This report documents findings from a literature review exploring international experiences with Community Land Trusts (CLTs) to identify policy and other interventions that can support the development of a thriving CLT sector in Australia and, more specifically, New South Wales (NSW).
CLTs are member-based organisations that hold residential and non-residential assets in ‘trust’ for their local community. Their core mission is to ensure that housing and other CLT projects meet local needs, are well managed, and stay affordable in perpetuity. CLTs are found in many places around the world, offering a variety of housing from rentals, through intermediate tenures such as co-operatives, to homeownership. This report focuses on the capacity of CLTs to deliver permanently affordable homeownership, as this is an important and notably absent element in efforts to address Australia’s housing affordability crisis.
Drawing on evidence from the USA, UK, and Europe, we identified six clusters of interventions enabling CLTs to develop and deliver key benefits. These should be explored further in the Australian context to deliver permanently affordable home ownership
