[WSBARP] Terminating a Church "tenancy"

Thu Jul 2 13:15:34 PDT 2020

Kaitlyn,

I agree with your analysis.  The proclamation prohibits actions requiring a resident or tenant to vacate, seeking to enforce or threatening to seek or enforce any such action, increasing rent, charging late fees, retaliating against tenants, etc.  As I read the proclamation, it does not prohibit renegotiating the terms of the lease (provided the rate of rent remains the same and there are no penalties being assessed for nonpayment of rent or late rent), or even terminating a lease (absent eviction) and entering into a new lease.

My sense is that your client could terminate the lease with the church (because no one is being evicted) and enter into separate lease agreements with the tenants or hire a property manager (which is essentially the role the church is currently playing).  I’m not sure the church has any legal basis to fight the termination of the lease under the circumstances as you described them below, provided no tenants are being evicted and you follow the termination provisions of the lease.

Best regards,

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Inge A. Fordham | Attorney
Fordham Law, PLLC
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From: <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> on behalf of Kaitlyn Jackson <kaitlyn at dimensionlaw.com>
Reply-To: WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2020 at 12:13 PM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBARP] Terminating a Church "tenancy"

I have a really tricky one that I think may require a creative solution.

Original owners of a residential property entered into a "Residential Lease Agreement" with a church that has long since expired and moved to month-to-month. The Agreement allows the Church to rent the property to up to 10 individuals as clean and sober housing. The original owners have died and their children are now the owners or the property. The Church still pays the rent but the new owners don't like the way the property is being managed and want to terminate their agreement with the Church but KEEP all the "subtenants" living there. The pastors of the church do not live on the property. No one from the Church does. One of the pastors has disappeared and is suspected to be in prison because he was allegedly selling drugs to the clean and sober tenants. The new owners have spoken to the remaining pastor about terminating the lease agreement but that pastor cited Proclamation 20-19.2. I'm not sure but I think Proclamation 20-19.2 may only protect terminating tenancy "requiring a resident to vacate." I don't think the termination of this particular type of arrangement requires a "resident" to vacate since the new owners don't want any of the residents to vacate but to terminate the contract with the Church.

My instinct here is to just write a letter and offer a resolution to buy out the Church. But if the pastor won't agree - I wonder if there's a more creative solution.

--
Thank you,

Kaitlyn R. Jackson | Attorney| DIMENSION LAW GROUP PLLC
130 Andover Park East, Suite 300 | Tukwila, WA 98188
t: 206.973.3500 | f: 206.577.5090| e: kaitlyn at dimensionlaw.com| www.dimensionlaw.com<http://www.dimensionlaw.com/>

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