CLTs have measurable effects on housing, equity and community stability. They ensure the land of the speculative property market and make it available for future generations.
Affordability and Access to Resources
By holding land in trusts and leasing it below market rates, CLTs make it affordable for individuals, small businesses, or groups to access land they couldn’t otherwise afford due to rising property costs.
By removing land from the speculative market, CLTs keep housing costs stable. Unlike traditional subsidised housing, CLT homes retain affordability over decades, where benefits fade after 15-30 years. In Australia, rural land prices hit $7,000/ha by 2024, pricing out young farmers. CLTs democratise access, supporting livelihoods without massive debt.
The Southern Moreton Bay Island CLT (SMBI) hold the land in trust and provides financing for construction. The properties are then made available for ownership or rental to low and moderate-income households. Another example is Mount Alexander Community Land Ltd.
Protection Against Speculation and Gentrification
CLTs lock land out of the speculative real estate market, preventing price spikes or takeovers by developers or corporations, which ensures long-term community use.
CERES Community Environment Park in Melbourne keeps its 4 ha site affordable for small businesses like cafes and nurseries, despite Melbourne’s commercial rents rising 15% since 2020. Its trust-like model resists gentrification pressures. In urban or tourist-heavy areas 9e.g, Byron Shire), commercial spaces often get snapped up by chains, displacing local ventures. CLTs preserve economic diversity.
Community Control and Empowerment
With governance often split among users, local, and experts, CLTs give communities a direct say in how land is used, fostering ownership and resilience. Mullen Seedhouse and Community Garden (Mullumbimby, NSW) is run by residents who decide what to grow and host, like Indigenous workshops, ensuring the spaces reflects local values – not outsider agendas.
In a country where 60% of the land is privately owned (often by absentee investors), CLTs shift power back to communities, especially marginalised ones.
Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship
CLTs can prioritise ecological goals – conserving ecosystems, reducing sprawl, or promoting sustainable practices – over profit-driven development. Tasmanian Land Conservancy – Long Point Reserve protects 600+ hectares of grasslands and wetlands, boosting biodiversity (bird counts up 30% since 2015) and sequestering 10,000 tons of CO2. It’s a pure conservation project.
Economic Stability and Local Wealth Creation
Non-housing CLTs stabilise local economies by supporting small enterprises, cooperatives or farmers, reinvesting revenue into community projects rather than external profits. CERES supports 20+ micro-businesses and 500 jobs, generating $2million+ yearly for the local economy – all on land leased for $1/year from the council. A formal CLT could amplify this. In regional areas, where rents have dramatically risen, CLTs can keep money circulating locally, not leaking to corporate landlords.
Cultural Preservation and Social Cohesion
CLTs can maintain cultural sites, heritage assets, or shared spaces, strengthening community identity and connection in the face of homogenisation. CLTs can honor the land’s cultural significance, not just its utility – vital when 30% of Australians feel disconnected from their community.
Flexibility for Mixed or Niche Uses
CLTs adapt to local needs –food production, artisan workplaces, or green spaces – offering a scalable, tailored alternative to one-size-fits-all. Bendigo Community Land Trust Proposal plans a co-working space for artisans and an orchard alongside housing, showing now non-housing elements can thrive under the model. In a country with diverse climates and economies, CLTs can pivot – farming in Mimbin, conversation in Tassie, or craft in Bendigo – unlike rigid commercial models.
Long-Term Resilience
The perpetual trust structure ensures land serves its intended purposes for decades, not subject to short-term flips or policy shifts. Djanbung Gardens has thrived since 1994, feeding and training people through floods and droughts, because its land can’t be sold off. With housing trusts proving 50-year affordability, non-housing CLTs promise similar durability – key in Australia’s ever-changing natural and economic environments.