly website, create a free profile and search for housing or list their rental. Marcus explained, there is a one-time fee ranging from $95-195, payable from the first month's rent which is charged when the rental is confirmed.

Nesterly charges 2.5% of the monthly rent to use its platform. For those who aren't familiar with or don't have access to technology, Nesterly offers phone support at (877) 958-8785.

The Nesterly pilot includes creation of a steering committee that meets frequently and is helping to design how the program works for Maine. "It's a really active group that champions the work," Marcus said.

While renting a room in a home is not a new concept, Nesterly adds technology and other services to the mix so that the process has safeguards. Jorgensen explained that the key considerations for MaineHousing in selecting Nesterly were background checks on hosts and renters, employment verification, the ability to process rental payments and resolve disputes as well as a way to match hosts with renters.

"It's huge for anyone who has medium term workers or summer helpers," Jorgensen added. As part of the service, Nesterly makes monthly follow-up calls to the host and the renter to make sure things are going well. Jorgensen said that allowing landlords to interview prospective tenants anonymously through the Nesterly website also appealed to MaineHousing.

Nesterly also allows hosts the flexibility to trade chores in return for a portion of the rent. As an example, Boothbay resident Judi White signed up to be a host and gave the option of trading four hours of chores with a reduction of $100 from the monthly rent. She said she was excited about it and the application process was straightforward.

White wanted to help someone who wanted to move here but couldn't afford a rental. "So many people here have big homes," she added. She has put her hosting plans on hold because her daughters visit with their children.

Southport's Shawn Lewin and his wife Sandra Leonard are familiar with home sharing. Lewin rented a room with an older host many years ago as did Leonard, who was a teacher in Utica, New York.  Leonard didn't have a car and the school provided a list of apartments for young teachers.  "I rented a studio apartment with a lovely widow," she said. "It was delightful and we would go to the symphony and go antiquing together."

Jorgensen said he has been both a tenant and a host. Those familiar with home sharing point to emotional benefits as well as financial. "It's an innovative program and has worked well in other places. The social benefits of this are really understood," he added. Older people living alone can experience isolation and having a younger person sharing their home can make a difference in their outlook.

"It isn't for everybody," he said, "but for those who want to do this the safeguards are there."