European Community Land Trust Network

The European Community Land Trust Network is a recently founded coalition linking over 300 Community Land Trusts (CLTs) across Europe. Launched in June 2023 at the International Social Housing Festival in Barcelona, its formation was preceded by a collaborative planning effort from Community Land Trust Brussels, Space&Matter, and And The People, drawing on momentum generated from the EU-funded Sustainable Housing for Inclusive and Cohesive Cities (SHICC) initiative. The SHICC project was instrumental in accelerating interest and growth in the CLT sector, and by 2023, the number of European CLTs had increased from 33 in 2017 to more than 350. Functioning as a networking and advocacy body, the organisation promotes the CLT model as a permanent alternative to speculative land and housing markets, focusing on projects that keep homes affordable for low- and middle-income residents. Its members range from long-established CLTs—such as those in Brussels, Ghent, Lille, and London—to emerging groups in countries like Poland and Slovenia. The network’s activities include facilitating knowledge exchange, supporting new CLT formation, and engaging with policy makers to create conditions favorable to the expansion of the model. Recent examples include support and resource sharing for large Belgian and French urban CLTs and capacity building for nascent groups in Eastern Europe. The network encourages cooperation among stakeholders—from resident groups to public authorities—to address shared issues such as land scarcity, affordability, and the need for non-speculative housing. The European Community Land Trust Network is based online and operates transnationally, bridging local initiatives and the wider movement for community-led, permanently affordable housing.