Conflict

There may be an occasion during your coliving time where one of your roommates is having a negative impact that is felt by many people. This is unfortunate. Here are some important things for you to know around this process including how it interacts with housing law.

Mediation

Roommates are always encouraged to have direct one-on-one communication with one another before a situation requires mediation and there is no permission from OpenDoor needed to set this up and go for it. However, if you feel that it would be supportive to have a third party hold space, OpenDoor is available for mediation support. If both parties are willing, we have staff members who are trained in conflict resolution and will set up a formal process with the parties via email or Slack. Please submit your request through the Support Form embedded in our Community Support Page.

Mediation Process

To begin, involved parties should have a 30 min private interview by a mediator to understand their needs, interests, and desires. Both sides would sign a simple agreement to mediate which lays out the ground rules and structure for up to two 90 minute sessions in which both parties would have a chance to share where they are coming from and negotiate clear agreements that are amenable to both sides for moving forward.

A Community Vote of “No Confidence”

If an issue cannot be resolved after mediation, a community vote of “no confidence” is essentially a vote that one believes an individual’s behavior is detrimental to the community and cannot be rectified.

We recommend the community themselves to conduct the vote, not OpenDoor as it is essentially a vote from the Community asking this individual to leave. The template is a simple vote “For” or “Against” the member being asked to leave. This can be done through Slack, email, in-person, or however you wish. 

The final message delivered to the party being voted on would contain a simple account of the numbers (anonymous if desired) and signed by all the members who voted, no matter whether they voted for or against. If the number is greater than 51%, a representative of the community will communicate that this is a vote of “no confidence” to the party in question and that this is a vote officially asking them to leave the community and notify us either by CC’ing on the official email or letting us know otherwise. OpenDoor will begin a conversation with them about finding a new housing opportunity within a timeline allowed by the law.

Just Eviction Law

**PLEASE NOTE** The majority vote to ask someone to leave does not mean that they will get all their stuff and be gone tomorrow.

A community vote does not amount to an eviction. An eviction is a process of removing someone from a property and is supported by law enforcement officers showing up to physically remove someone if they do not willingly leave. In housing, this is a serious issue and the enforcement mechanism of this is only triggered in certain clear situations including:

• Failure to pay rent
• Acts, or threats, of direct physical violence

Things like “being annoying”, “making me feel uncomfortable/unsafe” (excluding direct threats of physical  violence), “taking up too much space in meetings”, “not listening”, or “being too loud” do not qualify for a formal eviction process backed by the law. 

In certain situations, OpenDoor, at their discretion based on the dynamics of the situation, may deliver a notice to cure & quit which notifies the party of their nuisance behavior and gives them an opportunity to adapt their behavior within a set number of days which varies by county. However, if someone adapts within that time frame then there is nothing further that can be done. Depending on state law, there is also a specific number of cure and quit notices (usually 2-3) that need to be delivered and broken before a situation could be upgraded to an eviction. 

The process can take months to have a cycle of notices that are delivered and broken. It is only a last resort when a party is stating that they intend to defy a community vote and try to stay in the home that OpenDoor would deliver a notice to cure & quit. 

OpenDoor’s Communication with the Rest of Community

OpenDoor will maintain close contact with the community in private channels and deliver any and all updates on dates that the party has agreed to leave. Even if the person is still a problem or you feel uneasy after they have been voted out and living there, we cannot force them out if they are a paying, non-violent resident as stated above. We can only be firm in reminding them that they are no longer wanted in the community, make it easy for them to exit, and regularly ask for a committed clear date that they will be out by. Once we have a clear date, we can hold them to that and let the community know.

Emergency Services

Keep in mind that there is often way more mental fear of retaliation than the actuality of anything like that happening. Most people who have been voted out are just ashamed, embarrassed, angry if they feel misunderstood, and ready to find a new place where they feel more belonging.

If there is ever a situation in which you are threatened, please leave and call emergency services. If you believe that there may be a need for non-emergency services or a mental health coordinator, call 411.  Then, let us know when things are calmed down. We are a property management company who handles leasing, repairs, and supports the community around team building, culture, and systems development but we are not the police. If there were ever a notice of physical or threatened violence, let us know and we would submit an actual eviction which happens on a 24-48 hr basis in most states. 

Interim

In the meantime while someone who has been voted out is looking for housing, the community has to learn how to be with the awkward situation in the home. There may be heaviness, silence, fear, shame on either side, or discomfort felt by people in group settings with this person present. This is all temporary and will of course pass. If you choose to go the route of voting someone out in a contentious situation, be prepared for the emotional turmoil that is entailed in the interim period of them finding new housing.

It also may also be totally fine and both parties have agreed to go their separate ways without drama. It is best after a vote to remind everyone of agreements for normal functioning of the house and go about your community life as normally as possible given the circumstances. Expect it to be as anyone might expect for a relationship to be in a separation process. 

We encourage folks to maintain courteous communication and know that once we have received a vote of “no confidence”, OpenDoor will be in direct communication with the party who has been voted against and will let the community know everything that we know to conduct a smooth transition in as efficient a timeline as is possible within the confines of local laws.