THE CLEAN HOUSE
Sober Living House
AUSTIN, TX
512-299-9000 Office
512-233-5280 Fax
www.thecleanhouse.org
CLICK HERE to download a printable version to fill out and bring with you.
Residential Contract and House Rules
***Minimum 60 day stay required***
(Your initials indicate you have read, understand, accept and will abide by these rules)
The purpose of this contract and the major House rules that follow are to inform you of your rights and what is expected of you.
The Clean House is a sober living home. It is a home for you to develop coping skills that will help you master the social and professional demands of society. It is a home for you to live and function in a drug and alcohol free environment.
This will be your home for as long as you wish to reside here. Therefore, you will need to care for it accordingly. You are responsible for your own actions. Accountability is a common value shared by all who reside here. Willingness and cooperation are the basic requirements shared by all members of the house.
Make no mistake about it. This is a zero tolerance residence. That means if you make a decision to drink or use drugs without a doctors prescription, you will be evicted immediately. Additionally no prescriptions containing narcotics or barbiturates or any other substance that will cause a positive outcome on a urinalysis will be allowed
House members live as a family system, that is, a group of individuals living and working toward a common goal, continued sobriety. You are responsible for maintaining a structure of accepted rules, requirements, and practices necessary to ensure a clean and sober environment.
Residents are responsible for purchasing and cooking their own food, supplying their own personal hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, razors, shave cream, etc.) and for any other health issue item (prescriptions, medical care, etc). The house will supply necessary house items. (Laundry soap, dish soap, toilet paper, etc.).
There will be a weekly house meeting that all who reside here must attend to discuss matters pertinent to the house operation. You will receive continuing support and advice from all.
No active addicts are allowed on premises no exceptions!!
You must attend a A.A., N.A. or C.A. meeting at least five days a week, have a sponsor and be working on your recovery because sobriety is our primary purpose. There will be no exceptions; violation could result in removal from house.
If you are on the property at 11:00am Monday through Friday, you must attend a 12:00 noon meeting.
No one will be allowed to remain in bed past 9:00am Monday through Friday (Unless you have a verifiable night job). On Saturday and Sunday, you may stay in bed as long as you wish.
If you are suspected of use, you will be required to submit a urine sample for testing. If the test comes back positive, you will pay for it out of your deposit. If you request a retest and that test returns a negative result, the house will absorb the cost.
Testing may be conducted at any time randomly, or at the manager’s discretion. Refusal of a urinalysis is considered admission of guilt and you will be removed from the house.
There will be no period of time for you to prepare to leave the property. Based on your attitude at the time, you must leave the property within the hour (no matter the time or weather conditions or transportation problems), nor will you be allowed to enter your room without your roommate present or the house manager.
If anyone in the house suspects another member of using and does not notify the house manager, he will be held responsible and removed from the house along with the accused. It’s not “snitching”. It’s protecting your and everyone else in the house’s health and welfare.
Your personal property will be gathered and packed up to be placed in a storage area by the house manager only. You will have a 7-day period of time from the date of your removal to return and collect your personal property. Failure to do so will result in your personal property becoming the property of The Clean House and will either be donated to the Goodwill or Austin Recovery, or may be used by the house as deemed necessary or sold in order to recover any damages or fines/fees you may have owed. This will include any automobiles or other modes of transportation you leave parked at the property such as bicycles, motorcycles, etc. The vehicle will be towed or stored in a locked place. Any locks may be removed to allow access to the vehicle.
If you go to jail for any drug or alcohol related charge (including outstanding warrants) you property will be placed in storage and you will have 7 days to arrange for someone to pick it up for you, or it will become the property of the house. That person must call ahead to arrange for a pickup time and be able to provide identification.
If you are removed from the house, consider that action as a criminal trespass warning. If you come back to the property without management permission, you can be arrested. Criminal trespass is a class “B” misdemeanor.
Any rent, fines or fees will be deducted from your deposit. If you leave by choice after a 60-day period in good standing, your deposit will be returned to you after expenses. You must put in a two-week notice of intent to vacate. Fees may include cleaning and damage repair.
If you owe any monies that are not available by your original deposit, you must pay that balance before you can be considered for future residency.
If you are removed from a house, you may not be reconsidered for residency for three (3) months. If you leave under good terms, you may be reconsidered at any time, based on bed availability.
If you have depleted your original deposit due to fines or costs, you must replace it in full along with the next rent payment. If you become two (2) days past due on your rent payment, you will begin adding $5 increase per day to the total due. Payment must be in full.
You may not ever be more than five (5) days past due. If you are, you will be asked to leave the property on the morning of the fifth day.
