Community Land Trusts are a form of community-led housing, set up and run by ordinary people to develop and manage homes as well as other assets. CLTs act as long-term stewards of housing, ensuring that it remains genuinely affordable, based on what people actually earn in their area, not just for now but for every future occupier.

Schemes that are genuinely community-led all share common principles:

1. The community is integrally involved throughout the process in key decisions like what is provided, where, and for who. They don’t necessarily have to initiate the conversation, or build homes themselves.

2. There is a presumption that the community group will take a long term formal role in the ownership, stewardship or management of the homes.

3. The benefits of the scheme to the local area and/or specified community group are clearly defined and legally protected in perpetuity.