Contract Signing Policies
House Votes
Contracts must be for at least 6 months, for initial contracts and for current members. (House vote, 5-10-09.)
Labor Description
The Membership Coordinator labor description, which was voted on by the house, states: "Be aware of whose contract is ending soon, and make sure they renew their contract. If, 6 weeks before their contract ends, they will not guarantee that they will renew their contract, start advertising that their room will open up soon. They can renew their contract at any time then, but if someone signs a contract for the room before they do, then they must either move out or, if other rooms are available, switch rooms. If their contract is not renewed a month before the end of the contract period, then advertise their room and let someone else sign for their room (after first giving them a chance)." - http://wiki.sasona.org/JobDescriptions#MembershipCoordinator
Signing First Contract
"Jack's Law: Make sure that new members pay their deposit when they sign their contract. If they do not pay their deposit, then they cannot sign a contract. DO NOT let people move in if they haven't paid their deposit." - http://wiki.sasona.org/JobDescriptions#MembershipCoordinator
This is mentioned in the contract: "Resident will pay a security deposit of $500.00 to CHEA when signing this contract." - TheContract
New members should also be able to pay the first month's rent in full upon signing a contract. If they can't, they should be able to supply a good reason. "I don't have a job" is not a good reason. If they don't have the money to pay their first month's rent, that is firsthand knowledge of why they would likely be evicted.
New members must sign for at least 6 months (House vote, 5-10-09.)
Contract Renewal
Members must renew for no less than 6 months (house vote).
Members must informally commit to renewal 6 weeks before end of contract (house vote, part of membership coordinator labor description).
Members must sign one month before end of contract (Board vote, house vote, part of membership coordinator labor description).
If a contract is not renewed 3 weeks (21 days) before the end of the current contract otherwise the member's option to renew is forfeited (house rule 3.6.4)
If Membership Coordinator is renewing their own contract, the Steward will sign off in place of Membership Coordinator for that contract. [Voted 2023-5-7]
Changing from Resident to Associate
Resident members in good standing may sign an associate membership contract without a gap in membership as long as they sign their associate contract start date to begin immediately after their resident contract expires. If there is a gap, then their prospective process starts from the beginning. [House voted 2023-1-22]