What is a Community Land Trust (CLT)?
A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a nonprofit, community-based organization that creates and preserves affordable homeownership. A CLT addresses affordable homeownership in that it removes the cost of land from the housing price by separating ownership of the land from that of the house.
A CLT receives public and private donations of land or monies to purchase land on which housing is or can be built. In turn, the CLT sells the homes to workforce families with low-to-moderate incomes and the CLT retains ownership of the land and provides long-term ground leases to homebuyers to secure their rights to use the land. Thereby a community land trust provides access to homeownership for those who cannot afford homes for sale on the real estate market.
Like all non-profits, CLTs follow local laws and zoning requirements; in addition, a CLT is governed by a Board of Directors, comprised of community members and CLT homeowners, which ensures the organization adheres to their Articles of Corporation, Bylaws and Strategic Plan.
There are over two hundred CLTs in the nation today – ten of them in Minnesota.