What Is a Community Land Trust (CLT)?
A Community Land Trust, or CLT, is a nonprofit organization that works to keep land and housing affordable for the long term. Instead of selling the land, the CLT keeps ownership of it permanently. Residents, nonprofits, or community partners can lease the land through a long-term renewable agreement, often for 99 years. Homes, community spaces, and local businesses can exist on the land, but the land itself stays in community hands.This approach helps protect neighborhoods from rising costs, displacement, and outside speculation. It creates a path for communities to have more control over the places where they live, work, and gather.
Why it matters:
CLTs help keep neighborhoods stable, affordable, and rooted in the people who make them home.
“We protect the land for the community — not for developers, not for profit.”
EHEBCLT at a Glance: Who We Are
East Harlem El Barrio Community Land Trust is a resident-led organization working to protect and grow permanently affordable housing in East Harlem.
We are:
- Led by local tenants, advocates, and community members
- Committed to fighting displacemen
- Focused on building resident leadership and community power
- Active since 2014 and continuing to grow
What Is a Mutual Housing Association (MHA)?
A Mutual Housing Association, or MHA, is a nonprofit housing model that puts residents at the center. In an MHA, housing is owned and managed with the community in mind. Residents have a real voice in decision-making, rents are designed to stay affordable and predictable, and the goal is long-term stability rather than private profit. MHAs often work alongside CLTs to make sure housing is not only affordable, but also resident-centered, dignified, and democratic.
“MHAs put power back into the hands of the people who live there.”
Our Commitment
We are a resident-led organization dedicated to fighting displacement and building community control in East Harlem. Founded in 2014, EHEBCLT is led by local tenants, organizers, and neighbors who believe housing should serve the people who live here.
Our work is grounded in:
- Permanent affordability
- Resident leadership
- Racial equity
- Community stewardship
Whether we are organizing buildings, preserving affordable homes, or building partnerships—our mission remains the same: keeping East Harlem for East Harlemites.
We don’t just live here. We lead here.
