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speculative real estate market; to provide access to land and housing to people who
would otherwise be denied access; to expand long-term community control of land
resources; and to preserve the affordability of housing permanently. 107
57. The large majority of community land trusts are organized essentially as
“affordable housing trusts”, and will oversee the development, sale or rental, and
maintenance of housing units to buyers or renters who will lease the land from the
community land trust. Through the use of an inheritable ground lease (typically for
99 years), community land trusts define the rights and responsibilities of the
individual as the owner of the structures, and the community as the owners of the
land. 108 Usually, the community land trust is governed by a board of directors
comprising one third leasers of the community land trust; one third residents from
the surrounding community (that do not live on the leased properties of the
community land trust) and one third individuals who represent the public interest.
58. Community land trusts have been expanding over the past 50 years, primarily
in the United States 109 where, according to the national network, close to 250 were
active as at June 2013. They also exist in the United Kingdom 110 and Canada. 111 An
increasing number of municipal governments are forming community land trusts as
a progressive strategy for addressing affordable housing needs that cannot be met
solely with public housing programmes. Chicago, United States, is perhaps the
largest example of a municipal government forming a public community land
trust. 112
59. The main purpose of community land trusts is to lock the value of the land in
order to preserve the long-term affordability of housing for low- and middle-income
households. Such affordability and location aspects are therefore one of the main
pillars of community land trusts, and purchase or rental prices are usually below
market value (typically 20 to 65 per cent), 113 essentially because the leaseholder
only pays for the home and not the land. In exchange, homeowners accept
limitations when reselling their homes, usually committing to a maximum 25 per
cent profit of the original price paid. This allows future low- to moderate-income
households to access the same property at an affordable cost and help the
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D. Diacon, R. Clarke and Silvia Guimaraes, Redefining the Commons: Locking in Vlaue through
Community Land Trusts (Coalville, United Kingdom, Building and Social Housing Foundation,
2005), p. 55.
UN-Habitat, Community Land Trusts: Affordable Access to Land and Housing (2012), Global
Urban Economic Dialogue (2005), pp. 18, 11-12; see also J. E. Davis, The Community Land
Trust Reader (Cambridge, United Kingdom, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2010).
For example, the Champlain Housing Trust (Burlington, Vermont, United States) — Champlain
Housing Trust bylaws, adopted 1 October 2006, amended 26 January 2008 and 31 January 2009;
see also J. Libby, “The policy basis behind permanently affordable housing: a cornerstone of
Vermont’s housing policy since 1987” (Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, 2009).
For example, Letchworth Garden in the United Kingdom. The Letchworth Garden City Heritage
Foundation manages most of the city lands, and its assets were estimated to be around £110
million in 2012 (according to the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation 2010/2011
corporate plan).
For example, Milton Parc, Montreal, Canada. The trust is held by a co-owner union, Syndicat de
co-propriété, and comprises 26 housing cooperatives and non-profit housing corporations.
UN-Habitat, Community Land Trusts (see footnote 108 above), p. 18.
Community Partners for Affordable Housing, 2012, Affordable Homes for our community,
Chicago.
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