Throughout cities, families and individuals in the workforce increasingly fall into the gap between those qualifying for low-income housing and those who can afford market-rate housing. While there is not a single solution, Community Land Trusts (CLTs) offer a unique tool to fill that gap in the housing continuum.

Land trusts are not a novel concept. They have been used for conservation purposes to protect land for public benefit, such as wildlife preservation or open space. More recently, they have been used to advance community interests, such as long-term affordable housing and stabilization of rapidly changing neighborhoods.

CLTs are nonprofit organizations created by communities to acquire and hold land for the purpose of developing and preserving long-term affordable housing on the land. CLTs can provide affordable housing for low- to moderate-income residents in two ways, homeownership and rentals.