Household Contract

If you have teenage or grown-up children (or even supposedly grown-up!), or live in a shared house as students, then you probably have some idea of the difficulties in getting everyone to contribute financially or help out with jobs around the house. Our solution to this was to introduce our "Household Contract", ensuring everyone pays their way and assists with day-to-day chores and housework.

Feel free to take this contract and amend it for your own use.

Basic Principles

Everything costs money – first there's the obvious things such as food to eat, electricity for TVs, washing, drying and charging phones, gas for hot water and heating, telephone, Sky TV, washing powder, soap, shampoo and toiletries. Then there's the things you can't see – council tax, mortgage, broadband, insurance, TV license, and general maintenance and upkeep.
The bills alone (utilities, phone, council tax, etc.) currently come to over £450 per month. That doesn't include mortgage, food, or cars!
In addition to the costs, running and maintaining a home involves constant work, time and effort, to keep it clean and tidy, healthy for residents and guests, and in a fit state to live in.
As such we are introducing some rules for the household to ensure everyone contributes.
As of 1^st June 2010, everyone who lives* in the house will contribute in the following ways:

1. Anyone not in full-time education will pay board at the rate of £20 per week – no exceptions!
   
2. Those in full-time education will still be expected to do their fair share of the chores.
   
3. Everyone will contribute time to household chores.
   
4. Anyone who cannot afford to pay board will be expected to contribute additional time to household chores.
   
5. Everyone will have an area they are responsible for maintaining.
   
6. Everyone will be responsible for keeping their own room clean and tidy.
   
7. Everyone is responsible for ensuring shared areas of the house are free from personal clutter, mail, clothing and other junk – PUT IT AWAY!
   
8. If you entertain guests, YOU are responsible for tidying up after them – this includes washing up, putting away and cleaning.
   
9. If you did not cook, YOU are responsible for clearing away, emptying/filling the dishwasher (correctly!) and putting away.
   

Failure to contribute will result in penalties being imposed on the individual.

Areas of Responsibility

Area	Name	Tasks	Estimated Duration	Frequency
1	Bathrooms	Keep clean & tidy including – anti-mold, cleaning toilets, mopping floors.	1 hour	Twice weekly
2	Landing, Stairs & Hallway	Keep clean & Tidy, including – hoovering carpets, dusting furniture & bannister, mopping floor.	1 hour	Twice weekly
3	Lounge & Dining Room	Keep clean & Tidy, including – hoovering carpets, dusting furniture, plumping cushions.	1 hour	Twice weekly
4	Kitchen	Keep clean & tidy including – anti-mold, cleaning sink, mopping floor, watering house plants.	1 hour	Twice Weekly
5	Lawns	Keeping tidy and healthy – mowing, strimming, edging & feeding	1 hour	Weekly
6	Garden Plants	Keeping tidy and healthy – weeding, trimming, watering & feeding pots & borders	1 hour	Weekly
7	Cooking	Making evening meals	0.5-1 hour	Daily
8	Washing	Washing & drying clothes	0.5 hours	Daily

Penalties

The following penalties apply for non-compliance with household rules:

Crime	Description	Penalty
Not keeping room tidy	Failure to keep your bedroom clean and tidy to an acceptable level	£10 or 2 hours of extra chores £5 per person or 1 hour of extra chores if shared room
Failure to perform allocated duties	Failure to maintain the areas allocated to you in an acceptable state or perform the tasks allocated to you	£5 or 1 hour of extra chores per session
Non-payment of board	Failure to pay board on-time (weekly)	£5 per week not paid or 4 hours of extra chores
Leaving dirty crockery in room	Leaving dirty cups, glasses, plates or cutlery in your room	£1 per item per day + cost of replacement if unusable
Leaving Clutter	Leaving personal items of clothing, jewellery, mail or gadgetry in a shared area of the house where they don't belong	£1 per item per day
Not clearing up after guests	Failure to clear away, clean tidy and perform any washing after entertaining guests	£10 or 2 hours of extra chores per incident
Not clearing up after eating	Failure to clear away, sort the dishwasher and put away after having had a meal made for you	£5 or 1 hour of extra chores per incident

Other penalties may be added where deemed necessary by parents.
Basically, if you don't wish to contribute financially then you can do more chores, if you don't wish to contribute time then you can buy back your time by paying additional board. Either way the rate is the same - £5 per hour.

Agreement

I hereby agree to abide by the household rules and submit to the penalties imposed for non-compliance. I also agree to accept responsibility for the area(s) listed below and promise to take my work and responsibilities seriously.

Date	Name	Signature	Areas
	Mother
	Father
	Child #1
	Child #2

* For the sake of argument 'living' in the house is defined as residing in the property (full- or part-time), having a bed allocated or reserved, keeping clothes or a significant amount of personal items on the property, using the residence for washing, drying or entertaining, or possessing a key.


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