Religious Properties
A congregation's building is its largest asset and the center of its life, and it carries legal questions other property doesn't: a tax exemption to protect, zoning that can turn hostile, and uses that can put the exemption at risk. We handle real estate for churches, synagogues, schools, and ministries across the Pacific Northwest.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
2
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Religious property attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle congregations
Oseran Hahn handles the real estate that houses a mission: sanctuaries and synagogues, religious schools, parsonages, cemeteries, camps, and ministry offices. Religious property runs on ordinary real estate law plus a layer that applies only to faith communities, the property-tax exemption that has to be earned and protected, the federal land-use protections that limit how a city can zone a house of worship, and the rules about leasing or selling exempt property. We handle acquisition, financing, leasing, and construction, and we keep the tax exemption intact while the building does more than host worship.
Religious property is governed by real estate law and by exemptions and protections almost no other owner has, and the two have to be managed together. We handle the acquisition, due diligence, and financing of a purchase; we secure and renew the property-tax exemption; we structure leases and shared uses so the exemption survives them; we defend a congregation's land-use rights against discriminatory zoning; and we handle construction, cemeteries, and the sale or disposition of property a mission has outgrown.
Acquiring and financing property
Buying property is a major step for a congregation, and the legal work protects a decision the organization will live with for decades. We handle the purchase and sale agreement, title and survey review, environmental and zoning due diligence, and the financing, whether a conventional mortgage or a member-backed loan. Because a nonprofit corporation acts only through its board and, for major transactions, sometimes its members, we make sure the purchase is properly authorized under Washington's Nonprofit Corporation Act, RCW 24.03A, so the deal is clean and the signatures hold.
The property-tax exemption
Religious and nonprofit property can be exempt from property tax, but the exemption is not automatic and it is not permanent. Washington exempts property used for religious worship, including the church or synagogue, parsonage, and grounds, under RCW 84.36.020, and property used by nonprofit and charitable organizations under RCW 84.36.030. The exemption depends on actual exempt use, requires an application to the Department of Revenue, and must be renewed. We secure the exemption when property is acquired or converted, and we keep the renewals and use documentation in order so it is not lost over a paperwork lapse.
Protecting the exemption when others use the building
Most congregations use their building for more than worship, a weekday preschool, a counseling center, a tenant ministry, a rented hall, and that is exactly where the tax exemption gets complicated. Leasing exempt property to another user, or putting it to a commercial use, can reduce or jeopardize the exemption, sometimes only for the portion used. We structure leases, shared-use agreements, and facility-rental policies so the building can serve the wider community without quietly costing the congregation its exemption, and we read the use rules before a new tenant moves in, not after the assessor calls.
Zoning, land use, and RLUIPA
A house of worship has more protection against hostile zoning than almost any other land use. The federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. section 2000cc, bars a local government from imposing a substantial burden on religious exercise through land-use rules, and from treating a religious assembly on less than equal terms with comparable secular uses. When a congregation needs a conditional-use permit, faces a parking or occupancy fight, or is told it cannot expand, RLUIPA is often the strongest card. We handle the permit process and bring RLUIPA to bear when a city's land-use decision crosses the line.
Leasing, construction, cemeteries, and disposition
The rest of religious-property work covers the building's whole life. We handle leases where the congregation is landlord or tenant, construction and expansion contracts and the mechanics-lien exposure that comes with them under RCW 60.04, and the rules that govern religious cemeteries under Title 68 RCW. When a mission outgrows or outlives a property, selling or transferring it carries its own requirements, including the board and member approvals for disposing of significant assets and, for charitable property, notice considerations. We handle the disposition so the proceeds stay with the mission.
Sixty years advising Pacific Northwest faith communities and mission-driven organizations, across both Christian and Jewish traditions. We keep the legal layer thin so leaders can lead, and we know the constitutional and tax rules that make religious organizations a distinct legal animal.
Decades with faith communities.
We've represented churches, synagogues, parachurch ministries, and religious orders for decades, across traditions. The work is familiar, from formation to succession, so you're not paying us to learn it.
We know where the First Amendment line falls.
Religious organizations are governed by constitutional protections almost no other client has. We structure governance, clergy employment, and property to stay inside those protections rather than stumble into a fight.
We translate, so leaders can lead.
Ministry and board leaders shouldn't have to become lawyers. We keep the legal layer thin and the language plain, and we tell you when a matter is routine and when it genuinely needs attention.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Is our church or synagogue property automatically exempt from property tax?
No. In Washington, religious and nonprofit property is exempt only if you apply for the exemption with the Department of Revenue and the property is actually used for the exempt purpose (RCW 84.36.020 for religious worship). The exemption also has to be renewed and can be lost if the use changes or the paperwork lapses. We secure it at acquisition and help keep the renewals and documentation current.
We want to rent out part of our building. Will we lose our exemption?
Possibly, and often only in part. Renting space to a preschool, a counseling practice, or another tenant can reduce or jeopardize the exemption on the portion that's used non-exempt, depending on the arrangement. The details matter, and a lease can frequently be structured to preserve most or all of the exemption. We review the proposed use against the exemption rules before you sign, so there's no surprise from the assessor later.
The city won't approve our expansion or new location. Do we have options?
Often, yes. The federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA, 42 U.S.C. 2000cc) limits how a local government can use zoning against a house of worship: it can't impose a substantial burden on religious exercise or treat your assembly worse than comparable secular uses. If a city denies a permit, blocks an expansion, or zones you out, RLUIPA is frequently the strongest argument, and we raise it through the permit process and beyond.
Do you handle buying and selling, or just the tax side?
All of it. We handle the purchase and sale, title and due diligence, and financing, the property-tax exemption, leasing and shared use, construction and expansion, and the eventual sale or transfer of property a mission has outgrown. Religious property carries real estate questions and exemption questions at the same time, and we handle both together rather than leaving the tax piece to chance.
We're thinking of selling property we no longer use. What's involved?
More than a normal sale. A nonprofit corporation generally needs proper board, and sometimes member, approval to sell or encumber significant property under RCW 24.03A, and disposing of charitable assets can carry notice and use-restriction considerations. There's also real estate excise tax (RCW 82.45) to plan for. We handle the approvals and the closing so the transaction is clean and the proceeds stay devoted to the mission.
Recentarticles.
Tell us about the property and what you're planning. An attorney from our nonprofit and church practice will follow up within one business day.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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