Founded in 1973, the Northern California Land Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for permanently affordable homeownership and to revitalizing Bay Area neighborhoods through the community land trust model. NCLT specializes in permanently affordable housing for those who have no access to market rate housing (including those with lower wage jobs, on fixed incomes, or people with disabilities).

The Land Trust Model

The Community Land Trust model of ownership was originally created by the Institute for Community Economics. The CLT model guarantees permanently affordability while residents reap the benefits of owning quality, affordable single-family houses, cooperatives, condominiums, commercial property or other facility on top of the land. By removing all or part of the cost of land from homeownership, housing becomes more affordable for both the first homeowner and the home's future owners who might face an even more difficult housing market.

NCLT Property Portfolio

The Northern California Land Trust (NCLT) maintains a variety of permanently affordable housing in its portfolio, as well as a number of community facilities. To develop properties in the high-cost San Francisco Bay Area, NCLT has designed several innovative projects. For example, NCLT worked with Fannie Mae and a local housing authority to be one of the pioneers of the Section 8 Homeownership program, allowing Section 8 to be used for homeownership, rather than mere rental subsidies. NCLT offers different types of homeownership: Shared Homes, Housing Cooperatives, Condominiums, and Single Family Homes.

Shared Homes: A form of cooperative housing
In the traditional cooperative, residents own a share of the entire project, with the right to occupy their individual, self-contained housing unit. In shared housing, cooperative owners independently occupy a room, typically in a larger single family home, and share living areas, common areas, kitchen and bathrooms. Residents build community through shared meals and household responsibilities. This model can be very effective for singles and/or couples, but is a less desirable option for families.

Cooperative Housing: Not individually owned by the residents
Residents own a share of the entire project, with the right to occupy their individual unit. The Co-op association qualifies for a loan, based on the income from “rents”. Residents own and manage the property, pass all cost savings on to themselves, and are eligible for homeowner tax benefits. However, co-op owners leave any equity with the project when they sell their unit. With affordable rents and guaranteed housing, co-op owners can build savings toward individual home ownership.

Condominiums: Owned by the individual purchaser, just like single family homes
Equity accrues and homeowners are eligible for tax benefits. Condo homeowners form a Home Owners' Association (HOA) and share the expenses of managing and maintaining the entire property, making condominiums more affordable than single-family homes. Through the HOA, residents are able to create a strong sense of community for themselves and their families.

Single Family Homes:
Single-family homes are seen by many as the top rung of the housing ladder, but are often the most difficult for low-income earners to reach. Because of the high housing costs in the Bay Area, the impact of subsidies are limited. In addition to subsidizing the purchase price, NCLT offers oversight and technical assistance to low-income homeowners to ensure their success as they undertake the responsibilities of ownership. Throughout its history, NCLT has rehabilitated 75 affordable single-family detached units through the former HUD resale programs, the majority of which were not funded for permanent affordability.

NCLT believes that this multi-tied structure allows for movement up the housing ladder. NCLT also maintains a number of rental/transitional housing units, with priority given to households actively pursuing homeownership through NCLT, but whose incomes or credit history prevents them from qualifying for homeownership. Living in these units is seen as the first step towards homeownership. NCLT is also dedicated to ensuring that housing is accessible to all- including those with disabilities. For example, half of the units at the Haskell Street CLT Homes in Berkeley are wheelchair accessible and NCLT is always actively pursuing funding to accommodate homeowners with a variety of needs.

Contact the Northern California Land Trust for more information and to begin taking the steps toward homeownership.

The Northern California Land Trust (NCLT)
3126 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94705
510-548-7878
www.nclt.org
nclt@nclt.org