2025 National Rural Housing Conference – Heirs’ Property Workshops

Inside the Heirs’ Property Workshops: Panel Summaries and Key Themes 

Rural Homes, Secure Land: An Heirs’ Property Pre-Conference Event 

The National Rural Housing Conference took place during the week of November 2, 2025, in Washington, DC. During the conference, the Heirs’ Property forum convened practitioners, researchers, policymakers, community leaders, and funders to explore the multidimensional challenges surrounding heirs’ property.  

Across all sessions, the forum revealed that heirs’ property can lead to multidimensional, intergenerational, socio-economic, cultural, and infrastructural challenges. Addressing these requires cross-sector ecosystems, legal, financial, design, philanthropic, governmental, community-led resources, that can meet families where they are, honor their histories, and create durable structures for long-term stability. 

Building on this shared understanding, the forum was organized as a pre-conference symposium featuring a series of panels, followed by two workshops during the conference week that examined these themes in greater depth. The following summaries highlight the key focus areas, perspectives, and approaches explored throughout the event.  

This article is part of an ongoing conference series. Want to learn more? Explore the full series below. 

National Rural Housing Conference Workshops 

NRHC Part 1: Communal Landownership Workshop 

In many rural communities, land has often been passed down informally within families, creating shared ownership structures such as heirs’ property. These arrangements have reflected generational practices for preserving property and community in the face of limited access to the legal system. While these models demonstrate strong familial and cultural ties, they also face barriers to housing finance and legal protection. This session explored how collective landownership in communities with limited legal services affect access to capital and affordable housing. Presenters shared research and community experiences highlighting models of communal ownership, associated challenges in accessing capital and addressing housing needs, and innovative strategies used to support sustainable homeownership. 

Panelists: 

• Daniel Elkin, Director of Community Development, come dream. come build.  

• Jacy Fisher, Partner, Gregory Varner & Associates  

• Karama Neal, Principal, Neal Firm  

• Jennifer Pindyck, Associate Professor, Chair of Interior Architecture and Assoc. Chair of Architecture, Auburn University   

• Meagan Mitchell Davis, Research Associate, Housing Assistance Council  

NRHC Part 2: Communal Landownership Workshop 

Communities across the United States with collective landownership traditions brought forward rich cultural practices and resilient systems of land stewardship. These approaches to owning and inheriting land reflect deep community values and offer pathways to long-term stability and community preservation. However, because the housing finance system often prioritizes individual ownership models, land held communally in some regions face barriers to accessing mortgages and the capital needed to utilize land and meet affordable housing needs. This session explored how land is held and managed across Tribal Lands and Native Hawaiian Homelands and featured experts working to expand access to capital and develop innovations that address housing needs. Presenters shared practical tools, research, and community-driven strategies that support sustainable housing solutions while honoring local traditions. Participants gained insight into the legal, financial, and cultural dimensions of collective landownership and learned about region-specific approaches that promote affordability, stability, and generational equity. 

Panelists: 

• Dr. Crystal Carr Cook, Research Associate, Northern Arizona University  

• Jeff Gilbreath, Executive Director, Hawaii Community Lending  

• Denise Zuni, Owner and Attorney, Sh’eh Wheef Law Offices  

• Natasha Moodie, Senior Research Associate, Housing Assistance Council 

Stay tuned, in the coming weeks, we will be sharing more conference highlights. 

Compiled and written by Odia Kaba, Research Fellow