House Rules & Community Living Guidelines

La Finka is a home before it's anything else. These are the agreements that let four people share one house without it wearing anyone down.

Two categories, and the difference matters:

• Lease terms are contractual. Breaking them has consequences.
• House norms are cultural. They're how we actually live, held by agreement rather than enforcement.

The Lease Terms

Binding under your room rental agreement with 4000 Plumas LLC. Restated here for clarity — the lease itself is the authority.

Rent and money

• Rent is due on or before the 1st, by ACH or check to 4000 Plumas LLC
• $100 late fee if not received within 5 days
• Internet, electricity, and water are split evenly across residents — one share each. Typically $60–150/month per person, driven mostly by summer AC and water use
• Your share is due within 7 days of the monthly statement
• Trash and waste removal are included in rent

Term and notice

• Month-to-month. Either party may end it with 30 days' written notice
• Immediate termination for non-payment or material breach

Your room

• One adult per room, unless agreed in writing
• No subletting
• Keep it clean and in good condition
• Report repairs promptly
• The landlord gives 24 hours' notice before entering, except in emergencies

Guests

• No overnight guests for more than 3 nights per month without prior approval
• This includes partners

Smoking

• No smoking indoors — of any kind. Outside only

Substances

• No illegal activity, and no controlled substances without a valid prescription
• This is a material breach and grounds for immediate termination. There's no flexibility here

Vehicles

• One parking spot in the driveway included
• Additional vehicles need written approval and may run ~$60/month
• Vehicles must be registered and operational unless otherwise agreed
• Park in tenant spaces; don't block other vehicles or access to the agricultural areas

Pets

• Not allowed. We do plan on chickens

Participation

• Participation in La Finka programming is optional and not a condition of the lease
• Workshops, workdays, and events are encouraged, never required
• Residents may propose work exchange — labor or creative work for a portion of rent, pre-approved in writing and reconciled monthly. See Agoridean Intake - Overview

House Norms

Not contractual. This is just how the house works, and it works because people hold it.

The three that matter most

Leave it nicer than you found it. Wipe the counter, reset the space, put the tool back. If it's a two-minute job and you noticed it, just do it.

Say it at a 1, not a 9. Raise things while they're still minor. Nearly every serious problem in a shared house is a small problem someone sat on for two months. This is the single norm most worth protecting.

Doocracy. You can do almost anything in the community's interest without asking permission, as long as it's mostly reversible. Rearrange the lounge, start a project, fix the thing, plant something. Ask first when it's expensive, permanent, or affects someone else's space.

Quiet

• Quiet hours are 10pm to 8am on weekdays (lease term)
• Weekends are looser — use judgment
• Sound carries badly from the basement, pool, and patio. Assume you can be heard
• When the house is full, take calls in your room or outside rather than indoor common spaces. Several people work from home; this one comes up

Kitchen

• No food left on dishes or in the sink. Rinse before you walk away
• Wipe the stovetop and counters after cooking
• Run the dishwasher when it's full — whoever notices
• No wood in the dishwasher
• If you don't want it eaten, put your name on it
• Clean out your fridge shelf before you travel

Guests

• Always let the house know when someone's coming over — a message is enough
• Overnight guests: the 3-night cap is the lease line; a heads-up is the norm
• Guests park on the long driveway or the street
• You're responsible for your guests, including cleanup

Shared spaces

• Reset a room after you use it
• Tools go back where they came from
• If you break something, repair or replace it
• Don't leave your things in common areas overnight

Shared goods and cleaning

• Professional cleaners come 1–2 times per month. Residents share this cost, handled within the house rather than billed with utilities
• Household supplies — TP, paper towels, dish soap, oils, cleaning supplies — are shared. Pay it forward; people forget things
• Before the cleaners come, pick your stuff up so they can actually clean

Waste

• Trash goes out Sunday evening for Monday pickup. Fill one green bin before starting the second
• Recycling is every other week. Break boxes down; oversized ones go behind the barn
• Compost goes in the kitchen bin, then out to the pile in the front field when full

Mail

• Bring in packages you see sitting out and tell whoever they're for
• Sort mail into the entry slots
• Junk mail goes in the bin by the fireplace — it's fire starter

Utilities and systems

• Turn things off when you're not using them
• The toilets run. Make sure the handle returns fully after flushing; if you hear water running, shut the valve
• Report anything broken to the house. Better still, fix it

Before you travel

• Walk the house and put your things away
• Clean your dishes; clear your fridge shelf
• Tell the house your dates
• Cover your chore rotation — swap with someone rather than skipping

Chores

Residents share upkeep of common spaces, the garden and plants, the pool and hot tub, and irrigation and lawns. Details and rotations: Agorideans - Chores.

Culture and Conduct

We hold to the broader Community Agreements & Code of Conduct. The short version for the house:

• Respect — for people, for the land, for the place
• Consent is culture — ask before photos, before borrowing, before touching
• Value all forms of labor — coordination, cleanup, and emotional work all count. Thank each other
• Take space, make space — in conversations and in the house

Zero tolerance

• Harassment, discrimination, or hate speech
• Unwanted physical contact
• Repeated violation of consent or boundaries
• Destruction of property or the ecosystem

When Something's Wrong

Three steps, in order:

1. Talk to the person directly. At a 1, not a 9. Most things end here. Non-Violent Communication is a useful frame
2. Bring it to Niko if that doesn't resolve it, or if going direct doesn't feel right
3. House meeting for anything affecting everyone

We aim for repair rather than punishment — but boundaries are real, and we will ask someone to leave if the house's wellbeing requires it.

Governance: Niko has final say on house matters, and Niko and Stephanos decide as owners on major investments and direction. Residents' input is genuinely weighted; it isn't a vote. Being straight about that is better than implying otherwise.

Related

• Agorideans - Dashboard — resident landing page
• Agorideans - Welcome To La Finka — orientation and what's here to use
• Agorideans - Chores — upkeep detail
• Community Agreements & Code of Conduct — the broader community version
• Rooms At La Finka — public listing
• Meeting - Agorideans — rolling house meeting log

Created: 260727-16:46

Updated: 260727-16:46