It is no secret that America is facing a housing crisis. Currently, the U.S. is estimated to possess a deficit of 4.5 million homes in the face of current demand.[1] This shortfall combined with high mortgage rates and a doubling of average home values over the last ten years has placed considerable pressure on many Americans. In Michigan alone, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that between 2008-2025 the housing crisis has led to a reduction of $9.1 Billion in state-wide economic output, $5.2 Billion in personal income, and a net loss of 76,576 jobs.[2]
The causes to the housing crisis are multi-faceted. However, there is a growing body of literature suggesting that churches may be part of the solution.[3]
On the supply-side of the problem, the country is facing a severe lack of new construction. One of the reasons for this deficit is the phenomena of “exclusionary zoning,” or zoning regulations which focus on attempting to preserve communities of single-family-homes, which increases construction costs and prevents the construction of multi-family and apartment housing.[4]
In the face of this lack of supply, some churches have decided to take the housing crisis head-on. Here in Detroit, for instance, a defunct Catholic school on the west-side was recently converted into affordable housing development called “The Residences at St. Matthew.”[5] This is not an isolated occurrence either. Though many churches around the country have had to close in recent years, some have decided that pursuing a re-development of their property into affordable housing not only aligns with their missional vision but also allows them to obtain funding that can be spent on future ministry or new worship spaces.[6]
As mentioned above, one of the obstacles to such developments may be the presence of zoning ordinances which restrict such developments. However, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) can be employed by churches to ease the burden of onerous zoning requirements and allow a church to move forward with their planned development.[7]
If your church is considering pursuing a re-development of your property, it is a good idea to know (1) how local zoning restrictions might affect your potential project, and (2) what your options are for circumventing these restrictions. At Dalton & Tomich, PLC, our attorneys have considerable experience in these matters and we would be happy to discuss them with you.
[1] Makinizi Hoover & Isabella Lucy, The State of Housing in America, United States Chamber of Commerce (March 17, 2025), https://www.uschamber.com/economy/the-state-of-housing-in-america#:~:text=Yet%2C%20the%20U.S.%20housing%20market%20is%20in,from%20skyrocketing%20prices%20to%20reduced%20workforce%20mobility.
[2] Id.
[3] See, e.g., Patrick E. Reidy, Churching NIMBYs: Creating Affordable Housing on Church Property, 133 The Yale Law Journal 1257 (2024).
[4] Id. at 1259 (“In particular, scholars and commentators have underscored the pernicious role of exclusionary zoning—that is, local land-use controls designed to prohibit the construction of less costly forms of housing— in strangling housing production, ultimately sending regional housing prices skyward.”).
[5] Daniel Meloy, The Residences at St. Matthew bring new life to former east-side school building, Detroit Catholic (May 7, 2025), https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/the-residences-at-st-matthew-bring-new-life-to-former-east-side-school-building.
[6] Nadia A. Milan, Affordable housing in God’s backyard: Some religious congregations find a new use for their space, The Conversation (July 19, 2025), https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-in-gods-backyard-some-religious-congregations-find-a-new-use-for-their-space-226861.
[7] See Reidy, supra note 3, at 1260–1261.
