Look to Community Land Trusts if you want real Help to Buy

More attention should be paid to the communities who are developing innovative solutions to help people buy their own home says Community Led Housing charity, as questions are raised over the effectiveness of Help to Buy.

The Government’s Help to Buy scheme, has been called out for favouring the better off instead of the low and medium earners it was intended for, with Labour saying the programme needs refocusing.

In response to the reports, The National Community Land Trust Network has said how the success community led housing is having in delivering genuinely affordable housing for low and medium earners deserves closer attention.

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a form of community led housing where communities are coming together to tackle local housing problems and build their own affordable housing. The approach has grown seven-fold in the past seven years.

London CLT are building homes linked to what people actually earn in an area. Their approach means someone on a median income never pays more than a third of that income on housing costs. They are working with community groups in seven London boroughs to develop projects.

Residents moved in to London CLT's first scheme in east London in 2017. A ten-minute drive from Canary Wharf, 1 bed homes at the CLT sold for £130,000; 2 beds for £182,000. These prices are significantly cheaper compared to market values in the area where 1 bed properties cost £450,000 and 2 beds sell for around £550,000 on average.

Catherine Harrington, Director at the National CLT Network said:

“There is a growing grassroots movement going on where communities are innovating to help people who 'can't rent, can't buy'. These are Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and many are coming up with new ways to make housing genuinely affordable for local people. There is a lot of positivity surrounding the movement, and real opportunity for it to scale up and become a mainstream housing option.

“There certainly should be more support for those who need help to buy, but it’s the communities who are developing innovating solutions to help people buy their own home that we should be paying attention to.”

Ends

Contact:

Beth Boorman, Communications Manager at the National CLT Network on beth@communitylandtrusts.org.uk or 0203 096 7792 / 07731570748

Notes to editors:

• The latest figures on Help to Buy were published on 26 April 2018
• London CLT are the first Community Land Trust in the capital to sell homes. Residents moved into their flagship project in Mile End in 2017. They are now working on projects in Lewisham, Croydon, Southwark, Lambeth, Redbridge and Haringey. www.londonclt.org

2. The National CLT Network is the Charity for Community Land Trusts (CLTs) in England and Wales and supports and promotes the work of CLTs, representing 240 CLTs in England and Wales. CLTs are local organisations set up and run by ordinary people to develop and manage homes that are genuinely affordable for now and in perpetuity. CLTs have developed over 820 homes, with more than 5.000 in the pipeline up to 2021. More information can be found on our website here: www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk