Thinking about redeveloping your church property? You’re not alone. Across B.C., congregations are looking for ways to renew aging facilities, unlock land value, and create more space for community programs. It’s an exciting opportunity, but before you engage a consultant, or hire a developer or share a concept plan, make sure you actually have the legal authority to move forward.
Most churches in B.C. are registered charities or societies. Their land is often held in trust or subject to specific use restrictions. That means redevelopment has to align with your constitution, bylaws, trust documents, and charitable purposes. This article will walk through what that looks like.
This article is the first in a three‑part series on church redevelopment in B.C.
A Real-World Example
First Baptist Church of Vancouver partnered with Westbank to deliver the 57 storey Butterfly tower with 331 condominium units. By building on the church’s land, the church shared in project revenue, enabling restoration and expansion to approximately 80,000 square feet of community focused space. This model illustrates how churches and developers can partner to revitalize church assets while advancing community use. But success depends on navigating a complex legal landscape and aligning projects with organizational and legislative obligations.
1. Start With Title: Who Owns the Land?
Ownership and control drive your options. In B.C., church property may be held in fee simple (full ownership) by the church, in trust for specific religious or charitable purposes, or by a denominational body such as a diocese. In B.C., church land is commonly held in trust by trustees, often for public worship and congregational purposes.
Under the Trustee (Church Property) Act, trustees often hold church property in trust for public worship and congregational purposes. Under the Trustee (Church Property) Act:
- Trustees may be appointed per the deed of conveyance, or by a congregational meeting if the deed is silent.
Trustees can acquire, hold, mortgage, lease, or sell property for the benefit of the congregation or religious body; proceeds may be used to acquire other land for the religious body.
Trustees may mortgage property for church purposes such as building, repairing, or improving a church.
Action item for your congregation leadership to consider: Pull your land title, trust declarations, and denominational documents to confirm who owns the land and what restrictions apply. Church property can also be held by a denominational body but still in trust for the congregation.
2. Check Your Governing Documents
Your constitution, bylaws, and denominational rules often set the guardrails.
Governing documents frequently define the purposes for which property is held and may restrict use, disposition, or leasing. Where property was acquired for specific religious purposes, sales or redevelopment must benefit the congregation and align with those purposes. Transactions done without trustee approval have been deemed invalid, underscoring adherence to governance structure and trust deeds. The Trustee (Church Property) Act requires trustees to seek congregational consent (by majority vote at a meeting called for that purpose) before leasing church property.
Practical takeaways:
Confirm who must approve (trustees, members, denominational authorities).
Verify whether redevelopment, leasing, air space parcels, or joint ventures are contemplated.
Map approvals and voting thresholds early to avoid delay.
3. Watch for Trust and Charitable Restrictions
Trust deeds and provincial law usually give trustees sale and leasing powers, but deals without proper approval may be invalid. If your project changes the property’s charitable or religious use, you may need formal approvals or court orders. Document how each step furthers your charitable purposes.
4. Tax and CRA Considerations
Some transactions or projects may benefit from tax exemptions, but churches must align redevelopment with charitable or religious purposes to maintain favourable status.
Here are key B.C. frameworks:
Religious Charity Property Transfer Tax Exemption Regulation: Land transfers may be exempt if the land is held under religious legislation, the organization is a registered charity, and the land will be used for charitable purposes.
Vancouver Charter: certain church properties wholly in use for charitable or religious purposes may be exempt from property tax.
Community Charter: municipal councils may exempt buildings set apart for public worship from municipal property taxes.
Plan to demonstrate ongoing charitable use, manage private benefit risks, and structure agreements to preserve exemptions.
5. Engage Legal Counsel Early
Legal review isn’t just a formality, it’s essential, as doing so helps align title and trust realities, governance and charitable compliance, and the structure of redevelopment agreements. Counsel can help ensure developments contribute to the religious body’s purposes and leverage the Trustee (Church Property) Act effectively. Well drafted agreements should address charitable use covenants, monitoring and reporting, zoning, tax exemptions, and other regulatory issues.
6. Your Roadmap
Confirm ownership and trustee powers: title, trust deeds, denominational rules. In B.C., trustees frequently control church property powers subject to statutory and deed based limits.
Map approvals: identify who must approve what, and when. Some decisions require trustee sanction and congregational consent.
Align with charitable purposes: document how each step furthers your purposes. Misalignment risks charitable status and tax treatment.
Structure the deal: leases, air space, easements, and revenue sharing should reflect trust and statutory limits. Trustees can lease, mortgage, or sell for the congregation’s benefit, with proceeds used for religious body purposes.
Preserve tax advantages: plan for property transfer tax exemptions and municipal relief. B.C. frameworks can exempt qualifying religious/charitable land uses from certain taxes.
Seek legal advice: engage counsel before letters of intent, rezoning, or requests for proposals. Early counsel involvement protects the congregation’s interests and streamlines compliance.
7. Conclusion
As many churches face aging buildings and a growing need for renewal, redeveloping church land can be a practical way to revitalize their spaces. When done with proper legal authority, redevelopment can breathe new life into the congregation while staying true to the original purposes for which the land was held. Churches should seek legal advice early to ensure their redevelopment plans align with their governance requirements and charitable purposes.
In Part 2, we’ll look at zoning and land use constraints that often shape what churches can build on their property.