Madison Area Community Land Trust

Our Mission:

MACLT's mission is to liberate land for the benefit of historically marginalized populations at the lowest incomes possible, preserve urban space for community use, and create deeply and permanently affordable homeownership opportunities for those typically exploited by the housing market.

About MACLT

Since 1991, MACLT has been Dane County’s only nonprofit providing permanently affordable homeownership opportunities using the community land trust (CLT) model. As one of over 300 CLTs in North America, MACLT holds land in trust for the benefit of the community, and sells homes on this land to low-income buyers at a subsidized price. The homeowner agrees to "pay it forward," and sell the home at an affordable price to the next low-income homeowner (based on a resale formula in the ground lease). This way, MACLT ensures that the homes remain affordable for future generations, even as property values in the surrounding area may rise. The CLT model has proven to help to prevent displacement and maintain diverse, inclusive neighborhoods. 

Impact that Grows Over Time

We have used public dollars from the City of Madison to preserve affordability for over 62 homes in Madison, but the impact goes beyond the first buyers of those homes. MACLT has enabled over 123 low-income families to access affordable homes. We have already doubled the impact of public dollars invested into the CLT, and this impact will grow with time.

Stability for Low-income Homeowners

• Stability: Our homeowners have predictable, low mortgage payments and are not subject to rent increases or non-renewals that renters often deal with. CLTs also perform exceptionally well with regard to homeownership retention: CLT homeowners’ foreclosure rate is 1/10th of the conventional homeowners’ foreclosure rate, nationally.

• Wealth building: The average renter only saves about $100 per year, but our program allows those who have only otherwise been able to rent a chance to build wealth through homeownership. Most MACLT homeowners use equity saved in their CLT home to buy a market-rate home when they are ready. Our shared equity model allows the seller to keep the equity they have gained, plus modest appreciation every year. Our current homeowners have an average of $58,000 saved in equity in their homes and they will generate additional modest returns on their investment when they sell. 

                                                        MACLT property map.

Housing Development

• MACLT is seeing a major growth spurt, and is on the path to expand our portfolio by over 50% in the next 5 years by adding 35 new permanently-affordable homes to the land trust.
• MACLT has 6 new construction units breaking ground this year at Owl Creek and Mosaic Ridge, and 1 acquisition-rehabilitation unit to be added to the MACLT at Village Cohousing.
• MACLT's next project is a new permanently-affordable condominium development on the Voit property on Madison's eastside, which is expected to begin construction in 2026.

Post-Purchase Support

MACLT is the "developer who doesn't go away," providing ongoing post-purchase support to ensure a smooth homeownership experience for our first-time homebuyers. This commitment includes: 

• Educational sessions on topics such as winterization, refinancing, and basic maintenance
• One-on-one support to help homeowners navigate housing maintenance resources and address specific challenges they may face in homeownership.
• Maintenance funding: Since 2021, MACLT has distributed over $900,000 in grants for minor home repair for low-income homeowners in our program, and capital improvements to condominium common elements.

Your commitment to ensuring everyone has a stable place to live is what helps us grow. Will you consider a gift to MACLT today to support the development of more permanently affordable homes?

Visit our website to learn more!