After living with some belligerent people who consistently disrespected the household due to lax house rules and regulations, I have written this list and want to know if it is too harsh. I won't acknowledge offensive or unrelated comments, but feel free to waste your time as I am sure you will anyway.
My rules for roommates...Am I being too harsh? Leave comments and judge.
1. Rent is now the most important bill in your life. NOTHING takes precedence over this bill for your time in this house. Not just you, but everyone in this house...grown men and women like yourself rely on you to pay on time to keep this house in our possession and to remain a pleasant place to live. This is paramount and will not be given any exceptions. If you can't afford to live here then you shouldn't. Also the agreed upon amount is the amount you pay, no breaks. Because if you don't pay for something someone else does and that means someone else is paying for YOU to live and that is not right. Anytime someone's been given a break here it's always been exploited, so no more breaks.
a. 30 Day notice. If a room mate decides to move they must give 30 days notice and/or 30 days rent paid in full before vacating the Apartment. All Residents are responsible for their share of rent and bills accordingly. If a Resident is determined by the rest of the household that they are causing endless drama, problems, or disruptions of any kind and must be removed, they must be given 30 days notice, but all bills and responsibilities of Resident are still applied until the last day of said notice. No exceptions are made for this rule, and all who violate it will be held accountable in court with costs added.
2. Your room is yours to do with as you please and create rules for that do not violate the rules of the Household. It's your rules in your room. Wanna live like a slob? Don't leave your door open and ensure that the 'smell' doesn't get out and we won't have a problem. BUT! No damage is to come to these rooms at any time that you're not going to fix before you move out. So be respectful. AND the room must be left how you found it when you got here. Which is cleaned and ready to be lived in again.
3. RESPECT COMMUNAL AREAS! The Kitchen gets a big laugh here, but shall be addressed by itself in next rule. Living rooms, walk ins, wash rooms, meeting rooms, kitchen. A certain conduct and dress code is expected. You don't need to walk around in a suit and tie...but wear some clothes! Some may want to see what you've got to hide but that doesn't mean we all do. So cover up. Also your mess stays with you. You trash the meeting room after your party it's YOUR responsibility to clean it up so that someone else may use it and not have to come home to the house smelling/looking like a bar after happy hour.
a. Communal Spaces - Kitchen. When dishes are done being used, they at the very least get all traces of food and junk RINSED OFF of them. This is to keep the dishes from stinking and attracting all manner of insects/animals. We don't live in a barn, and even a barn has someone to clean it up. Dishes are also to be returned after being taken to rooms in a timely fashion. If someone wants to take it upon themselves to fill the dishwasher then great, if not then when someone sees the dishes need done it takes a minute to put everything into the dishwasher, with a few spoonfulls of soap and turn a knob then hit a switch. Just do it.
b. Communal Spaces - Bathroom. CLEAN YOUR MESS! NO one wants to shower in your residue of filth, or sit in your excrement on the toilet. Fill the toilet paper roller when it runs out. If you take your roll with you, then so be it...at least check and make sure the one for everyone is there. No laundry on the floor...it's disgusting. And take your dirty towels/washrags with you or someone else might use them.
c. Communal Spaces - Living Room. If there happens to be television/DVD/VCR or whatever viewing pleasures the household may contain, then whoever gets to the living room first has it. Or if someone has made it clear they wish to have the living room at a certain time it is granted to them so long as everyone can do this in a responsible manner.
5. Conduct. Be respectful of another roommate's guest unless that guest is disrespectful toward you. This is your home, and if it is decided by a majority of roommates that someone leaves, they leave without question. If a roommate doesn't like a certain guest then they may keep their distance to avoid a conflict...as this house is huge {was 5000 square feet at the time!}. Roommates always take precendence over guests as they are the paying occupants of this household. It is also agreed that noise and shenanigans will be kept to an ultimate low or be nonexistent during the time when all room mates agree is the 'night time', or rather the time when most of the household is asleep. This includes but is not limited to playing WWF in your room, arguing, screaming, yelling, partying, etc.
6. Privacy. Privacy of roommates will always be respected. One of the golden rules for a closed door is a knock before permission of entry. If you open that door otherwise you better have plausible cause to believe the occupant of that room is either dead or dying to be an exception to this rule. The private rooms of the roommates of this household is the one place truly considered their own domain, and this domain shall be respected at all costs, even if it means ejection of offenders. All doors should have locks, which should be used at all times to ensure it never has to come to this rule being broken by inconsiderate people. Also to avoid nosy people, or pets, all doors to all personal rooms must be closed when not in them or there's no saying what may happen.
7. Pets. If you have a pet {provided the apartment allows it} then you are responsible for taking care of it, cleaning up after it, feeding it, and that includes replacing anything it happens to get into or destroy {within communal areas anyway}. If someone else has to take care of your pet, then either it, or you and it will be asked to leave.
a. Pets. If Apartment does not allow pets then there are no pets.
b. Children. Children are not permitted to live in the Apartment. Everyone who lives in the apartment must be an Adult with some form of income without Children at any time. Too many times the peace and sanctity of the Household has been disrupted by Children who do not listen and do not behave, thus the risk cannot be taken.
8. Respect to household bills. Who wouldn't want cheap utilities? This means shutting out lights in rooms no one's in, turning off tvs and computers no one is using, not leaving water run, not leaving the stove run. These things should come to people as common sense, and it is understood that everyone slips up...but if it is decided someone is wasteful on the utilities then the rest of the household will eject this roommate and find someone more respectful without a second thought, because none of us should have to babysit eachother and turn out everything in their trail. 9. Smoke outside. Closed in spaces that smokers and nonsmokers share alike is no place for this crap, so take it outside. End of story.
Now I ask you...Am I being too hard on people? Am I expecting too much? These rules apply to everyone, even myself. Comments welcome.
