Statewide Victory: AB2818 Fair Property Taxation for Community Land Trusts

CLAM board members Susan Scott and Eric Oldmixon played key roles in the passage in 2020 of California AB 2818 – Property Taxation: Community Land Trusts. Susan represents CLAM at the California Community Land Trust Network (CA CLT) that drafted and sponsored the bill and Susan, Eric, and the CA CLT team made numerous trips to Sacramento, meeting with legislators and staff and appearing at legislative hearings.

Under AB 2818, county assessors will prepare property tax bills for Community Land Trust homeowners that reflect that the homeowners own only the improvements on the land (the house and other buildings), not the land itself. This will help CLT owners of affordable homes to save thousands of dollars a year by not being taxed on property they don’t own.

In the process of advocating for the legislation, Susan and Eric educated legislators, legislative and agency staff, and Assessors about the Community Land Trust model and its potential to stabilize communities undergoing gentrification, evictions, and wildly escalating property costs.