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What is a Community Land Trust?

A Model for Affordable Housing and Community Empowerment

A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a non-profit organization controlled by the community it serves through its membership. 

Initially, CLTs acquire vacant land and/or buildings.  The land is held permanently by the Land Trust so that it will always benefit the community and remain affordable. 

Homeowners of CLT homes own the home and lease the land underneath it with a lease term of 99 years.

Land trust homes are permanently affordable.  Land costs are limited and subsidies are locked in place to benefit one homeowner after another each time the home is sold. 

 

HOW OUR LAND TRUST PROGRAM WORKS

 

Qualified low- to- moderate- income buyers receive significant down-payment assistance and subsidies to purchase a new construction home in West Humboldt Park. The First Community Land Trust of Chicago maintains ownership of the land, which the homeowner leases for a small fee. When the homeowner moves, they agree to sell the home to another income-qualified buyer so that the benefits , subsidies, and affordability can be maintained into the future.

When the homeowner is ready to sell their home the amount they receive is determined by a resale formula. 

This resale formula maintains the community’s initial investment in homebuyer subsidies so that this assistance is recycled and stays with the home every time it is sold.

 

THE BENEFITS OF THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST CONCEPT

 

Benefits to the Homeowner:

  • Homeownership at an affordable price
  • Stable monthly payments
  • Tax advantages
  • Opportunity to build equity
  • Opportunity to take a leadership role in the community through participation on board of directors or board committees
  • Access to down payment assistance and subsidies

 

Benefits to the Community:

  • Home-buying opportunities for households that would not otherwise be able to purchase
  • Permanent affordability
  • Opportunity to help move renters into homeownership
  • Wise use to tax dollars (public subsidies only need to be used once and stay with the property)

 

LAND TRUSTS EXPERIENCE VERY LOW RATES OF FORECLOSURE

The community land trust (CLT) model has shown itself to be remarkably resilient through the foreclosure crisis sweeping the U.S.  CLT homes have  a foreclosure rate of 0.52 percent, compared to the national average of 3.3 percent in 2008. For more information on this please see National Community Land Trust Network.

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