Solutions Immobilier Solidaire (SIS) is working on addressing the housing crisis in Brome-Missisquoi by creating an MRC-wide “Community Land Trust” (CLT) - a new real estate model that was established in the United States and that is spreading across the world.
Solutions Immobilier Solidaire was formed early last year by Annie-Pierre Gorup, who has a background in real estate development, and Samuel Gervais, who has been working in social entrepreneurship for many years. After meeting in Brome-Missisquoi, they decided to join forces in an attempt to address the need for more housing, particularly affordable housing, in the region because “it really affects ourselves and everyone around us,” said Gorup.
According to Gorup, CLT’s are non-profit organizations that “acquire and hold land in the interests of their communities,” resulting in a shift in how we’ve come to understand real estate. As Brome-Missisquoi experiences an influx of newcomers and drastic increases in rental and housing prices, Gorup emphasized that we need to find solutions to bring more housing options to the region.
“We have some numbers as to what is actually happening in Brome-Missisquoi. For example, from 2020 to 2021 -- over the course of one year, there were over 2,400 citizens that came to the region, which puts the MRC in second place in terms of migration,” highlighted Gorup. “That’s a lot of new families and a lot of new individuals that are - and still are - looking for places to live and build a life. There’s certainly demand and pressure on the housing market, especially in this area.”
Gorup noted that there are a number of statistics that can be listed, but they all point in one direction -- the need to provide more affordable housing in Brome-Missisquoi.
“Sutton, for example, in the last four trimesters, the median sales price of a single family home was $640,000. (…) There’s also different companies and organizations around that are looking for workers and to attract and hold workers, this is also something that needs to be addressed in the area. There is room to work on some of these issues and to provide more affordable housing considering the prices and where they’re at today,” she explained.
SIS hopes to bring solutions to the table for Brome-Missisquoi by working with municipalities and other stakeholders to create a regional Community Land Trust (CLT).
“It’s a different paradigm shift in terms of how to see real estate. Basically, it transforms our relationship to the land. We are moving away from the predominant model of private property, towards something of a model that is more collective, that has more of a social vocation at the centre of it,” she mentioned. “What we’re doing here in Brome-Missisquoi is creating the first regional-based CLT.”
Explaining the role that CLT’s can play in bringing more housing options to its communities, Gorup explained that a CLT acquires land and holds it for perpetuity, taking it out of the speculative market and limiting private investors from coming in and boosting rental and housing prices.
“There’s a priority of residents, mostly low and medium household [income]. (…) They will then enter into agreements, so either to sell or rent these housing units, but the land trust will always keep the land separate. The land will stay in the community land trust,” she continued to explain. “So in that way, what happens is that there is a control. The terms and conditions, for example, to increase rent or to resell are controlled essentially by the land trust.”
Gorup noted that the CLT’s have their own judiciary structure and governance that is “representative of their communities.”
She explained that SIS is creating the MRC-wide CLT for Brome-Missisquoi and it will support the CLT in bringing new housing projects to life, but SIS and the CLT are two separate entities.
“That allows SIS to act a level where it can share tools and resources and help CLTs keep growing, which is an essential part of the model,” highlighted Gorup. “So to keep making acquisitions, partnerships, and collaborations throughout the region. Having a non-profit organization that is involved in the operations of the CLT - and that could also export and extend those services to one or more CLTs - in our opinion, has a really positive impact financially in terms of viability for those CLTs In question.”
While SIS is currently working on an affordable housing development in Sutton, one of its first major projects, Gorup emphasized that there is a growing interest on part of neighbouring municipalities and MRCs to carry out similar housing projects in their communities.
“I believe that is going to set a precedent for other municipalities to continue discussing and collaborating. There are some discussions with some towns, there’s an effort to educate and explain the model. So we have ongoing conversations with different municipalities in regards to different pieces of property - nothing confirmed at the moment - but we do invite municipalities and residents of the area of Brome-Missisquoi to get in contact with us,” she said. “Our mission is to evaluate different opportunities and essentially remove as many properties from the speculative market and offer them as affordable housing to the community.”
For more information on SIS or the CLT model, send an email to info@solutions-is.org. A website is currently being constructed where announcements for future conferences and presentations on the CLT model will eventually be posted.
Listen to the full interview below: