European Community Land Trust Network

Delivering permanently affordable and sustainable housing to those most in need through deep renovation is an essential part of addressing Europe's housing and climate crises. Using the CLT approach to deliver affordable energy renovation shows what can be done with the right principles that support a #JustTransition. Stay tuned for more on that soon!⏳👀 The European CLT Network hopes the new European Parliament Special Committee on #Housing agrees that Europe needs to strengthen its commitments to #BuildBetterLives using renovation in response to Europe's Housing Crisis.

Building on our joint report with Community Land Trust Network and Dark Matter Labs on Community-Led Stewardship in the context of large site housing developments, we've written a short piece on the 'Lessons for community leadership in large scale housing in the EU' with initial views on the implications for the forthcoming European #AffordableHousing Plan (EAHP). Europe needs to rapidly increase housing supply. However, experience with large-scale housing developments has shown that the design phase, while crucial, is only half the story. The long-term success of housing developments hinge on effective place stewardship. By giving communities genuine ownership and control, we see enhanced long-term affordability, improved environmental sustainability and increased resident satisfaction. The success of new developments will not just be marked by the number of units built—but how these new developments are managed and stewarded to ensure affordability, sustainability, and community are all long term. Read below, and let us know your thoughts! https://lnkd.in/gban-xQw

🚨 New Report - rethinking housing development though community-led place stewardship 👇 Our latest research developed alongside the Community Land Trust Network (England & Wales) and Dark Matter Labs proposes a transformative approach to managing large housing-led developments - community-led place stewardship as a viable alternative to traditional private management companies. 🏘️ Why it matters? 87% of large new housing developments in the UK rely on private management companies. These arrangements often provide poor value for money and lack accountability—a concern highlighted in a damning report by the UK’s Competition and Market Authority. This research shows that a community-led stewardship model via #CommunityLandTrusts offers a proven, democratic, not-for-profit alternative that could be rolled out by industry and local government today, also reducing opposition to large-scale house building. 🏗️This report is packed with timely and practical proposals to support the inform the UK Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes by 2029, and the European Commission’s forthcoming European Affordable Housing plan (EAHP). In particular, the report showcases: 🎆 Five trailblazing case studies from across the UK where communities have successfully shaped, owned, and stewarded large-scale housing developments. 📃 Practical scenarios for local councils, developers, and communities to adopt this approach. 🏫 Lessons from wider Europe, where stewardship issues remain a challenge but where less privatised models and the adoption of community-led models are more common. 💡 A key takeaway summarised by Debra Yudolph CEO of SAY, a RESI Award-winning consultancy advising the property sector on new communities is that “Embedded community work gives a much higher chance of success. Not just for housing, but for large, mixed-use urban developments. There needs to be an ethos of communication and fairness, which is rare.” 🙏 A big thank you to the Laudes Foundation for their support and engagement with this research 📖 Read the full report here via our website here: https://lnkd.in/ef9xw-CB

And it's another Gold to Team CLT! 🥇 Congratulations to Hastings Commons for their exceptional work and the achievement of Gold in this year's World Habitat Awards 🏆 Hastings Commons is a community-led initiative, including a Community Land Trust, that allows residents of a low-income neighbourhood to own, transform and manage derelict buildings, turning them into secure, sustainable and affordable homes, workspaces, and social hubs for all. The enterprise combats the financialisation of housing, increasing affordability and availability whilst empowering the local community. More on Hastings Commons can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ePc7YM92 It's time the EU unleashed the full power of Community Land Trusts through it's upcoming policy initiatives to address Europe's housing crisis! Learn more about this year's winners from around the world here: https://lnkd.in/eTnZbXEZ

Just 2 days left to apply for an exciting opportunity to join our young and dynamic team in Brussels! Work with the European Community Land Trust Network on Policy and Advocacy, and play a key role in advancing community-led housing across Europe. Closing date December 20, 2024. https://lnkd.in/eCTxmqSG

The EP Special Committee on #Housing is now a reality! The real name is the 'special committee on the Housing Crisis in the European Union, and defining its responsibilities, numerical strength and term of office' which indicates there will be many elements of the EU's interventions on housing in the short to medium term that will debated and decided on by this committee based on principles of affordability, availability, inclusivity, and sustainability, among others. Two highlights are that as part of a range of responsibilities, the Special Committee will 📈 analyse the impact of housing speculation; and 🏘️ assess the impact of non-profit and limited-profit housing solutions, such as social or cooperative housing, on the affordability and accessibility of housing for different groups. 📣 📃 The European CLT Network look forward to contributing to those efforts as part of the development and the future implementation of the European affordable housing plan (EAHP)! https://lnkd.in/eg3SamMz

#Hiring 🚨 A week left to apply for the role of Policy and Advocacy Manager with our amazing team in Brussels! Don’t miss this opportunity to make an impact. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/eCTxmqSG

📢 Join our great team in Brussels, we are #hiring! The European Community Land Trust Network is looking for a new Policy and Advocacy Manager to reinforce our Network’s impact and influence at the European level, as well as facilitate member engagement in national and local advocacy activities. If you have a strong interest in policy, and a passion for community-led development, affordable housing and the just transition, then click for more information below and apply by 20 December.

CLT insight alert 🔔🤩 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in collaboration with the International Center for Community Land Trusts have produced a comprehensive report on the partnerships between CLTs and municipal governments in the United States, published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. 📈 The report notes a positive trend in the U.S. in which municipalities are increasingly partnering with CLTs to ensure that public investment for affordable housing is preserved in perpetuity sale after sale.♾️ ➡️ Within the report you will also find recommendations and best practices for successful public authority-CLT partnerships across a variety of contexts, on the basis of the unique CLT approach to land tenure and stewardship, combined with effective local policies, many of which we’re also seeing applied across Europe. 📜Such policies include preferential access to land for CLTs (for purchase or lease), operational funding for CLTs, and even municipalities taking the initiative in creating CLTs.🤝 🤔 However, the reveal areas for improvement in Europe; for example, the recognition of CLTs in state policy has been a significant asset for CLT practitioners in the U.S., and such legislative recognition is still limited across EU Member States and other areas of Europe. 🇪🇺🌍 The European CLT Network will be working to ensure that these learnings and our reflections can help inspire positive change in how we deliver housing and development here in Europe! Congratulations again to the Lincoln Policy Institute and ICCLT for this work, which will be an asset for CLT practitioners and public policymakers worldwide.👏 https://lnkd.in/exDjwqgW

Another milestone reached in Brussels, residents directly involved in the administration of CLTB, putting CLT principles into practice! [EN] Massandjé Bamba, a resident of Arc-en-Ciel, and Pascale Athey, candidate-owner, were elected presidents of the Administrative Body (OA) of the non-profit organisation Community Land Trust Brussels. Their appointment marks an important milestone for the CLTB: for the first time, it is the representatives of the inhabitants of the Administrative Body who take on this responsibility! 💬 "Participatory management as advocated within the CLTB Administrative Body, i.e. inviting representatives of the public authorities, civil society and inhabitants to the same discussion table, is already something quite unprecedented for an organisation, let alone a presidency provided by representatives of the inhabitants. Once again, we have proof that the notions of participation and inclusion so dear to the CLTB are not just theory, but a palpable reality. In any case, Massandjé and I are honored by the trust that has been placed in us to take on this position. We are fully aware of this and will gladly take on this responsibility." – Pascale Athey.