East Blair Housing Cooperative

Approved 12/11/2016

An EBHC member posts a move-out notice. Membership Committee will:

Step #	Task
1	Post notices on both bulletin boards announcing a 7-day period for members to apply to transfer to the soon-to-be-vacant unit.
2	Coordinate with House and Grounds Committee regarding the move-out inspection(s) for the unit(s) becoming vacant.
3	Conduct interviews with members interested in transferring.  This can occur during a normal or special membership meeting. Membership Committee must reach consensus according to EBHC policy. Transfers must be approved by consensus according to EBHC policy by the General Membership.
4	Determine when to open the (approximately) 14-day window for accepting applications. The day after a membership committee meeting is good for this. At the beginning of the window, office manager gets in touch with all the applicants on the “to-be-notified” list and invites them to apply.
5	After the transfer period is over:Notify the public about vacancy using craigslist, notices on bulletin boards around town, and/or at the offices of various community organizations or services, and so on. The ads will specify which size(s) of unit(s) are available.
6	At a Membership Committee meeting after the application window closes:  The committee randomly assigns every application a number via a truly random lottery.Next: review the applications in their lottery order. The committee must reach consensus according to EBHC policy to decide if each given application is complete and meets the criteria. Identify the first complete, eligible 3-5 applications (per vacancy). These will have their references checked. The number that each application receives is their place in the lottery order—it is their “lottery number.” From this point forward, applications will be processed and reviewed in lottery order. If we have two simultaneous vacancies: If the two simultaneous vacant units are the same size, use one pool and one lottery. If the units are different sizes, use two lottery pools.  If an additional unit becomes available DURING an ongoing applicant search, and the new unit is a different size than the first vacant unit, then run a new advertisement (after the transfer period). If the new unit is the same size, draw from the existing lottery pool. Applications have a space where the applicant can indicate which size unit they prefer, and also if they would be willing to accept a different size unit. If there are two lotteries for two units of different size, applicants will be moved into the lottery according to their expressed preference. Each application can only be in one lottery.
7	Over the next week, check references for the top 3-5 applications (per vacancy). Continue to accept applications, but they are not added to the pool.  Optional: Contact all applicants and notify them of their place in the lottery.
8	At the following committee meeting, review the reference checks.  Starting with applicant #1 and then proceeding down according to lottery order, the committee should reach consensus according to EBHC policy on whether the applicant fulfills the EBHC selection criteria. Applicants that fulfill the criteria are recommended for a GM interview; applicants that do not fulfill the criteria are discarded.
9	Schedule a General Membership (GM) interview for the top candidate. Include a process for all current members to read the application and reference forms for recommended applicant prior to the GM. For example, announce on the listserv and on the bulletin boards that the application(s) will be on the desk in the EBHC office.
10	Interview candidate at a GM meeting. After the interview, the applicant leaves the room and the GM goes straight to a call to question without discussion. If there is a block, discussion begins. If the GM approves the candidate via consensus according to EBHC policy, assign a buddy to the new member. The buddy will check in and help them arrange payment, signing of papers, selecting a move-in date, etc. The buddy helps orient the new member during and beyond the initial 90-day trial period. New members have up to 30 days from the receipt of their $100 deposit to begin their membership and start paying rent.
11	Add non-selected applicants to the “to-be-notified” list if they wish. Their applications remain valid for up to 6 months.