Bay Area Community Land Trust

10/10/2026

09/30/2026

🎂It's been a month since our 20th Anniversary Community Gala and wooo these amazing photos (by HALEY TANG) bring us right back! Check out our latest newsletter for a recap. Thank you to our honorees, speakers, and community for showing up for BACLT's birthday party 🎉 The food from XULO was so good we forgot that no one brought cake 😋

🌟 Thank you to our event sponsors: Community Vision, Full Spectrum Labs, Self-Help Federal Credit Union, East Bay Cohousing, & Bright Sky Real Estate Solutions.

🙏🏽We had a wealth of in-kind donations from local businesses, organizations, and artists: Doña donaoakland , New Parkway Theater The New Parkway Theater , Misfit Combat Misfit Combat , The Hidden Cafe The Hidden Cafe , Ashley Wong grnbeanbun , Karina Racz Karina Racz , Fairmount House in memory of Chauncey Roberts, Cassandra Arnold, mudflwr 𝔐𝔲𝔡𝔣𝔩𝔴𝔯 𝔄𝔯𝔱𝔰 , B**g Lau, Ariana Waynes, and Trader Joes.

08/22/2026

Open Studio at Fairmount House in Oakland 🥳 Attend one of their open houses on Sat, Sept 12 or Sun, Sept 13 to be eligible for an application! Go to https://www.bayareaclt.org/fairmount-vacancy to learn more 🏡❤️🤎🌳

08/22/2026

🏡 Studio available at Fairmount House for $924/month!

💥 REQUIRED: Attend one of their open house dates Sat/Sun on Sept 12 (10am-2pm) & Sept 13 (4-8pm) to receive an application. Meet residents and get to know the dope history of Fairmount's journey~
❤️‍🔥 RSVP by emailing [email protected]

Link in bio for more information about this and other housing opportunities!

08/20/2026

🪴 We're Hiring! Looking for a Director of Stewardship & Asset Management to join our team in powering community-centered housing.

✨ Full time (40 hours/week) & Salaried ($90k-$100k)
💥 Priority Application Deadline: Monday, Sept 7th

Full info about the position in the link in our bio!

07/31/2026

The East Bay Cooperative Housing Coalition (EBCHC) was formed out of a roundtable discussion hosted by the California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD) to share resources and experiences living in resident owned and controlled multi-family properties. The Bay Area Community Land Trust (BACLT) worked with CCCD to support and expand this coalition. On April 9, 2011, this group gathered for the first time. Attendees represented a diverse range of co-op structures, and prioritized discussions, hosting workshops, and advocating for a better regulatory and financial environment for future and existing co-ops.

In the first year, each quarterly meeting brought in on average of 40 people from up to 21 cooperatives. The coalition shared resources related to maintenance, budget, finance, governance, regulations, communication, culture, and sustainability. Many of these resources were built into coopnetwork.net (no longer active), a site dedicated to sharing information about East Bay cooperatives, contractor referrals, and other resources within its goals.

EBCHC met for the last time in this form in 2019 at Oregon Park, a senior cooperative. COVID-19 pandemic and BACLT prioritizing supporting their own properties brought a lull in meetings, but in August 2024, staff decided to re-vitalise the housing cooperative network with annual potlucks.

At this year’s gathering on June 27, 2026 hosted by Berkeley Cohousing, roughly 30 people representing 15 housing collectives attended. Community members left excited to have more discussions, learn from each other, and bring back resources to their own collectives.

🚨 We are seeking partners to collaboratively host this coalition! If you are an organization, housing collective, or individual volunteer that would love to support gatherings or resource sharing, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Visit bayareaclt.org/coop-network to join the network and learn more.

07/24/2026

🛏️🛏️Two rooms are open at Newton House! Attend an Orientation to apply, then interview with residents to see if it's a good fit for you 🏡 Link to more info and our orientation sessions in the bio 👋🏽

07/22/2026

Derby-Walker House (est. 2010~2013)

The transfer of title of Derby Walker House Cooperative to the Bay Area Community Land Trust is the realization of a commitment made more than 40 years ago. In the late 1960’s, this three-unit house sat in a vibrant community between Berkeley’s Derby and Walker Street. Neighbors were civically engaged and had strong social ties – sharing childcare, bulk groceries, volleyball tournaments, potlucks, an annual block party, and published a newsletter called The Daily Walker.

