Organization and Nature of Operations	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Organization and Nature of Operations [Abstract]
Organization and Nature of Operations	Note 1 - Organization and Nature of Operations Organizational Structure Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company,” “us,” “our,” or “we”) and the parent mutual holding company, Lake Shore, MHC (the “MHC”) were formed on April 3, 2006 to serve as the stock holding companies for Lake Shore Savings Bank (the “Bank”) as part of the Bank’s conversion and reorganization from a New York State chartered mutual savings and loan association to the federal mutual holding company form of organization. The MHC, whose activity is not included in these consolidated financial statements, held 3,636,875 shares, or 61.4% of the Company’s outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2019. Charter Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc. and the parent mutual holding company, Lake Shore, MHC are federally chartered and regulated by the Federal Reserve Board. Lake Shore Savings Bank, subsidiary of Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc., is a federally chartered savings bank and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”). Regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) prohibit the waiver of dividends by the MHC unless the waiver has been approved by its members, consisting of depositors of the Bank. The MHC held a special meeting on February 5, 2020 of its members to vote on a proposal to authorize the MHC to waive its right to receive dividends aggregating up to $0.50 per share that may be declared by the Company in the twelve months subsequent to the approval of the proposal by members. At the special meeting, a majority of the eligible member votes of the MHC approved the waiver of the receipt of dividends on shares owned by the MHC. Lake Shore, MHC submitted the results of this vote along with other information to the Federal Reserve for final approval of the dividend waiver. As of February 28, 2020, Lake Shore, MHC received notice of the non-objection of the Federal Reserve Board to waive its right to receive dividends paid by the Company during the twelve months ending February 5, 2021. In prior periods, the MHC elected to waive its right to receive cash dividends upon receipt of the non-objection of the Federal Reserve Board. The waiving of dividends by the MHC will increase Company resources available for stock repurchases, payment of dividends to minority stockholders, and investments. As of December 31, 2019, the MHC elected to waive approximately $12.4 million on a cumulative basis. The dividends waived by the MHC are considered a restriction on the retained earnings of the Company. Nature of Business The Company’s primary business is the ownership and operation of its subsidiary, the Bank. The Bank is engaged primarily in the business of retail banking through eleven branch offices located in Erie and Chautauqua Counties of New York State. Its primary deposit products are checking, savings and term certificate accounts and its primary lending products are commercial real estate loans and residential mortgages.

Note 1 - Organization and Nature of Operations

Organizational Structure

Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company,” “us,” “our,” or “we”) and the parent mutual holding company, Lake Shore, MHC (the “MHC”) were formed on April 3, 2006 to serve as the stock holding companies for Lake Shore Savings Bank (the “Bank”) as part of the Bank’s conversion and reorganization from a New York State chartered mutual savings and loan association to the federal mutual holding company form of organization.

The MHC, whose activity is not included in these consolidated financial statements, held 3,636,875 shares, or 61.4% of the Company’s outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2019.

Charter

Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc. and the parent mutual holding company, Lake Shore, MHC are federally chartered and regulated by the Federal Reserve Board. Lake Shore Savings Bank, subsidiary of Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc., is a federally chartered savings bank and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”).

Regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) prohibit the waiver of dividends by the MHC unless the waiver has been approved by its members, consisting of depositors of the Bank. The MHC held a special meeting on February 5, 2020 of its members to vote on a proposal to authorize the MHC to waive its right to receive dividends aggregating up to $0.50 per share that may be declared by the Company in the twelve months subsequent to the approval of the proposal by members. At the special meeting, a majority of the eligible member votes of the MHC approved the waiver of the receipt of dividends on shares owned by the MHC. Lake Shore, MHC submitted the results of this vote along with other information to the Federal Reserve for final approval of the dividend waiver. As of February 28, 2020, Lake Shore, MHC received notice of the non-objection of the Federal Reserve Board to waive its right to receive dividends paid by the Company during the twelve months ending February 5, 2021. In prior periods, the MHC elected to waive its right to receive cash dividends upon receipt of the non-objection of the Federal Reserve Board. The waiving of dividends by the MHC will increase Company resources available for stock repurchases, payment of dividends to minority stockholders, and investments. As of December 31, 2019, the MHC elected to waive approximately $12.4 million on a cumulative basis. The dividends waived by the MHC are considered a restriction on the retained earnings of the Company.

Nature of Business

The Company’s primary business is the ownership and operation of its subsidiary, the Bank. The Bank is engaged primarily in the business of retail banking through eleven branch offices located in Erie and Chautauqua Counties of New York State. Its primary deposit products are checking, savings and term certificate accounts and its primary lending products are commercial real estate loans and residential mortgages.