Houston Community Land Trust Notes

Guest Lecture: Ashley Allen from Houston Community Land Trust

Introduction

Ashley Allen from the Houston Community Land Trust was a virtual guest in the course.
The lecture aims to explore local and community responses to the housing crisis, highlighting the role of Community Land Trusts (CLTs).

Context: Housing Crisis and Federal Responses

Previous course content covered the problems with housing and federal responses over the decades.
The federal responses have been dwindling, especially with the new administration's policies in April 2025.
The housing first approach to homelessness is being eliminated, causing severe consequences.
Columbus House in New Haven, which uses the housing first approach, is losing funding and facing a severe homelessness crisis.
Cities and communities are increasingly taking up the slack in addressing the housing crisis, particularly at the neighborhood level.

Community Development Initiatives

Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Economic Development Corporations (EDCs) are examples of local responses.
Project Row Houses in Houston serve as an example of CDCs/EDCs.
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are gaining prominence in numbers and scope.
Ashley Allen is the founder and director of the Houston Community Land Trust.

Ashley Allen's Background

Ashley Allen experienced homelessness with her mother for several years during her childhood.
She pursued higher education, initially studying biotech, then transitioning to science education, and eventually working in the nonprofit sector, specifically in housing.

Ashley Allen's Career Journey

Lost scholarship and worked to pay for school, professor suggested applied sciences
Changed her major to food and chemistry and loved it.
Managed a food science and market research lab and tested products for companies like Gatorade, Barilla pasta, Birds Eye, and Avon.
Worked on DiGiorno rising crust pizza to ensure directions on the box were correct.
Worked on a project for Gatorade to reduce sugar content by increasing color intensity.
Decided to pursue community-related work.
Contemplated teaching but realized it wasn't for her after working in the Chicago Public School System.
Worked as a program coordinator for an educational nonprofit, focusing on college access programs (TRIO programs) funded by the Department of Education.
Obtained a master's in public administration to work in the public sector.
Worked for a biotech nonprofit, helping diversify the science industry and connecting startups to incubator spaces.
Volunteered as a community organizer with the Coalition for the Homeless, developing policies for students and families experiencing homelessness (McKinney Vento).
Worked at Horizons for Youth, providing scholarships and career transition support to students.
Started a doctoral program in Culture and Educational Policy at Loyola University of Chicago and taught history of American education.
Worked for Barack Obama's foundation.
Became the executive director of the Houston Community Land Trust, aligning with her passion for housing policy and helping unhoused individuals.
Finished her PhD in culture and educational policy with an emphasis on sociology in 2021.

History of Community Land Trusts

The first CLT was started in the 1960s by African American farmers in Albany, Georgia (Charles and Shirley Sherrod).
New Communities Inc. was formed as a response to retaliation for participating in the civil rights movement.
The model was inspired by kibbutz in Israel and other collective models.
New Communities aimed to create a full community with commercial, residential, and farming components, but initially focused on farming.
After years of litigation, the government returned the land, and New Communities became a 1,600-acre farm and economic driver for the community.
Farmers lease the land, keeping costs low and enabling them to sell products at reasonable prices.
New Communities' offices are located in a former plantation, where agriculture education and agribusiness courses are taught.

Scope of Community Land Trusts

There are over 300 community land trusts in the United States.
Examples include Douglas CLT (DC) and Champlain (Burlington, Vermont), the largest CLT in the US.
CLTs are international, with presence in Australia, Canada, France, South Africa, and China.
In Texas, the number of CLTs has grown from one to ten in the last five years.
In October 2023, community organizers in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, sought to learn about CLTs to save communities (favelas) from being displaced by high priced condos

Purpose of Community Land Trusts

Take land out of speculative markets.
Prevent developers from turning homes or commercial spaces into expensive condos or malls, which can displace residents.
Keep the land permanently affordable.
Prevent prices from increasing due to developer speculation on student housing.
Give ownership and control to the community.
Ensure community members benefit from new developments and are not displaced.
Limit displacement.
Maintain affordability amidst gentrification.
Enable a mix of affordable housing and new developments for the current community.
Can be used for a variety of things:
- Single-family home ownership
- Multifamily apartments/condos
- Commercial spaces for businesses
- Green spaces and farms
- Conservation of lakes, rivers, ponds, bayous, and parks

Houston Community Land Trust

Founded in 2018, with operations starting in 2019.
Mission: To make quality affordable housing achievable for limited income households.
Works with Houstonians under 80% of the area median income (AMI).
- For one person, the maximum income is approximately $54,000$ .
- For a family of four, it's about $65,000$ .
Places the land in trust, owned by the organization, and leased out to keep it affordable long term.

