The City of Mill Valley has extended its Lease to Locals Program through June 2027. First launched as a pilot in November 2025, the Program is designed to increase the available stock of year-round housing for our local workforce.
Mill Valley property owners whose homes, ADUs, or rooms are not currently rented year round may qualify for a grant payment of up to $14,000 in one-time cash incentives to convert their property into new year-round rental. To qualify, property owners must begin renting their home to locally employed tenants for a 12-month period. Incentives are based on the number of qualified tenants in the household and are issued to owners in addition to the rent they earn.
Lease to Locals unlocks existing housing by providing homeowners a financial incentive to start leasing their property; homeowners must rent to a qualified household group made up of at least 50% local workers.
Placemate, an organization with a proven track record of addressing workforce housing shortages in destination communities, is the administrator of the Lease to Locals program. Since the program first launched, over 40 Mill Valley owners have reached out with interest and 2 have converted their properties to be new long-term rentals. Owners are actively working on their applications, so get started now while funds still last!
“Before we kicked off the pilot last November we worked with Placemate to analyze the potential number of houses and ADUs and were pleased to find that there are literally hundreds of opportunities for workforce housing,” said City Council member Stephen Burke. “The pilot project further validated those findings and we have been pleased with the response thus far. We are also grateful to the Community Housing Foundation of Mill Valley for their initial, and ongoing, support for the program.”
To connect with Placemate and learn more about whether your property might be a good fit for the Lease to Locals program, visit Placemate.com/MillValley. Prospective tenants should create a renter profile on Placemate’s site and can review Placemate.com/Listings for potential housing opportunities.
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