When the building went up for sale in 1971, the neighbors joined the growing movement against absentee landlords by collectively buying and preserving the housing to keep it affordable and for the community. In 2010, Derby Walker House offered to donate their property to the Bay Area Community Land Trust in order to formalize their role as a co-operatively owned property, and to preserve affordable housing.

A lawsuit was brought by the children of one of the original donors, claiming to be partial owners. A resident reflects, “it’s a cautionary tale because anyone else trying to form a cooperative needs to take all of the necessary legal steps.” More in the mini-documentary by JJNoir on Youtube, linked on our website!

While the property had been community owned for 40 years, there was no legal structure and the residents had no training in how to run resident controlled housing. Beginning in 2010, BACLT provided education to the residents on property maintenance, finances, conducting meetings and other skills.

In 2013, the Derby Walker House donation was completed; the co-op was incorporated, and a Regulatory Agreement was signed with the City of Berkeley which allowed the land trust to reduce property taxes to help keep monthly costs down. The following year BACLT undertook and completed major renovations.

Hear about it directly from a former resident and Rick Lewis at their 2013 press conference, linked on our website!

07/13/2026

Join us for a joyful evening of music, food, and celebration as we honor the relationships, resistance, and community care that keep us grounded in the face of housing injustice.

BACLT annual Community Gala
📍Berkeley Methodist United Church, 1710 Carleton St
🗓️ Sat, August 29th from 5-8
🎟️ Sliding scale tickets ($35-75) OR donate at bayareaclt.org/this-is-our-house

This year’s theme, “This is Our House,” is an assertion of belonging and collective power. Our house – this BACLT community – is filled with joy, pain, progress, and history that precedes our 20 years. Many people with many stories make up BACLT. In a political time when powers seek to divide and dehumanize, we stand firm in the belief that it is our collective responsibility to steward land and homes together, for the liberation of us all. This is Our House!

Can't make it or want to support otherwise? Donate to support our free resident tickets! If you’re a resident, contact Angela ([email protected]) for the free promo code. Additional donations will support keeping our mission going for another 20 years 🤗

07/09/2026

Victory for Small Sites & Housing Preservation in Berkeley!

On the evening of June 23rd, Berkeley residents organized, showed up, and won to keep the neglected “P” of “Preservation” within the City of Berkeley’s affordable housing strategy through the Small Sites Program! Funding for Small Sites was included in Mayor Ishii’s budget amendments through early advocacy from land trusts and affordable housing advocates. Despite desperate efforts from Councilmembers Kesarwani, Taplin, and Blackaby to defund Small Sites and delete the Capacity Building grant, Mayor Ishii and Councilmembers Tregub, Bartlett, Lunaparra, O'Keefe, and Humbert stood strong. In the end the Mayor's budget proposal passed unanimously.

The message was loud and clear:

Community support for Preservation is strong – and Councilmembers took notice.

We do not abide Councilmembers who try to divide and pit us against one another.

We are organized!

Big thanks to:

10+ BACLT Board, residents, and staff who turned out on short notice

30+ other community members who spoke in favor of Small Sites

Community partners who wrote and spoke in support, including Healthy Black Families, RCD, EBHO, Urban Habitat, NCLT, Friends of Adeline, Center for Independent Living, East Bay Gray Panthers, Berkeley Cohousing, League of Women Voters, East Bay for Everyone, The Courtyard Tenants Association, Berkeley Farmhouse Collective, and several CLTs around the Bay

Mayor Ishii, who championed Small Sites and navigated an extremely difficult budget negotiation with great leadership.

Articles by the Daily Cal and Berkeleyside on this battle for Small Sites are in our latest blog post (link in bio).

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Pictured:
1. Group photo of community members outside Berkeley's City Council Meeting holding green signs saying "Keep Small Sites" and "Support Our Land Trusts"

2. Charlie from The Courtyard speaking

3. Bridgette from California St Co-op speaking