Everyone will have a house chore to be completed on a daily or weekly basis. Daily chores must be completed by 12pm (noon). Weekly chores must be done by Sunday evening at 8:00pm. This rule is at the discretion of the house manager. They may change times and days as necessary.
You must provide your own meals. When using the kitchen, you must clean up after yourself immediately following your meal. Failure to do so will result in a one time only warning. A second infraction will result in a $5 fine, to be paid at next rent. A third infraction you will have until the end of your current rent to leave the property.
No dishes or pots and pans are to be left in the sink or drying racks. There will be a one time only warning issued by the house manager on the first offense. A second offense will result in a $5 fine. A third offense will have you evicted, and you will have until the end of your current rent to leave the property.
Only the House Manager may impose warnings or evictions. Complaints about incomplete chores or unacceptable actions are to be brought to the attention of the House Manager. You may trade chores with someone else, but you are responsible for it to be completed.
There is only so much refrigerator, freezer and dry goods storage space. The basic rule is if a food item is not yours, don’t eat or drink it. If you are caught eating someone else’s food without their permission, you can be ask to leave. Do not store water, bread, cookies or candy in the refrigerator. Keep them in your room or in the dry goods storage if there is room. Do not leave meals on the stove or in the refrigerator. House meals must be consumed immediately or thrown out. Every attempt will be made to provide food for those who cannot afford any, but you are encouraged to apply for food stamps and visit local food pantries and churches.
Only one TV is allowed per room. If you come home and your roommate is already watching a program you must allow them to complete their program before changing the channel unless everyone agrees to the change. Please be courteous with the volume as to not disturb your roommate or other members in the household. All room TV’s are to be turned off by 11:00PM unless all roommates are in agreement.
ALL TV’s must be off by 1:00AM, except weekends.
Do not leave your laundry in the washer or dryer. Clothes may be taken out by anybody waiting to use one of the machines and placed wet or unfolded on the table. DO NOT PUT YOUR TENNIS SHOES IN THE DRYER!
If you are the last person to leave the house, lock the front door and sliding glass door. Bedrooms windows are not to be opened or unlocked. If your bedroom window is found in an un-locked position, you could be removed from the property.
There will be a 10:00 PM curfew for all new residents during the first thirty days. After that, there will be a 12:00 AM curfew for all.
You will be allowed an overnight pass on night per week after the thirty days. You must leave a location and phone number where you can be reached during this time. Exceptions are to be discussed with the House Manager. You will be urine tested upon return.
Weekly meetings are mandatory. You may only be excused if you are working. You must call and alert the House Manager if you are working or going to be late for any reason. If you miss the house meeting out of forgetfulness or any other reason without the House Managers awareness, you will be removed from the property.
No Candles, incense or fires of any kind.
No overnight guests. Visitors and family must leave by 10:00 PM
No fighting or threatening. Both parties will be evicted
No stealing. If it is not yours, DON’T TOUCH IT!
No sexual contact between house members, PERIOD.
No racial slurs or prejudice
Rooms are to be kept clean and picked up. Beds are to be made daily. Failure to keep rooms clean will result in a one time only warning.
Respect your House Manager. They are there to help maintain everyone’s heath and well being. House Manager may reserve the right to know where you are and when you will return at his request.
The house computer is for use by all for 30 minute intervals unless nobody is waiting. If you have been on it for 30 minutes and somebody needs to use it you will have 5 minutes to complete your work. DO NOT DOWNLOAD FILES AND APPLICATIONS. If your house is equipped with a printer it should be used for official house business and printing resumes and applications for employment ONLY.
You may bring a personal laptop to connect to the wireless internet. You may not have any file or music sharing applications on your computer such as Limewire, Bit Torrent, etc. If you use them and download or upload illegal or copyrighted material our internet provider will shut off internet access to the whole house and you will not be allowed to use your laptop in the future and could face criminal charges.
Limit phone calls to ten minutes if someone is waiting to use the phone. If the phone rings answer it and take a message if it for someone else. Do not give out any information about other residents. Answer the phone saying Hello only. Offer to take a message for the person the call is for, but never acknowledge they live there.
All house members are responsible for ensuring anonymity and friendliness within the neighborhood. All house business remains within the house and we do not air our business with the neighbors. Do not park in front of neighbor’s houses. There will be no broken down cars or vehicles allowed on premises unless approved by house for immediate repair purposes only.
Do not park cars on the lawn or any part of it
Put incoming mail on the kitchen table or the designated spot for the house. Mail will not be saved if you are evicted or choose to leave. Mail will not be forwarded. It will be marked “Not at this address” and returned.
It may seem like these are a lot of rules, but they are about the harmony and respect for others and property.
We are not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged items.
**Management reserves the right to deny any residents renewed rental on a weekly basis. If you are asked to leave by management for any reason there will be no refunds.**
