Q:
Are Community Land Trusts (CLTs) automatically considered to be
CHDOs?
A:
No. CHDO status is not automatically conferred on CLTs.
A community land trust is a unique approach to preserving the long-term
affordability of housing costs. CLTs are used mostly in hot housing
markets where the price of land is skyrocketing, making homes or
rental properties unaffordable. The basic characteristics of a community
land trust are: 1) the organization, usually nonprofit, owns the
land and leases it to homeowners with a 99-year ground lease; 2)
land-leases require owner occupancy and usually a resale provision
to ensure sale of the home to another low-income family; and 3)
the CLT is governed by a Board of Directors made up of members who
represent residents of the CLT homes, members who are not CLT residents
but reside in the area of the CLT, and finally members who represent
the broader public interest. CLTs are defined in Section 233(f)
in the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990
(NAHA).
The
value of a CLT is its dedication to community control of affordable
housing and its long-term solution to affordability. Although most
CLTs are developed in areas with high housing costs, they also can
be used as a method to preserve affordable housing before costs
escalate.
CLTs
are eligible applicants for CHDO technical assistance (TA) funds.
CHDO TA funds are used to promote the ability of CHDOs to maintain,
rehabilitate and construct housing for low-income and moderate-income
families and to effectively use HOME program funds and other sources
of funding to produce affordable housing, and facilitate the education
of low-income homeowners and tenants. CHDO TA funds may be accessed
by contacting the local HUD field office.
For
the purpose of receiving CHDO set-aside funds to produce HOME-assisted
housing, CLTs must undergo the same designation process as any other
nonprofit organization seeking CHDO status (See CPD Notice 97-11,
"Guidance on Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs)
under the HOME Program."). However, Section 233(f) of NAHA
exempts CLTs from two of the requirements applicable to other CHDOs,
stating:
"For
the purposes of this section, the term "community land trust"
means a community housing development organization (except that
the requirements under subparagraphs (C) and (D) of section 104(6)
shall not apply for the purposes of this subsection)
."
The
exceptions referred to in this section are:
- a CLT does not have to demonstrate capacity for carrying out
activities under the Act; and
- a CLT does not need to demonstrate a history of serving the
local community or communities within which the housing is to
be located.
Attachment
A of CPD Notice 97-11, "CHDO Checklist," explains the
required qualifications for CHDO designation and outlines four categories
of documents that nonprofit organizations need to provide to be
designated or re-designated a CHDO:
- legal status;
- capacity;
- organizational structure; and
- relationship with for-profit entities.
A
CLT must provide all documentation required in Appendix A to the
PJ with the exception of Section II, capacity.
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