About Hannibal Square Community Land Trust

The Hannibal Square Community Land Trust was established as a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit, member-based corporation in Winter Park, Florida in November 2004. Dedicated to creating and preserving the quality and affordability of housing within Winter Park and other Central Florida communities, we provide opportunities for low, very low and moderate-income families to secure housing that is controlled by the residents on a long-term basis.

To achieve its goals, the Land Trust obtains real property which it then leases to qualified buyers on a 99-year ground lease. The buyer is able to buy a home, removing the often-prohibitive cost of the land from the equation. This creative approach to home ownership is modeled on the nationally successful land trust movement, an increasingly popular way to ensure that communities maintain a diverse mix of housing opportunities.

What is a community land trust?

A community land trust is a nonprofit, community-based organization that works to provide permanently affordable homeownership opportunities. A CLT acquires land and removes it from the speculative, for-profit, real estate market. CLTs hold the land they own “in trust” forever for the benefit of the community.

How does CLT homeownership work?

Buyers who purchase through a CLT purchase only the house and enter into a long-term agreement with the CLT to lease the land. CLT homes are sold to families with limited incomes. These homes cost less than market rate homes because CLT homebuyers purchase only the house and enter into a long-term agreement – a 99-year ground lease – with the CLT for the use of the land.

Fannie Mae Certified Community Land Trust

The Florida Housing Coalition partnered with Fannie Mae to complete program reviews of community land trusts (CLTs) in Florida in partial satisfaction of Fannie Mae’s eligibility requirements for community land trust loans. Lenders and CLTs can find these requirements in Section B5-5.1-04 of the Selling Guide. As part of this review, the Florida Community Land Trust Institute also determines if CLTs meet the requirements of Fannie Mae’s Duty to Serve Plan.

HSCLT passed this review and was certified on March 13, 2019.