Community Land Trusts Mobilizing Community Assets for Community Benefits

For many, community land trusts are a cost-effective avenue to owning a home. Sponsored by a community development organization, community land trusts provide land leasing and home ownership opportunities. The community land trust model is a mechanism to provide affordable housing in perpetuity through land leasing and homeownership. While the trust owns the land, they then lease the land to homeowners, who own the structure on the land. The separation in ownership of land and house, allows future buyers to purchase the house only. The trust continues to own the land and lease the land to the next homeowner. In this way, the community is continually able to maintain a stock of affordable housing.

This site provides information on community land trusts for community-based organizations already involved in the business of community land trusts and for those who want to adopt the community land trusts model. The site sponsors a forum for peer-to-peer exchange of information on the community land trusts model, its challenges and solutions. Also included are announcements of conferences and training workshops, a resource library, papers about various issues related to community land trusts, and best practices and case studies for practitioners.