My rules for roommates...Am I being too harsh? Leave comments and judge.
1. Rent is now the most important bill in your life. NOTHING takes precedence over this bill for your time in this house. Not just you, but everyone in this house...grown men and women like yourself rely on you to pay on time to keep this house in our possession and to remain a pleasant place to live. This is paramount and will not be given any exceptions. If you can't afford to live here then you shouldn't. Also the agreed upon amount is the amount you pay, no breaks. Because if you don't pay for something someone else does and that means someone else is paying for YOU to live and that is not right. Anytime someone's been given a break here it's always been exploited, so no more breaks.
a. 30 Day notice. If a room mate decides to move they must give 30 days notice and/or 30 days rent paid in full before vacating the Apartment. All Residents are responsible for their share of rent and bills accordingly. If a Resident is determined by the rest of the household that they are causing endless drama, problems, or disruptions of any kind and must be removed, they must be given 30 days notice, but all bills and responsibilities of Resident are still applied until the last day of said notice. No exceptions are made for this rule, and all who violate it will be held accountable in court with costs added.
2. Your room is yours to do with as you please and create rules for that do not violate the rules of the Household. It's your rules in your room. Wanna live like a slob? Don't leave your door open and ensure that the 'smell' doesn't get out and we won't have a problem. BUT! No damage is to come to these rooms at any time that you're not going to fix before you move out. So be respectful. AND the room must be left how you found it when you got here. Which is cleaned and ready to be lived in again.
3. RESPECT COMMUNAL AREAS! The Kitchen gets a big laugh here, but shall be addressed by itself in next rule. Living rooms, walk ins, wash rooms, meeting rooms, kitchen. A certain conduct and dress code is expected. You don't need to walk around in a suit and tie...but wear some clothes! Some may want to see what you've got to hide but that doesn't mean we all do. So cover up. Also your mess stays with you. You trash the meeting room after your party it's YOUR responsibility to clean it up so that someone else may use it and not have to come home to the house smelling/looking like a bar after happy hour.
a. Communal Spaces - Kitchen. When dishes are done being used, they at the very least get all traces of food and junk RINSED OFF of them. This is to keep the dishes from stinking and attracting all manner of insects/animals. We don't live in a barn, and even a barn has someone to clean it up. Dishes are also to be returned after being taken to rooms in a timely fashion. If someone wants to take it upon themselves to fill the dishwasher then great, if not then when someone sees the dishes need done it takes a minute to put everything into the dishwasher, with a few spoonfulls of soap and turn a knob then hit a switch. Just do it.
b. Communal Spaces - Bathroom. CLEAN YOUR MESS! NO one wants to shower in your residue of filth, or sit in your excrement on the toilet. Fill the toilet paper roller when it runs out. If you take your roll with you, then so be it...at least check and make sure the one for everyone is there. No laundry on the floor...it's disgusting. And take your dirty towels/washrags with you or someone else might use them.
c. Communal Spaces - Living Room. If there happens to be television/DVD/VCR or whatever viewing pleasures the household may contain, then whoever gets to the living room first has it. Or if someone has made it clear they wish to have the living room at a certain time it is granted to them so long as everyone can do this in a responsible manner.
5. Conduct. Be respectful of another roommate's guest unless that guest is disrespectful toward you. This is your home, and if it is decided by a majority of roommates that someone leaves, they leave without question. If a roommate doesn't like a certain guest then they may keep their distance to avoid a conflict...as this house is huge {was 5000 square feet at the time!}. Roommates always take precendence over guests as they are the paying occupants of this household. It is also agreed that noise and shenanigans will be kept to an ultimate low or be nonexistent during the time when all room mates agree is the 'night time', or rather the time when most of the household is asleep. This includes but is not limited to playing WWF in your room, arguing, screaming, yelling, partying, etc.
6. Privacy. Privacy of roommates will always be respected. One of the golden rules for a closed door is a knock before permission of entry. If you open that door otherwise you better have plausible cause to believe the occupant of that room is either dead or dying to be an exception to this rule. The private rooms of the roommates of this household is the one place truly considered their own domain, and this domain shall be respected at all costs, even if it means ejection of offenders. All doors should have locks, which should be used at all times to ensure it never has to come to this rule being broken by inconsiderate people. Also to avoid nosy people, or pets, all doors to all personal rooms must be closed when not in them or there's no saying what may happen.
7. Pets. If you have a pet {provided the apartment allows it} then you are responsible for taking care of it, cleaning up after it, feeding it, and that includes replacing anything it happens to get into or destroy {within communal areas anyway}. If someone else has to take care of your pet, then either it, or you and it will be asked to leave.
a. Pets. If Apartment does not allow pets then there are no pets.
b. Children. Children are not permitted to live in the Apartment. Everyone who lives in the apartment must be an Adult with some form of income without Children at any time. Too many times the peace and sanctity of the Household has been disrupted by Children who do not listen and do not behave, thus the risk cannot be taken.
8. Respect to household bills. Who wouldn't want cheap utilities? This means shutting out lights in rooms no one's in, turning off tvs and computers no one is using, not leaving water run, not leaving the stove run. These things should come to people as common sense, and it is understood that everyone slips up...but if it is decided someone is wasteful on the utilities then the rest of the household will eject this roommate and find someone more respectful without a second thought, because none of us should have to babysit eachother and turn out everything in their trail. 9. Smoke outside. Closed in spaces that smokers and nonsmokers share alike is no place for this crap, so take it outside. End of story.
Now I ask you...Am I being too hard on people? Am I expecting too much? These rules apply to everyone, even myself. Comments welcome.
- By: ryo7
- Level: Maggot
- Added: 41 weeks ago
- Views: 930
- Comments: 15
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