In Ghent, the residents of the very first ‘Community Land Trust’ project are moving into their new homes. The concept comes from the US and aims to keep housing affordable. Owners buy the house, not the land. There are now 34 CLT homes in Ghent.
Back in 2010, Community Land Trust (CLT) Ghent was founded. A group of enthusiasts adopted a concept that had blown over from the US. The idea is simple: people buy a house or a flat, but not the land. Residents only pay for the house; the land remains the property of a ‘trust’, a foundation. Owners get a long lease on the land. This makes purchasing the house cheaper than on the regular market.
The trust includes owners, local residents and investors. The foundation manages the land and guarantees that it will be used for affordable housing ‘in perpetuity’. Legally, the ground lease is now settled for 99 years. Owners must either live at the property or resell it to someone else who does, reducing the chance of speculation. Homes can also be left to a relative.
In Ghent, there are now 34 CLT homes. They come with a shared garden and a ‘community space’. The flats of different sizes were built in the Muide-Meulestede district. ‘A 1-bedroom flat costs about 150,000 euros, a 4-bedroom flat a little over 300,000 euros,’ explains Bert Vandepitte of CLT Ghent.
‘People who want to participate in the project do have to meet certain conditions. Only people who are also be entitled to a property at a social rent or an owner-occupied house can sign up for the project. CLT’s aim is to help people who otherwise would never be able to buy a house.’
The houses were built by social housing company Thuispunt Gent and are being sold at affordable prices.
The first residents are now busy moving in. The City of Ghent invested 440,000 euros in the form of a subsidy for the land acquisition. Ghent is also responsible for the landscaping of the public domain. That costs a further 800,000 euros. The city authority is part of the trust, together with the properties’ owners, civil society organisations and local residents.
Ghent is eager to roll out this project
CLT Ghent is a pioneer in Flanders. In Wezembeek-Oppem (Flemish Brabant) a cohousing project is currently being built using the CLT concept. In Leuven (Flemish Brabant), a trust was set up 2 years ago. It is expected to start building houses soon. In Ghent too there are further plans. ‘We only make announcements when the deals are completely finalised and that, in part, also depends on politics,’ says Mr Vandepitte.
Politicians see merit in CLT projects to help solve the housing crisis. ‘We are continuing to pioneer new forms of joint housing like Community Land Trust projects,’ the local government coalition accord states.