A. Beth Moore, B.A., LL.B.

Legal Services for Non-profits: Building Use Agreements

Making space in your church building available to community groups, daycares and other organizations can be good stewardship of your resources. It can also provide revenue to help offset the costs of operating your building. However as the owner of the building your church could incur liability if someone attending another group’s activities is injured. Your relationships with your church’s neighbours may also be damaged if the activities of your building users are disruptive or create a nuisance. It is important to develop a building use policy that sets guidelines for who can rent space in your building and on what terms. You also need a building use agreement that clearly sets out the terms of the arrangement, including the building use or rental fee, the length of the term, what space can be used, the times of use and the conditions on which either party can terminate the agreement and that addresses liability issues and the obligations of the building user to carry its own insurance. You should also have rules that apply to all building users.

I can assist you in developing building use/rental agreements, either for specific circumstances or as templates that can be adapted for use with a variety of organizations. I can also advise you when problems develop in your relationship with a building user.