Benefits of Community Land Trusts
Watch Australia's No 1 CLT Expert, Dr Louise Crabtree, give a brief introduction on the benefits of Community Land Trusts.
5 August 2012, Chapel by the Sea, Bondi Beach
5 August 2012, Chapel by the Sea, Bondi Beach
What is a Community Land Trust?
A Community Land Trust is a pioneering housing model developed in the USA, in which the land is removed from the market and held by the Community Land Trust (CLT). Home owners can buy or rent their homes while securing full rights of use to the land via 99-year renewable and inheritable ground leases. The value of homes over time is determined by re-sale mechanisms designed to return equity gains to home owners while ensuring affordability to the next eligible buyer. The CLT model has shown resilience and success in the USA, where CLT home owners have been able to buy affordable homes while markets were running hot and withstand the foreclosure crisis, foreclosing at much lower rates than the housing market average. CLTs can develop diverse portfolios of affordable home ownership, rental, community and commercial properties, all underpinned by a transparent and accountable governance mechanism.
Community Land Trusts can provide an innovative and appropriate model for broadening housing options in Australia and fostering community development.
The legal structure of a Community Land Trust is a good choice for Intentional Communities.
Community Land Trusts can provide an innovative and appropriate model for broadening housing options in Australia and fostering community development.
The legal structure of a Community Land Trust is a good choice for Intentional Communities.
Q & A
Question 1 - What is a Community Land Trust?
A Community Land Trust is a Not For Profit entity that holds title to land in perpetuity, to create and steward perpetually affordable housing and provide community benefit. Community Land Trusts also steward land for agriculture, recreation and conservation. They underpin holistic community development through community-based, accountable governance and engaged membership.
Question 2 - But Affordable Housing is Public Housing, Right?
Wrong. Community Land Trusts can hold land under everything from boarding houses to single family, owner occupied housing, including co-operatives, eco villages and co-housing, and can house people across a range of incomes. Householders can rent or own their homes but cannot speculate or sub-let. Community Land Trusts also underlie community facilities including aged care, child care, community gardens, businesses, charities and open space.
Question 3 - So what do householders have to do?
Householders own or rent their apartment or house and have a "Ground Lease" which grants full rights of land usage.
Question 4 - But the House is a Diminishing Asset!
That's where the "Ground Lease" comes in. The "Ground Lease" spells out the resale formula for the property to balance the equity gain to the individual with the retention of affordability across property sales. So, when a house is sold, the resale price is limited, and equity is shared with the Community Land Trust, locking in subsidies and donations. The "Ground Lease" also spells out criteria regarding maintenance, use, eligibility, inheritance and renovations.
Question 5 - Where are Community Land Trusts?
Currently, Community Land Trusts are mainly in the USA, where the sector is a few decades old and where low to moderate income households in Community Land Trusts have withstood the mortgage meltdown, with a foreclosure rate of 0.5% compared to 3.3% across all income levels in the open market. This success is helping drive rapid growth of the model in the USA. Community Land Trusts in Australia could add more rungs to the housing tenure ladder, foster community development and provide affordable home ownership that stays affordable.
Question 6 - So what's the Challenge?
Our challenge is translating key USA and UK legal templates into legal Australian documents and finding local, state and federal champions, donors, members and programs, plus suitable land and/or properties. Supporting Community Land Trusts could make much better usage of public moneys than the First Home Owner's Grant. Community Land Trusts would complement the activities of existing community housing providers and organisations such as Habitat for Humanity who are a major partner to Community Land Trusts in the USA.
Resources - Australia
- Dr Louise Crabtree et all: The Community Land Trust Manual, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, 2013 ("CLT Manual")
- Dr Louise Crabtree et al: Enabling Community Land Trusts in Australia, Arena, Sydney, 2019
Resources - US and UK
- Burlington Association - Community Land Trust Resource Centre
- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- National CLT Network, UK: "What are CLTs?"
- National Community Land Trust Network, US: "What are Community Land Trusts?"
- National Community Land Trust Network, US: CLT Tool Kit
- Sawmill Community Land Trust: Resource Documents
Existing Community Land Trusts
- Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington, Vermont, USA - largest Community Land Trust in the USA
- Sawmill Community Land Trust, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- San Francisco Community Land Trust, San Francisco, USA
- Minnesota Community Land Trust Coalition, Minnesota, USA
- The Northern California Land Trust, California, USA
- East London Community Land Trust, London, UK