What is a Community Land Trust?
A community land trust (“CLT”) is a private non-profit corporation created to acquire and hold land for the benefit of a community and provide secure affordable access to land and housing for community residents. In particular, CLTs attempt to meet the needs of residents least served by the prevailing market. CLTs prohibit speculation and absentee ownership of land and housing, promote ecologically sound land-use practices, and preserve the long-term affordability of housing.
KCCLT uses the community land trust model of home ownership, which is typically characterized by the following ten factors.
1. Nonprofit, Tax-Exempt Organization
2. Dual Ownership
3. Leased Land
4. Perpetual Affordability
5. Perpetual Responsibility
6. Community-Based
7. Community-Controlled
8. Tripartite Government
9. Expansionist Acquisition
10. Flexible Development
KCCLT acquires property just like any other housing developer. KCCLT employs the same private funding and public affordable housing subsidies provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City of Kansas City, the Community Reinvestment Act, and others in order to make a house affordable to low income homeowners.
However, where KCCLT differs from other housing developers is KCCLT’s mission.
KCCLT seeks to create homes that provide access to home-ownership, and a sustainable use of limited subsidies, not just for the first lucky owner of the affordable house, but for generations of homeowners. In order to do this, KCCLT, unlike any other affordable housing initiative in Kansas City, recycles the subsidy that made the home affordable in the first place. Subsidies used by KCCLT will never enter the market or investors’ pockets. Similarly, unlike any other affordable housing initiative in Kansas City, KCCLT requires that only low income homeowners, sale after sale, can own the KCCLT houses built and rehabilitated with scarce subsidies, donations and volunteer work.
How does KCCLT do this?
Through the dual ownership.
KCCLT sells the house to a homeowner, but retains ownership of the land on which each house sits. We lease the land to the homebuyer in a ground lease. The ground lease ensures that upon sale of the home, the homebuyer will enjoy a percentage of the equity in the home, but that the home price will not increase so quickly as to contribute to gentrification and displacement. The ground lease and gradual price increases also ensure that the home will always be owned by a low income person.
