Community land trust
Definition
A community land trust is a shared-equity housing arrangement in which the trust typically retains the land and the homeowner holds the home under a ground lease with resale limits. It is not ordinary fee-simple ownership and not generic down-payment assistance.
In plain English
Some affordable-purchase programs separate the house from the land. A community land trust usually keeps the land and leases it to the homeowner. The homeowner still borrows against the home interest allowed by the program. Resale and occupancy rules belong to that trust, not to a national product.
Technical definition
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-5.3-01 is PRIMARY for the shared-equity community-land-trust heading, including land ownership, ground leases, and resale restrictions.
Why it matters
First-time buyers may hear CLT and think they are buying the land and house the ordinary way. The land-and-lease split is the point of the structure.
Related terms
Sources reviewed
Shared Equity Overview
ObservedSeptember 7, 2026
Important note
A CLT typically retains land ownership while the homeowner holds the home under a ground lease with affordability restrictions. Individual program rules are not universal.