Community Land Trust

What it is

A nonprofit that owns land in trust on behalf of a community and leases it to homeowners (or in some cases renters) at long-term low costs. Families buy only the building, not the land. When they sell, they sell to another income-qualified buyer at a formula-controlled price, keeping the home permanently affordable.

The model was developed in the 1960s, drawing on Civil Rights movement organizing, especially New Communities Inc. in Albany, Georgia, founded in 1969 by Charles and Shirley Sherrod, Slater King, and other Black freedom movement leaders. CLTs have since spread across the U.S. and internationally.

Why it works

Conventional home ownership ties affordability to market conditions. When neighborhoods become desirable, prices rise, and the people who lived through the disinvested years are priced out. CLTs interrupt that pattern. The land is held in trust permanently. The home stays affordable across sale after sale.

CLT homeowners still build wealth, but through a formula that balances the homeowner's gain with permanent affordability. The model produces what's been called "shared equity": real ownership, real stewardship, real affordability, all in one structure.

For renters within CLTs, the model offers something similar: long-term stable, affordable rent, with significant resident voice in governance.

What you need

This is the most institution-heavy recipe in the book. The neighborhood-scale path is supporting or starting a CLT. Operating one is the work of a multi-year multi-staff effort.

• Time: 2 to 5 years to launch a new CLT. Indefinite operation.
• People: A founding board with substantial community representation. Legal and real estate expertise. Eventually staff. Resident members who join over time.
• Space: Land. Housing units. Office and community governance space.
• Materials: Legal templates, affordability formulas, governance tools, financing resources.
• Skills: Real estate development, nonprofit management, community engagement, finance, legal.
• Energy level: High during launch. Medium ongoing.

How to host it

If you're supporting or organizing for a CLT

1. Connect with the Center for Community Land Trust Innovation and Grounded Solutions Network. These are the field's national infrastructure organizations. They provide model documents, training, and connection to other CLTs.
2. Build the case in your community. What's the housing problem? Who's being displaced? What land is potentially available (church-owned land, public land, vacant private land)?
3. Organize the constituency. A CLT isn't built by a steering committee alone. It is built by a community organized enough to demand it. Tenant unions, faith communities, racial justice organizations, neighborhood associations are common partners.
4. Find anchor support. Most successful CLT launches have anchor funding from local government, a faith community, a foundation, or a philanthropic individual. Multiple anchor partners are stronger than one.
5. Form the founding board. CLT governance is typically "tripartite": one-third residents (or future residents), one-third broader community members, one-third public officials or funders. The structure ensures community accountability.
6. Acquire the first properties. Often a few homes or units to start. Some CLTs start with a single development; others start with scattered-site acquisitions.
7. Set the affordability formula. How will resale prices be calculated? This is where the core CLT logic lives. Common approaches: appreciation tied to area income growth rather than market growth, with formulas that allow homeowners modest equity while preserving long-term affordability.
8. Operate, grow, learn. A CLT becomes more impactful over years. The first few homes are proof of concept. A mature CLT can hold hundreds or thousands of units across a community.

If you're considering becoming a CLT homeowner

1. Find your local CLT. Grounded Solutions maintains a directory. Many cities have one or more CLTs.
2. Understand the model. You will buy the home but lease the land (typically a 99-year ground lease, renewable). Your equity will be capped by the affordability formula. Your monthly costs will be significantly lower than market-rate ownership.
3. Apply. Most CLTs have income qualification (often around 80% of area median income, varies by program). Application processes vary.
4. Participate. CLT homeowners typically have a voice in CLT governance. The model is not just a financial product; it is a community.

Variations

Permanent affordable rental CLT. Some CLTs primarily develop and hold rental housing rather than homeownership.

Commercial CLT. Some CLTs hold commercial space (community kitchens, small business space, cultural centers) on the same trust model.

Limited equity cooperative. A related model where residents collectively own a building through a cooperative structure with affordability protections. Similar logic, different legal structure.

Faith-based land partnership. Some faith communities have placed church-owned land into community land trusts, often producing affordable housing or community space on land they'd otherwise sell.

Resident-owned community (ROC). Manufactured-home parks owned collectively by residents through a cooperative structure. Similar logic at a different scale.

Stories from neighborhoods

New Communities Inc. (Georgia, 1969) was the first CLT in the U.S., founded by Charles and Shirley Sherrod and other civil rights movement leaders, modeled in part on Israeli and Indian land tenure systems. It was a 5,000-acre Black agricultural community founded to provide land security and economic self-determination.

Burlington Community Land Trust (now Champlain Housing Trust) in Vermont, founded in 1984 with support from then-Mayor Bernie Sanders, is one of the largest in the country with thousands of units.

Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (Boston) operates a CLT in the Dudley neighborhood that has been a model for community-led development across decades.

Atlanta Land Trust, Albany Park Land Trust (Chicago), East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (Oakland), and many others operate at varying scales across U.S. cities.

The model has demonstrated long-term affordability outcomes that conventional affordable housing programs cannot match. Homes remain affordable through multiple resales. Communities remain stable as neighborhoods change around them.