Initial Focus: Single-Family Home Ownership

Started with single-family home ownership due to city funding and to avoid stigma associated with public housing.
Aims to support a wide range of people, including those on Section 8 vouchers and professionals like public defenders.
Potential buyers include:
- People on fixed incomes (seniors, people with disabilities).
- Homeowners with mortgages at the top of their budget.
- Homeowners whose heirs might not be able to afford the home if passed down.
- Homeowners who want to invest in other things rather than just housing.
- Homeowners who plan to reside in the home long term.

Benefits of CLT Home Ownership

Building equity on the home instead of renting (1.25% appreciation) Equity building asset.
Lower mortgage payments than traditional buyers.
Taxing agreement to prevent loss of homes due to rising property taxes.
Ability to pass down affordability to heirs.
Post-purchase stewardship (support with maintenance and property care).

How the Program Works

Homebuyer buys a house of their choice.
CLT qualifies the buyer based on income limits.
At closing, the deed for the land goes in the trust, and the deed for the house goes in the buyer's name.
A ground lease binds the parties together, giving the homeowner exclusive rights to the land.
In exchange, the homeowner agrees to:
- Use the home as their primary residence.
- Properly maintain the home.
- Only resell to an income-qualified buyer at a predetermined affordable price.

Example

Home price: $230,000$
CLT provides a grant of up to $150,000$ :
- Down payment: reduces the price to $90,000$ . Mortgage that the owner will pay.
- Closing costs: $10,000$
Mortgage: only for $90,000$ on what's actually a $230,000$ house.
Resale:
Sell the home in ten years for 110,000.
You bought it at 90, you got your 1. 25, we'll pay you out, and then you get whatever you paid off on your mortgage.
The next buyer purchases for $110,000$ (instead of the market value of, ex. $300,000$ ).
The $150,000 subsidy stays with the home.

Funding

The $150,000$ subsidy per home comes from the city of Houston. Other organizations that gave Operational fundings are J.P Morgan Chase.

Requirements to Qualify

Under 80% of the area median income (AMI), dictated by HUD.
Pre-approved with a CLT-approved lender.
Debt-to-income ratio requirements.
Homebuyer education certificate from a CDC.
Cannot currently own a home.
Proof of ability to pay (no negative bank statements).

Success by the Numbers

200 homeowners.
First home sold in June 2019.
Average AMI: 61%.
New home development program:
- Average purchase price: $75,001.34$
- Average monthly payment: $649$ (including taxes and insurance)
Homebuyer Choice program:
- Average purchase price: $105,000$
- Average monthly payment: under $1,100$ (including everything)
  *Market prices 245k VS what our buyers are paying only 105-107k.

Side-by-Side Comparison

$230,000$ house through CLT:
- Total payment: approximately $1,008$
- Income requirement: $37,000$ per year
Same house through FHA loan:
- Total payment: $2,193$
- Income requirement: $80,000$ per year
With City of Houston down payment assistance ( $50,000$ ):
- Total payment: approximately $2,000$
- Income requirement: $72,600$

Stewardship Program

Responsibilities

Ensuring homes are in good condition.
Adhering to the ground lease.

Support

Workshops and events on property taxes, insurance, etc.
Transfer on death deed requirement to avoid probate court.
Disaster recovery plan.
Email and text communications/newsletter.

Engagement

Homeowners are on the board and part of the membership organization.
Annual membership meetings and community engagement events (World CLT Day, holiday party, workshops).
CLT members vote on various matters related to the organization's operations.

Expanding the CLT Model

Exploring different housing typologies.
Developing strategies that require less complex processes than financial investments.
Addressing challenges within current housing programs.
Developing programs that support long-term affordability.

Preservation and Rehab Program

For seniors whose homes are in disrepair, to stabilize prices after repairs and prevent loss of homes due to increased property taxes.
Acquiring and rehabbing small family multi-buildings for affordable rentals (focusing on renters from 30% to 80% of the area median income).

Tiny Home Community

Working with Prairie View A&M University and Rice University Architecture Schools to design tiny homes at affordable prices.
Two university worked together.

Commercial Space

Looking at a commercial building to create office and meeting spaces for small businesses being displaced by rising costs.
The CLT's office space will also be located in the building.

Addressing Potential Challenges

The Houston Community Land Trust has a process to address various potential challenges for homeowners including intervention programs and transition support to avoid foreclosure.

Grace Period

The Houston Community Land Trust provides a grace period for homeowners who experience a loss of income so they don't have to follow strict payment guidelines every month.
They work closely with lenders and also will step in to buy the property back at mitigate or alleviate foreclosures.

Increase of Income

If someone makes above the 80% threshold of income after getting approved for housing, the owners housing payments will stay the same.
In other housing programs, the cost of rent goes up with the increase of income but the opposite happens in this situation so homeowners are able to be stable in the increase and decrease of income and cost stability.