Land Lease Community
A land lease community is where residents own homes but lease the land, offering affordability with ongoing lease payments.
September 30, 2025
What is a Land Lease Community?
A land lease community is a residential development where residents own their homes but lease the underlying land from a landlord or developer. Common in manufactured home parks, retirement communities, and resort areas.
Why Land Lease Communities Matter in Real Estate
Land lease communities matter in real estate because they lower upfront costs for homeowners but add ongoing lease obligations. They provide affordable housing options but may impact long-term equity growth.
Example of Land Lease Community in Action
A retiree purchases a modular home in a land lease community, paying monthly rent for the lot while retaining ownership of the home itself.
Key Takeaways
- Residents own homes but lease underlying land.
- Common in retirement and manufactured home communities.
- Lowers upfront purchase costs.
- Creates ongoing lease obligations and restrictions.
- May affect long-term equity appreciation.
Related Terms
- Leasehold Estate
- Manufactured Housing
- Cooperative Housing
- Property Management
- Affordable Housing Program
National average resale-price growth and housing-starts growth, smoothed over three months. The comparison illustrates the cycle; it does not establish how much a price change causes construction to change.
Trailing 12-month starts in centres of 50,000 or more remove the usual monthly seasonality. Ownership combines the homeowner and condominium categories; rental is shown separately.
Six-month averages of provincial starts, expressed at annual rates. The smoothing reduces the influence of individual apartment projects.
The same August benchmark compared with two different starting points. Three-month changes are not annualized.
Average sale prices show the difference in purchase costs across markets. They do not measure affordability relative to local incomes or construction costs.
Newfoundland and Labrador remains above its pre-pandemic sales pattern, but August activity was below last year. Historical lines retain their original release vintages.
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
5680 Oak Street in Vancouver and its surrounding context. (MCMP Architects)
Ground-level renderings of the tower proposed for 5680 Oak Street in Vancouver. (MCMP Architects)
