Happy 10th Birthday National Community Land Trust Network

• Published date: 20 October 2020
• Subject Matter: Corporate/Commercial Law, Real Estate and Construction, Charities & Non-Profits , Real Estate, Trusts
• Law Firm: Wrigleys Solicitors
• Author: Mr Peter Parker

At Wrigleys Solicitors, we have been at the forefront of the community-led housing movement for over thirty years.

We believe that the role that community land trusts can play in helping to solve the country's housing crisis has never been more important. As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the National Community Land Trust Network, the official charity supporting Community Land Trusts in England and Wales, we look back at some of the highlights associated with our community-led housing work, and the trends we have seen, over the past ten years:

• The Groups - from the Isle of Wight in the South to Perthshire in Scotland (via Brighton, London, Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, York and many more...), we are privileged to have worked with over 100 groups and have had the pleasure of talking to many more. As an example of our work, you can read about our involvement with the London CLT- St Clements development here. In terms of trends, we have seen huge growth in our client base over the past three years (no doubt in part due to the Community Housing Fund) and an increasing urbanisation of the community land trust. We have worked with over 50 CLTs in the last couple of years alone.

If I was to choose three words which sum up everyone we have come into contact with though our work with CLTs, it would be tenacious, passionate and imaginative. The one consistent attribute that sets them apart from other developers is a resolute desire to build communities, not just homes.

• Developing the Law - we have lobbied the Law Commission and the government about including a statutory exemption for community-led housing groups from the rules on enfranchisement and a ban on new leasehold structures. The proposed new rules are designed to give individuals more control over their properties but could undermine the whole ethos of CLH groups. Our work involved constructing a proposed statutory definition of "community-led housing". Our guidance note was circulated to government departments.

• Changing the Law - we, along with others, have been telling the Treasury how unfair the stamp duty land tax regime is on community-led housing groups. Co-ops UK have also lobbied hard for exemptions for co-operative societies and achieved some tangible very welcome results. If we get a statutory definition of "community-led housing" this will strengthen the case for extending the reliefs granted to co-ops to more of the CLH world.

• Closer to Home - some of the team have started their own...