Co-Housing Community Agreement

Co-Housing Agreement

_______________________ (hereafter “Member”) hereby agrees to the Agreements and Guidelines of the planned co-housing community _______________________ (hereafter “Community”).

Our Community has agreed to operate with minimal rules, instead relying on self-management based on a set of Guidelines along with trust that Members shall mutually respect one another and work together for the good of the Community.

Note: Agreements can only be created or revised if the community so decides. Changes will be recorded in the Decision Log.

VISION AND VALUES

{An overview of the purpose, philosophy, and vision of the Co-Housing Community. These could include: trust, cooperation, support, equity, stewardship, flexibility, and other values.}

{Outline any interpersonal agreements to which Member should commit, materially or philosophically. These could include: communicating with integrity, active listening, honoring other Members and their differences, constructive conflict resolution, and maintaining harmony.}

The core identity of the Community is defined as {define}.

DECISION-MAKING

Decisions affecting the Community are made by {consensus, Member vote, or alternative processes}. Alternative Method Votes will take place by {household vote, individual adult member vote, etc.}. A Voting Member is defined as {definition}. A decision results in an Agreement, which shall remain in place until/unless it is replaced by a new decision.

{Outline the decision-making process, including the roles of any steering teams or task forces. Indicate who can raise consideration of a decision, under what circumstances. Include information about how meetings will be announced and posted.}

{List recurring meetings and associated responsibilities. Clarify what rules of order will be followed, including for comments. List roles such as Facilitator, Topics Guide, Minutes Keeper, someone to oversee emotional well-being, etc.}

For decisions affecting children in the community, children shall be allowed to give input.

Conflict resolution shall occur by {describe process for resolving conflicts among Members, households, Teams, etc.}.

RULES

This section of the Community Living Agreement lists the rules that must be followed. {Examples: separate vs. shared finances, absentee ownership, vehicle use, insurance requirements, unsafe activities, and so on.} Communication and collaboration will always be preferable to enacting rules. Enforcement will take place in the following order: {self, neighbor, team, community, etc.}

{rule}

{rule}

{rule}

{rule}

GUIDELINES

This section of the Community Living Agreement lists the Guidelines that are encouraged as part of a functioning, mutually respectful co-housing arrangement. These could relate to: {community education, spiritual expression in shared spaces, noise, pets, gardens, use of community resources and spaces, guests, recycling, child behavior, and so on.}.

{guideline}

{guideline}

{guideline}

{guideline}

{guideline}

COVENANTS

While in principle, Community should follow the Agreements in everyday life, our neighborhood is also a registered Home Owners Association (HOA), which provides legal backup in rare cases. Be sure to review the HOA Covenants provided separately.

SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES

Our Community is formed under shared values relating to resources and responsibilities.

• Community work shall be handled as {explanation}.
• Community meals shall be {explain setup, including divisions of labor between shopping, cooking, cleaning, and so on}. Each household shall {define rotating or other schedule}. Because eating together strengthens our community, Members are expected to {common meals attendance guidelines}.
• The role of Teams will be {define}.
• The budget is managed via {method}, and banking authority is given to {Team, Steering Team, etc.}. Assessments are {definitions and due dates}. Additionally, {explain humanitarian fund or similar arrangement}.

PRIVACY

While Community exists under the value of collaboration and shared spaces and responsibilities, the need for privacy to be respected is also important. To that end, {understandings and practices}.

By affixing their signature below, Member agrees to abide by the rules and guidelines of the Community:

____________________________________

Member, signature & date

____________________________________

Witness, signature & date

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