Our Story

Mission

Bay Area Community Land Trust is a social justice organization that converts for-profit rental properties into permanently affordable, democratically run, cooperative housing for lower income households in order to foster economic and racial equity.

Vision

These cooperative communities benefit workers, families, students, seniors, disabled, low and middle income folks from diverse backgrounds — now and forever.

BACLT advances housing as a human right by creating permanently affordable, resident-controlled housing cooperatives. BACLT combats inequitable housing outcomes by acquiring, converting, and preserving unsubsidized affordable rental housing in low-income neighborhoods facing displacement. Through grassroots partnerships, BACLT also revives vacant buildings that are under-utilized, offers interactive training on cooperative property management and democratic governance, and supports the intersectional housing justice efforts of tenant rights, faith, and community organizations. BACLT is governed by its low-income residents and members whose wisdom and experience direct our work for a more equitable, sustainable, and community-controlled future.

History

Bay Area Community Land Trust (BACLT) is a democratic community organization founded in 2006 whose mission is to create permanently affordable and sustainable communities of cooperative homeowners, to take land and housing out of the speculative market, and to stabilize our neighborhoods.

We currently have eight affiliated housing co-ops in Berkeley and Oakland and more coming soon. These co-ops are made up of dozens of residents who reflect the diversity of the Bay Area.

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 Our Values

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Land Use Should Benefit Community

A land's value is derived from the surrounding community. Thus, it should benefit and sustain the whole community, not merely private parties. The land trust is a steward of the land and the co-op communities on that land.

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Democratic Decision-Making

BACLT and its partner cooperatives are run democratically by their memberships; community and resident control are central to the land trust and co-op housing models.

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Permanently Affordable Housing

Housing is a human right. Community ownership of the land keeps housing from being sold or rented to the highest bidder and keeps it affordable for future generations.

 
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Sharing Resources

Shared amenities (laundries, gardens, vehicles, tools and libraries) and pooled purchasing lower costs for everyone.

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Inclusive Communities

Co-ops must be open and welcoming to everyone. We aim for multi-generational diversity in cultures and incomes and to balance individual privacy with community relationships and voluntary resource sharing.

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Green Building and Living

Sustainable urban living through re-use of materials, shared common spaces and gardens, alternative energy sources, recycling, composting, resource conservation.