CLTs and Lease Purchase
A community land trust like Albany’s or City of Lakes CLT, retains ownership of the land under a house, which gives it an interest in the stability and tenure of the property. They ensure permanent affordability of the homes by limiting resale values.
Long-term stewardship of their affordable housing portfolio is a standard part of the CLT model, and this often includes pre- and post-purchase counseling, counseling or refinancing help to cure defaults, and programs to help owners with repairs and upkeep. This kind of continuing interest in a property and experience with a form of tenure that offers most but not all of the rights and responsibilities of homeownership is similar to the ongoing attention required for lease-purchase programs, and could make them a good match.
Miriam Axel-Lute is associate director of the National Housing Institute and editor of Shelterforce. She has returned to NHI/Shelterforce, where she began her career in the late 1990s, after overlapping stints as a journalist, newspaper editor, freelance editor, parenting blogger, urban planning student, and community development consultant. Based in Albany, N.Y., she is also a parent, poet, award-winning columnist, and not-so-award-winning gardener.
National Housing Institute
