Elaborate your charter of shared living

The methodological implementation of this practice will differ depending on the number of people living under the same roof.
For example, at the CBB, we have a volunteer house with 7 young people, just as we have a flat with only 2 volunteers. We will not proceed in the same way to draw up this charter.
The method we are about to describe can be applied to homes with 4 or more volunteers.
• Step 1 :
First of all, we suggest that each volunteer thinks individually about what is important to them in terms of community life (i.e. the communal areas).
We ask everyone to write on a post-it note the point they would like to discuss (e.g. the fridge, shopping, cleaning the toilets, etc.). When each person has written down their point of attention, the housemates go round the table to mention the point they have written down.
This first stage allows everyone to see each other’s priorities. In fact, not everyone will put the same point of attention as a priority, and this helps us to get to know part of the personality of the people with whom we will be living in the community.
• Step 2 :
The young people get together in groups of 2 (or 3 if necessary) and think about the rules they think are essential to include in the charter.
Note: the rules must be short, concise and clear. The groups can use step 1 as a starting point for thinking about the rules.
• Step 3 :
Pool the rules from the different groups.
First, each group sets out the 5 rules, even if they are repeated by another group.
Then, the rules that have been repeated several times are noted on the chart (cardboard panel). Rules that have only been stated once can be discussed and adjusted to suit the entire group before being noted on the chart.
• Step 4 :
The housemates go through all the rules in this charter. They make sure that all aspects of community life are met and discussed:
– What happens when one of the residents has a guest?
– Where are smokers, if any, allowed to smoke?
– Has awareness of energy consumption been raised?
– How are the dishes washed and the kitchen, shower, toilets and communal areas cleaned?
– How is the fridge managed?
– What rituals are put in place for meals? Do we eat together or not?
– ….

How do you deal with a new housemate?
Each time there is a change of flatmate, the charter should not be redone from scratch. It could be “thrown away” and redone when there is a large majority of new housemates, for example. But otherwise, it can be kept. On the other hand, it still needs to be discussed. The method could be as follows:
– Each housemate writes down a rule that they would like to delete or change.
Pool the rules to be changed or deleted. If there is unanimity, or at least a large majority, in favour of one of the rules, the deletion or change can easily be approved. If there is a solitary request concerning one of the rules, the housemates go round the table to find a compromise and reach a decision.
– Each housemate writes down a rule they would like to add.
The pooling can be done in the same way as for the previous stage.