A new report commissioned by the town of Narragansett says University of Rhode Island students living off-campus have significantly altered the town’s housing market, leading to a “symbiotic relationship” between the university and private landlords at the expense of other renters.
According to the study by the Burlington, Vermont-based group Crane Associates, URI has benefited from the dynamic by not spending money to build the housing its students need, while landlords have benefited by renting to students nine months of the year and getting higher rents in the summer months from vacationers.
One of the researchers, Michael Crane, presented the findings at a meeting of the Narragansett Town Council Monday night.
The report says URI students make up nearly half of the town’s population of about 16,000 people and occupy half of Narragansett’s rental units, placing unusual pressure on the town’s housing market.
“You can’t find a town like that very much,” Crane said. “This is very unique for you … The college students generate a demand for rentals far beyond what you would expect a town to have of 16,000 people.”
Researchers also cite the high incomes of many residents and the large number of vacation rental properties as contributors to the town’s housing woes, with the median household income in Narragansett 10% higher than it is statewide, and more than half of the total housing stock recorded as seasonal or vacant at the time of the 2020 Census.
Crane referred to the factors driving up housing prices for renters and owners alike as a “three pronged set of lightning bolts.”
Crane Associates estimates the town needs 1,236 affordable ownership units and 404 rental units to close the “missing gap” between housing supply and demand in the town.
According to the report, a household living on the town’s median income of $113,082 would have to spend 60% of that income to live in a median-priced home in Narragansett.
After the presentation, Narragansett Town Council member Steven Ferrandi told Crane his findings were consistent with what Ferrandi was witnessing in town.
“You can see that it’s chewing up all the available housing, and that’s why we can’t get full-time people to rent,” Ferrandi said. “They’re just being boxed out.”
The report draws from housing supply and demand analysis, interviews, and affordability calculations. It includes forecasts on affordable housing needs going out more than a decade and suggested strategies for addressing the town’s housing challenges.
Crane Associates recommends Narragansett initiate conversations with URI and a developer with the intent of building 400 apartments to be rented at a subsidized rate to students and full-time residents.
Other recommendations include creating financial tax incentives for people to convert vacation rentals into year-round rentals, banning short-term rental stays that are less than seven days, engaging a non-profit developer, making zoning changes to develop underutilized areas, and activating the Narragansett Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
“I do like some of the recommendations,” Council President Ewa Dzwierzynski said at the meeting. “Those are great to start the process.”
The post Report finds URI is contributing to Narragansett’s housing crisis appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.