5 Reasons Policymakers Should Integrate Community Land Trusts Into Florida’s Disaster Plans — BEFORE THE NEXT STORM

More than $4 billion in federal disaster recovery funding is headed to Florida. The decisions made now about how to use those funds will determine how well our communities weather future hurricanes and rebuild in their aftermath. 

Natural disasters are a reality we know all too well in South Florida. Year after year, hurricanes and flooding put our communities, homes, and economy at risk. 

At the same time, Florida is facing one of the most severe housing affordability crises in the nation — especially in South Florida, where nearly half of all households in the Miami–Fort Lauderdale area are cost-burdened. Even before the next storm arrives, many working families already face an uphill battle just to keep a stable home.

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) meet both of these urgent challenges — disaster recovery and long-term housing stability.  These nonprofit organizations help keep housing attainable for middle- and working-class families by holding land in trust and ensuring it serves long-term community needs. They reduce the cost of homeownership, preserve local control, and make sure taxpayer investments in housing and infrastructure are protected for the long haul.

In the wake of hurricanes and flooding across Florida, many families lack access to the resources needed to rebuild. Investors swoop in, buy properties at a discount and flip them into high-end developments that are unaffordable to those who once lived there.

This isn’t just a housing issue — it’s a question of economic stability. Disaster recovery shapes the future of our communities. If we want to protect Florida’s workforce, small businesses, and tax base, we need recovery strategies that put middle- and working-class families front and center.

CLTs offer exactly that. And as federal regulations change or become more limited over time, cities and local municipalities can still honor their own commitments and goals by partnering with CLTs.

Here are five reasons policymakers should Integrate CLTs into Florida’s disaster planning — and specific actions city and state leaders can take to put them to work.

1. CLTs Keep People in Their Homes — Even After Disaster Strikes

After storms and floods, it’s middle- and working-class families who often face the toughest path to recovery. With fewer resources and limited access to financing, they face greater challenges evacuating, rebuilding, or navigating disaster aid.

In many cases, delays in recovery force homeowners or landlords to sell their properties under pressure, opening the door for outside investors to scoop up land, redevelop it, and drive up housing costs. The result? Families who’ve lived in a neighborhood for years may no longer be able to afford to stay.

CLTs offer a different approach: they protect homes and the people who live in them. By holding land in trust and ensuring homes remain affordable over the long term — for both renters and homeowners — CLTs help create stability after disaster, not just temporary relief. They prevent displacement, preserve neighborhood integrity, and help families rebuild their lives in the same communities where they work, go to school, and contribute to the local economy.

This is especially important in places like South Florida, where nearly half of all households are considered cost-burdened and at risk of housing loss after a disaster.

WHAT POLICY MAKERS CAN DO

Add CLTs as formal partners in state, local, and federal disaster recovery plans. By including CLTs as a strategy in local action plans and recovery efforts, county and municipal governments can preserve housing stability and prevent the displacement of its residents. Statewide efforts can also encourage partnerships with CLTs during disaster response. In 2019, Florida Housing Finance Corporation required partnerships with CLTS, housing authorities and local government in funding rounds that combined disaster dollars with housing credits and bonds. 

2. CLTs Deliver Long-Term, Cost-Effective Results

Recovery isn’t just about rebuilding quickly — it’s about rebuilding wisely. Too often, well-intentioned recovery dollars are spent on short-term fixes that don’t stand the test of time. Homes are repaired or rebuilt, but without long-term affordability protections, they’re quickly lost to rising prices, leaving middle- and working-class families priced out of the very communities they helped rebuild.

CLTs ensure that public and private investments in housing go further and last longer. By requiring that homes remain permanently affordable — not just for the first buyer or tenant — CLTs turn every housing dollar into a durable, long-term asset for the community. A home built or rehabbed by a CLT today will still serve a working family decades from now.

That’s smart planning and smart spending. It protects taxpayers, shields families from future displacement, and strengthens local economies by keeping workers and homeowners rooted in the places they call home.

In a state like Florida, where construction costs and land prices continue to rise, CLTs offer a practical way to increase housing supply without sacrificing long-term affordability.

WHAT POLICYMAKERS CAN DO

Prioritize land acquisition to and investments in CLTs. Local governments and redevelopment agencies can donate land, foundations can provide grants and program related investment, and lenders can offer flexible financing to CLTs to acquire land and buildings to build new and renovate existing housing. Then, funds can be paired with disaster recovery dollars to create stable, affordable housing that lasts well beyond the rebuilding phase.

3. CLTs Know Their Communities and Respond Quickly in Crisis

Quick, effective response during a crisis depends on trust and local relationships — and CLTs bring both.

They’re not just developers. They’re embedded in the communities they serve, with deep ties to residents and a track record of showing up when it counts. For example, during the COVD-19 pandemic, the South Florida Community Land Trust provided   food and utility assistance, connected residents with community services, and worked directly with families to prevent eviction and foreclosure. 

This trust-based infrastructure is just as critical after a natural disaster. CLTs know who’s most at risk, how to reach them, and how to deliver assistance that meets needs.

WHAT POLICYMAKERS CAN DO

Include CLTs in early planning efforts and ongoing contracts for resident services. Their governance of CLTs is designed to ensure resident involvement. For example, board leadership at the South Florida Community Land Trust includes a homeowner and a renter from one of the organization’s buildings, along with representatives from nonprofits based in the neighborhoods where the CLT is developing new housing. Their local presence and credibility help ensure recovery programs reach the people they’re meant to serve.

4. CLTs Rebuild Smarter and Safer

Rebuilding after a disaster isn’t just about speed — it’s about doing it right. CLTs emphasize thoughtful planning, resilient design, high-quality construction, and smart site selection — all with the goal of creating safer, more stable neighborhoods.

Beyond housing, CLTs boost local economies. They hire local contractors, pay fair wages, and invest in infrastructure that’s built to last. That keeps money circulating locally and increases the return on every public dollar spent.  

WHAT POLICYMAKERS CAN DO

Provide resources to CLTs to recover and mitigate against disasters. After Hurricane Harvey, the City of Houston launched a CLT to rebuild homes on higher ground and ensure long-term affordability for working families. That trust is now active in 18 neighborhoods. In Louisiana, a state-run CLT is helping entire communities relocate from flood-prone areas to safer ground, building flood-resistant homes while converting former home sites back into natural wetlands to reduce future disaster risk. And locally, the South Florida Community Land Trust is upgrading older housing with resilient features to mitigate future storm-damage.

5. CLTs Maximize the Value of Public Investment

Public dollars go further when they’re used to attract private investment — and that’s exactly what CLTs do.

CLTs don’t rely solely on government funding — they leverage it. They blend federal, state and local grants with philanthropic support, private capital, and mission-driven financing. In this way, public investment in a CLT becomes a catalyst drawing in other resources and creating momentum for other longer-term solutions, helping to deliver permanently affordable housing, resilient infrastructure, and stronger, more stable neighborhoods.

WHAT POLICYMAKERS CAN DO

Invest in the growth and readiness of CLTs, particularly in disaster prone areas. State and local governments — along with philanthropic partners — can expand access to seed funding, public land donations, and technical assistance to strengthen established CLTs and help launch new ones where they’re needed most. These investments ensure CLTs are equipped to deliver long-term, community-centered housing solutions before and after disasters.