Reports & Toolkits
How Converting Seasonal Properties to Year-Round Rentals Can Help Solve Cape Cod’s Housing Crisis
Cape Cod’s housing crisis isn’t just about supply—it’s about how homes are used. One in three houses sits vacant or is used seasonally, driving up costs and pushing local workers and families out. A new white paper highlights a major solution: convert seasonal and short-term rentals into year-round homes.
Why it matters:
- Year-round rentals strengthen the workforce, local schools, and small businesses
- Property owners gain reliable income with less hassle
- Incentive programs like Rent 365 and Lease to Locals show this model works—and more towns are joining in
- The state’s Seasonal Communities legislation empowers municipalities to expand local rental incentives
Housing Cape Cod: The Regional Strategy
This 2024 report by the Cape Cod Commission addresses the housing supply, affordability, and availability issues facing the region by identifying appropriate areas for housing development and crafting policies and strategies to further its goals. Successful implementation of the Regional Housing Strategy will provide residents with safe and attainable housing and will provide a more reliable workforce and customer base for our local businesses.
The Housing Policy Toolkit
Created in 2023, this toolkit reflects HPCC’s local housing policy recommendations and is intended to be a guide for housing advocates and municipal leaders who want to advance meaningful change in their community. The toolkit provides a high-level overview of each policy, including potential impacts, and outlines local examples where the policy has been implemented for further exploration.
Housing Market Overview and Benefits of Housing Development in Barnstable County
Housing Assistance Corporation commissioned The Concord Group in 2022 to delve deeper into the Cape’s regional economy and housing market to analyze the current situation and offer evidence-based solutions to address the housing crisis and worker shortage.
Missing Middle
This 2020 report by Union Studios looks at the history of residential zoning and building on Cape Cod and how it created today’s housing crisis. It describes the “Missing Middle” as housing that can supplement the existing housing market with much-needed variety and provide options at a wide range of price points.
The High Cost of Doing Nothing
This 2018 report by the Housing Assistance Corporation describes the housing crisis and offers several ways to address it including:
- Creating programs to incentivize seasonal homeowners to rent to year-round tenants
- Passing improved Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) bylaws
- Revise outdated zoning regulations to allow for greater housing density in village centers and a greater variety of housing types across Cape Cod
- Educate decision makers about the housing market and the need for increased housing supply for all income levels
