A shared house gathers people with different sense of values. Unless people in a shared house keep an respectable distance each other, it is impossible to go along well for a long time mutually. Every common spaces may turn out to be awkward.
The most important thing that every residents can make lively space without any troubles is to set a rule. A certain sense of value that is shared forcibly by residents under the same rule will make an appropriate distance between residents.
Rule will make its tradition and culture. If you a member of a shared house, you behave as a member.
Contents
The items I raised up here is about things to be prioritized to make rules when you move to a shared house that your friend rent privately and when clear rules are not still set.
If you move to a shared house managed by a company, a management company will take care of all the lists I wrote here.
A shared house managed by a company that collects residents by its owned media on a large scale have guidelines for residents to live in a shared house comfortably. This kind of shared house set a penalty when you break the rule.
If you want to live in a shared house that is firmly thorough on compliance of resident rule, you should find a shared house from a outstanding shared-house advertisement on the internet and find trustful place to live in judging by someone’s review.
If you live in a shared house rented by your friend, resident rules are to be made from scratch. If you live with your friend, people are not serious about tackling to make rules to live together because there is no tense atmosphere.
If you want to rent an apartment with your friend to split rent by you and your friends, you should find someone who seriously think about respectable life of resident in a shared house.
The things to be prioritized to make rules
Private space
Do not enter someone’s territory without permission unless you and he/she get very close with each other. It is too natural to add to the list of rules but just in case, there might be someone who sneaks into girl’s room.
Borrowing and lending money
Troubles caused by money causes a rift in the relationship between people concerned.
And the relationship is beyond recovery from untrustful emotion. It is only when concerned persons move out that the atmosphere in a shared house recovers.
Make a rule that residents must not borrow and lend money no matter how much it is. There must be someone who think is able to return back borrowed money whenever.
Deadline of payment for a monthly rent
A case that causes inconvenience to all the residents by someone’s overdue is where your friend personally rent a room and collect rents from residents to pay the total splitted rent to a landlord.
If someone fall behind in rent, someone’s unpaid rent which will be paid later takes a toll on the rest of the residents. And if one of residents falls behind for a series of months, everyone’s financial situation is going to be worse and complaint comes out naturally when overdue rent will be paid.
Make a rule not to fall behind in rent with strong penalty considering the worst case.
If you live in a company managed shared house, you don’t have to be worried about this thing because a role of collecting a rent is by a company.
Cleaning up a mess
Apart from your private room, public common spaces are where people gather and do something. You should distiguish between your place and public place. At least, common spaces are given to be used by all the residents freely. Considering others, everyone should clean up on a regular basis in order to use the spaces comfortably.
Decide a schedule when a common space is cleaned up by whom and make a rotation as everyone eaqually clean up a common spaces .
If you want to suggest to buy public goods like electric appliances and furnitures for room mates, discuss what to buy, who will buy, why you need as deeply as everyone is convinced.
In addition, considering when it falles into disuse, think about how to dispose it beforehand by discussing with everyone.
Gathering to bring used goods is one solution to get a public goods for free. This way is quite economical.
Time to go home
If shared house members all come home at different times of day, it may interrupt other’s life rhythm.
If a man who desire to join in a shared house have days and nights mixed up compared to other residents, he should be rejected. Every resident’s life rhythms should equalize as much as possible not to interrupt their sleeping time.
To respect each other, applicant who has clearly different life style for the residents, do not accept him/her
Treatment of visitors
You also need to make a clear rule to inviting visitors. Inviting visitors is quite natural thing. It is understandable that you want to invite and show your room to your friend in a shared house.
It is no good that you invite so many friends or your girlfriend / boyfriend every day without considering the time to invite. Thinking about other residents’ private time and spaces, there is time zone that they don’t want to be interrupted.
At least, when you make a rule on inviting visitors, consider the points of inviting frequency, time zone and a number of visitors at least.
Garbage
Make a rotation that every room mates eaqually take out garbege for the collecting day. Pay attention to the designated rules on how to seperate garbedges by its materials.
Seasonings
In some shared houses, seasonings are classified as public goods which is provided by everyone’s fund-raising money.
Some people may use seasonings too much without considering others. It is quite difficult to restrict how much to use seasonings per person.
But to avoid needless conflicts, make a rule about how much to use for cooking.
Bathing
Basically, people can’t take a shower at any time they want and time when people want to use a shower room concentrates on the same time zone.
Maintaining cleanliness after using a shower room regardless of the day you clean up regularly is also important point that everyone can use comfortably. If you find your a bunch of fallen hairs stunk around a drain, you just pick it up as often as you find them.
Make a rule in the viewpoint of bathroom’s cleanliness and how long people can use one time.
- How long to use a shower per person a day
- Clean up a bathroom on regular basis
- Everyone keep in mind to maintain cleanliness
Utility expenses
No matter what kind of payment structure of utility expenses, residents are not allowed to use utilities without limitation. Do not leave the water running, Do not leave the light in your room.
Smoking
There are few shared houses that allows you to smoke these days in the view point of fire prevention and health damage.
Even if you live in a shared house that allows you to smoke in your room, you should pay attention to not sending smoke to other rooms. If other room mates don’t like to be smoked, you should refrain from smoking in a room or change a place to smoke
Making guideline on smoking is very important factor to get along well with other residents because smoking gives others’ health damages and fire risks without exception.
It is important to start discussing from whether smoking is allowable or not in a shared house rather than deciding detailed smoking rules.
Provide accomodation to visitors
There is a case where you want your friend who come all the ways from distant place to provide your room to stay one night. It is OK that you freely lodge your friend if you live in a single apartment. But living in a shared house, you should make sure whether it is OK to lodge your friend one night.
A guidline about lodging friend in a private room is clearly to be notified on.
Baggages
Your stuff must be put into your private room. Common spaces are not for a place to store your stuff except for the case where you put it temporarily.
If you need a place to put your stuff in common spaces because of your moving work, you should get permission beforehand.
Occupation of a common space by someone’s stuff must cause complaint from residents without exception. Make a rule about the way of using common spaces.
A belief of religion and business activity is based on the person’s fee will. No matter how good news you get from a specific group that you belong to, don’t strongly persuade someone to buy something or join a grope.
For persistent persuation for MLM and religion, prohibition rules with heavey penalty are to be set to prevent resident from money trouble.