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Legal Definition

Community Land Trusts provide long term solutions to meet a variety of needs. The legal definition is set out in Section 79 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. 

The wording in Section 79 is as follows:

A corporate body which 

  1.  is established for the express purpose of furthering the social, economic and environmental interests of a local community by acquiring and managing land and other assets in order
    1.  to provide a benefit to the local community;
    2.  to ensure that the assets are not sold or developed except in a manner which the trust's members think benefits the local community.
  2.  is established under arrangements which are expressly designed to ensure that:
    1. any profits from its activities will be used to benefit the local community (otherwise than by being paid directly to members);
    2. individuals who live or work in the specified area have the opportunity to become members of the trust (whether or not others can also become members);
    3. the members of a trust control it.

It will be necessary to meet this definition if you wish to apply for funding from the Homes and Communities Agency and the CLT Fund (See Finance).