What is a Community Land Trust?

A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a non-profit corporation that obtains and holds land for the benefit of the community

Community Land Trusts hold land on behalf of a place-based community, and work to balance the needs of individuals who want security of tenure in occupying and using land and housing with the needs of the surrounding community, striving to secure a variety of social purposes such as maintaining the affordability of local housing, preventing the displacement of vulnerable residents, and promoting economic and racial inclusion.

Across the world, there is enormous diversity among community land trusts in the ways that real property is owned, used, and operated and the ways that the trust itself is guided and governed by people living on and around the land.

There are many Community Land Trusts at work in Canada right now, including Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust in Toronto, Northern Community Land Trust in Whitehorse, and Hogan’s Alley Society in Vancouver. The MCLT is a member of the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts, a knowledge-sharing forum creating a pan-Canadian community to ensure the success and growth of the Community Land Trust model throughout Canada.

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Answering the Call for Affordable Housing in Muskoka

Muskoka has become an increasingly unaffordable place to call home, with shelter prices soaring to unattainable heights for people with income at or below the area median income of $83,000 per year for households and $40,800 per year for individuals (2021 census data).

Shelter is considered unaffordable if it costs 30% or more of income to maintain, but with a rental vacancy rate of 0% and an average non-waterfront home price of $685,687, people who live and work in Muskoka are unable to find a place they can afford to live comfortably and securely (2023 Muskoka Vital Signs).

Many locals are often forced to make a hard choice between leaving the district or staying put and struggling financially, while the seasonal labour market has become increasingly dysfunctional to the point where employers are challenged to find workers who can afford to live where they work.

The District of Muskoka’s Housing and Homelessness Task Force put out the call for solutions to local housing shortages in 2019, and the Muskoka Community Land Trust was formed in answer to that call.

The Muskoka Community Land Trust recognizes that there is no one-size-fits all solution to the problem of affordable housing, and is working collaboratively with the District of Muskoka and partner organizations on one of the many solutions across the housing continuum.

We are committed to establishing the land trust model in Muskoka and pursuing permanently affordable and inclusive housing solutions across the region.