Revisiting the Community Land Trust: An Academic Literature Review

<p style="font-weight: 400;text-align: left">Housing costs and supply are dominating the news at the moment.  Housing is the highest monthly bill typical Americans face, reaching an average of $1674 a month in 2021. Housing prices have increased far faster than incomes (Miller 2015), making affordable homeownership inaccessible for many aspiring homeowners (Hackett et al. 2019). This has been especially true in major municipalities, and North Carolina has been no exception.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400">One possible tool to address the affordable housing crunch is the Community Land Trust (CLT). CLTs provide a community ownership approach to providing affordable housing, trying to balance the homeowner desire to build equity with the community and societal desire to maintain an affordable housing stock and the desire of local governments and other funders to sustain housing intervention funding. This movement is now gaining attention from key stakeholders, including the National League of Cities.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400">The CLT model provides an alternative to the typical housing market and works to protect both homeowner and community interests simultaneously. In this model:</p> A CLT obtains ownership of a parcel of land and the housing structure(s) on that land through purchase, donation, or other methods. A below-medium income prospective homeowner agrees to a CLT contract, typically leasing the land at a low rate for a 99-year term and buying the home. The homeowner enjoys the home, builds equity, and makes improvements. They can bequeath the property to a family member or sell to an approved buyer. The CLT limits price growth for the home, typically [...]