Where to learn more

• The field hub: Grounded Solutions Network
• For research and policy: Center for Community Land Trust Innovation
• A practical reference: Community Land Trusts: A Guide for Local Governments
• The history: John Emmeus Davis, *Origins of the Community Land Trust*
• Adjacent recipes: [Cohousing](./cohousing.md), [Bridge Meadows](../09-intergenerational/bridge-meadows.md)

Details

• steps: **Connect with the [Center for Community Land Trust Innovation](https://cltweb.org/) and [Grounded Solutions Network](https://groundedsolutions.org/).** These are the field's national infrastructure organizations. They provide model documents, training, and connection to other CLTs., **Build the case in your community.** What's the housing problem? Who's being displaced? What land is potentially available (church-owned land, public land, vacant private land)?, **Organize the constituency.** A CLT isn't built by a steering committee alone. It is built by a community organized enough to demand it. Tenant unions, faith communities, racial justice organizations, neighborhood associations are common partners., **Find anchor support.** Most successful CLT launches have anchor funding from local government, a faith community, a foundation, or a philanthropic individual. Multiple anchor partners are stronger than one., **Form the founding board.** CLT governance is typically "tripartite": one-third residents (or future residents), one-third broader community members, one-third public officials or funders. The structure ensures community accountability., **Acquire the first properties.** Often a few homes or units to start. Some CLTs start with a single development; others start with scattered-site acquisitions., **Set the affordability formula.** How will resale prices be calculated? This is where the core CLT logic lives. Common approaches: appreciation tied to area income growth rather than market growth, with formulas that allow homeowners modest equity while preserving long-term affordability., **Operate, grow, learn.** A CLT becomes more impactful over years. The first few homes are proof of concept. A mature CLT can hold hundreds or thousands of units across a community. ### If you're considering becoming a CLT homeowner, **Find your local CLT.** [Grounded Solutions](https://groundedsolutions.org/) maintains a directory. Many cities have one or more CLTs., **Understand the model.** You will buy the home but lease the land (typically a 99-year ground lease, renewable). Your equity will be capped by the affordability formula. Your monthly costs will be significantly lower than market-rate ownership., **Apply.** Most CLTs have income qualification (often around 80% of area median income, varies by program). Application processes vary., **Participate.** CLT homeowners typically have a voice in CLT governance. The model is not just a financial product; it is a community.
• file path: recipes/12-shared-land-and-home/community-land-trusts.md
• variations: **Permanent affordable rental CLT.** Some CLTs primarily develop and hold rental housing rather than homeownership. **Commercial CLT.** Some CLTs hold commercial space (community kitchens, small business space, cultural centers) on the same trust model. **Limited equity cooperative.** A related model where residents collectively own a building through a cooperative structure with affordability protections. Similar logic, different legal structure. **Faith-based land partnership.** Some faith communities have placed church-owned land into community land trusts, often producing affordable housing or community space on land they'd otherwise sell. **Resident-owned community (ROC).** Manufactured-home parks owned collectively by residents through a cooperative structure. Similar logic at a different scale.
• ingredients: {"time":"2 to 5 years to launch a new CLT. Indefinite operation.","space":"Land. Housing units. Office and community governance space.","people":"A founding board with substantial community representation. Legal and real estate expertise. Eventually staff. Resident members who join over time.","skills":"Real estate development, nonprofit management, community engagement, finance, legal.","materials":"Legal templates, affordability formulas, governance tools, financing resources.","energy_level":"High during launch. Medium ongoing."}
• where to learn more: - The field hub: [Grounded Solutions Network](https://groundedsolutions.org/) - For research and policy: [Center for Community Land Trust Innovation](https://cltweb.org/) - A practical reference: [Community Land Trusts: A Guide for Local Governments](https://www.nlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Community-Land-Trusts_A-Guide-for-Local-Governments_Report-1.pdf) - The history: John Emmeus Davis, *Origins of the Community Land Trust* - Adjacent recipes: [Cohousing](./cohousing.md), [Bridge Meadows](../09-intergenerational/bridge-meadows.md)
• stories from neighborhoods: **New Communities Inc.** (Georgia, 1969) was the first CLT in the U.S., founded by **Charles and Shirley Sherrod** and other civil rights movement leaders, modeled in part on Israeli and Indian land tenure systems. It was a 5,000-acre Black agricultural community founded to provide land security and economic self-determination. **Burlington Community Land Trust** (now [Champlain Housing Trust](https://www.champlainhousingtrust.org/)) in Vermont, founded in 1984 with support from then-Mayor Bernie Sanders, is one of the largest in the country with thousands of units. **Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative** (Boston) operates a CLT in the Dudley neighborhood that has been a model for community-led development across decades. **Atlanta Land Trust**, **Albany Park Land Trust** (Chicago), **East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative** (Oakland), and many others operate at varying scales across U.S. cities. The model has demonstrated long-term affordability outcomes that conventional affordable housing programs cannot match. Homes remain affordable through multiple resales. Communities remain stable as neighborhoods change around them.