Community land trust

A nonprofit organization that acquires and holds land for lasting community benefit, often keeping homes affordable by separating land ownership from building ownership.

Ground lease: A long-term lease granting use of land while its ownership remains with another party. The trust leases land to homeowners while retaining ownership and setting durable conditions for its use.
New Communities, Inc.: A land cooperative founded in 1969 by Black farmers and civil rights activists in southwest Georgia. Its founders developed a community-owned land model that helped inspire later trusts.
Affordable housing: Housing priced so occupants can meet housing costs without sacrificing other basic needs. Affordable homes are the model’s most common application.
Conventional homeownership: Homeownership in which the owner typically holds title to both a dwelling and its underlying land. Unlike conventional ownership, a trust homeowner usually owns the building but leases the land.
Gentrification: A neighborhood change involving reinvestment, rising costs, and the displacement or exclusion of lower-income residents. Trusts are used to retain affordable homes as neighborhood land values rise.
Resale formula: A rule that calculates the maximum price at which a restricted home may be resold. It balances an owner’s equity gain against keeping the home affordable for the next buyer.
Robert Swann: An American community economist and organizer who helped develop the modern community land trust model. He connected cooperative land ownership with long-term community stewardship.
Housing affordability: The ability of households to obtain and retain housing at a manageable cost. Keeping homes affordable through resale is a central trust objective.
Public housing: Housing owned or supported by government to provide homes at below-market costs. Both can provide lasting affordability, but a community land trust is generally nonprofit and community governed.
Community ownership: Collective ownership or control of assets by people connected to a community. A trust institutionalizes community ownership of land beyond any single property transaction.

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