What We Do
Utah Community Land Trust is taking action by
- Building a sizable portfolio of permanently affordable housing
- Providing effective stewardship services for the resale-restricted, owner-occupied homes to be developed by UCLT and others
- Creating a favorable environment for community land trust development by promoting public policy, community engagement and fundraising
UCLT is responsible for all of the functions necessary to bring permanently affordable homes to fruition from acquisition of land for development or existing units, development or rehabilitation, marketing of homes to income-qualified working families, educating prospective buyers about the rights and obligations of homeownership, monitoring and enforcing homeowner compliance, managing resales and intervening in cases of homeowner mortgage default. UCLT performs these functions directly or through its partners such as Habitat for Humanity or Neighborworks.
“Housing is absolutely essential to human flourishing. Without stable shelter, it all falls apart.”
—Matthew Desmond
Accessibility for All–Housing Solutions for Shared Prosperity
The Utah Community Land Trust (UCLT) works to ensure the ongoing vitality and diversity of Utah’s communities by creating and sustaining permanently affordable homes. Our work bridges the gap between escalating land prices and the modest incomes of many who live or work here–people who are crucial to the community’s vitality and overall health.
Utah’s Housing Crisis has become a phrase that is heard over and over but how does this affect friends, neighbors, family, or even the community at large? Sadly, many hard working Utahans can no longer afford to live in their communities and reasonably cover basic necessities. Many move to outlying communities that are more affordable but create a longer commute to their employment. Many move in with family or double up or live in substandard housing or become homeless. All of this contributes to increased transportation costs, air pollution, degraded qualify of life and lost productivity to the employer.
Young adults who grew up here can’t afford to stay and young families with children are forced to move away or move between neighborhoods, diminishing the school population. We lose caregivers for seniors, grandchildren, policeman, firefighters, and health care providers. Over time, local independent business owners are affected. In short, our communities risk losing a healthy variety of people and businesses that make our thriving towns so attractive.
UCLT believes that people who work in the community and have settled here should not have to leave because they can no longer afford to stay. Affordable homes that provide stability to a wide cross section of the population are rarely available, a situation that endangers the community vitality.
Affordability for All
What is affordable? According to government guidelines, affordability means that residents spend no more than 30% of their income on total housing costs (including utilities , taxes and insurance).
The 2019 Area Median Income “AMI” for Utah county is $79,500 for a family of four. A family of four making 80% of AMI, $63,600, can spend about $1,600 per month on housing to be affordable.
With a mortgage payment, mortgage insurance, insurance, and utilities, a $217,000 home will be affordable to this family. See our Affordability Chart. (Link to affordabilitychart.pdf)
Permanent affordable housing not only provides homes for these individuals and families but can stabilize neighborhoods, increase educational attainment for children, improve health, provide opportunity for wealth accumulation and reduce dependence on public services.