CDA ColivingHome/House Rules
House Rules
Part of your Occupancy Agreement (Annexure 1). If anything here differs from your signed agreement, the agreement prevails.
In these rules
- Lock all doors and windows whenever you go out.
- Don't leave personal belongings in communal areas. CDA doesn't insure residents' possessions. Contents insurance is cheap and we recommend it.
- Report any damage to the premises by email as soon as you become aware of it.
- If you break something, tell us. Fair wear and tear is never charged. The cost goes to whoever caused the damage; in a shared area where nobody knows, it may be shared between the occupants. Ask us for the invoice.
- Never change, remove or install any lock or security device without CDA's prior written approval. CDA may restore the original lock at your cost.
- Some of our properties have CCTV at the front entrance and in shared common areas. Never in bedrooms, bathrooms, toilets or laundries. Your agreement tells you before you move in whether your property has it. Footage is only used to look into a reported incident or to answer a legal request. If you need to check footage, ask us.
Keys & lockouts
Lost key: $70. Locked out? A CDA staff call-out costs $150, or hire a locksmith at your own expense.
This one matters. There have been real close calls, and only certain appliances are approved.
| ✅ Permitted | ❌ Not permitted |
|---|---|
| Pedestal fans (cooling) | Fan heaters |
| Oil-column heaters (heating) | Portable air conditioners |
| Portable electric panel heaters | |
| Radiant heaters |
✅ Permitted
Pedestal fan for cooling · oil-column heater for heating.
❌ Not permitted
Radiant heaters · fan heaters · portable electric panel heaters · portable air conditioners.
Reference images from Annexure 2 of your Occupancy Agreement. If your appliance isn't pictured, ask us before using it.
Most appliance requests are declined, and this is why
Portable heaters and air conditioners are a leading cause of house fires, and in a shared house several bedrooms draw power from the same circuit. That's why only two appliances are approved, and why an unapproved one is removed.
- CDA doesn't provide heating or cooling appliances in rooms.
- If we find an appliance that isn't permitted, we ask you in writing to remove it. If it stays, we remove it and store it until you ask for it back; it is never thrown away. Continued use after a removal is a breach of your agreement.
- Maintenance caused by non-permitted heaters is charged to you.
- In-house air-conditioning units need CDA approval before use. Unauthorised use can make you solely liable for the excess electricity cost.
- If in doubt, ask us first.
- Smoking (including e-cigarettes) is prohibited inside the house, in rooms and on balconies. Outdoor areas only, and put your butts in a bin.
- Smoking indoors means the contractor's smoke-removal invoice is passed on to you, typically $200 to $600. Ask us for the invoice.
- If smoke alarms or sprinklers are triggered by smoking, incense or unattended heaters, the attendance fee Fire & Rescue NSW invoices, up to $1,500, is passed on to the person who caused it. Ask us for the invoice.
- Drugs are strictly prohibited. Possession of illicit substances means termination of your agreement.
- Small gatherings (under 10 people, guests included) are allowed 9 AM – 10 PM. Large gatherings (10+) are prohibited.
- You're fully responsible for cleaning after any event. If it isn't done, we arrange a clean and pass on the actual cost, shared between the occupants who held the event.
- Guests must leave by 10 PM.
- Overnight guests need written permission from CDA in advance, plus a $50 guest fee for that week (Mon to Sun), whatever the number of nights. Email your guest's name, phone number and email to hello@cdacoliving.com: we need to know who is on the property and be able to reach them in an evacuation. We don't keep it once the stay is over.
- Guests staying more than 7 days must sign their own agreement and pay rent.
- Nobody sleeps in communal areas, occupants or guests. The couch is not a bedroom.
- Complaints from housemates, neighbours, council or police caused by you or your guests may lead to a termination notice.
Can my guest stay over?
- Cleaning supplies (dishwashing liquid, toilet paper, bin liners) are not supplied by CDA.
- Wash, dry and put away your dishes straight after every use. Not in an hour, and not left soaking in the sink as a gift for the house.
- Kitchen items are communal: clean and return them after use.
- Everyone shares cleaning of the living room, courtyards, hallways, stairs, bathrooms, kitchen and house front. We send your house a suggested roster. If the day you have been given doesn't suit you, tell us and we'll look at it again with you.
- Routine inspections check house cleanliness. If shared areas are below standard, the house gets 24 hours to put it right at no cost. After that we arrange a clean and the cleaner's charge is shared between the occupants, with the invoice.
- No cleaning between 10 PM and 8 AM (noise).
- Keep your bedroom clean. Signs of smoking in the room mean cleaning and deodorisation costs. If a room's state affects the rest of the house, we'll raise it with you first.
Does a cleaner come to my house?
A cleaner may be provided at your property. Whether one comes and how often depends on the property and can change over time, so ask us and we'll confirm it for your house. The suggested roster and what "clean" actually means day to day are in Living at CDA, House Life.
Sort rubbish into the correct bin. Council fines for illegal dumping may be charged to occupants, and a bin that doesn't get collected means a rubbish removal fee.
Yellow binContainer recycling
- Plastic bottles, tubs and containers
- Glass bottles and jars
- Aluminium cans, steel cans and empty aerosols
- Aluminium foil, scrunched into a ball, and clean trays
Red binLandfill
- Plastic bags and wrap
- Takeaway containers
- Foam and polystyrene
- Ceramics, crockery, glassware and mirrors
Green binFood & garden organics
- Food waste
- Flowers and garden prunings
- Leaves, weeds and grass clippings
- Small twigs and branches, under 10 cm
Blue binPaper recycling
- Clean paper and cardboard
- Newspapers, magazines and phone books
- Pizza boxes, with the food removed
- Milk, juice and cream cartons
Not every house has all four
Not every council runs the same system. Sort by the bins your house actually has: if one is missing, whatever it would take goes in the red bin. Your council's website has the list for your street and the collection day. Getting the bins out on time is covered in Living at CDA, House Life.
- Take bins out and bring them in according to your house schedule.
- Report missing or damaged bins via the maintenance form.
- Check your local council website for detailed sorting instructions.
- Exhaust fans MUST be on when showering, cooking, doing laundry or drying clothes.
- Open windows and doors when weather permits (mind security).
- Don't use heaters excessively.
- Report any mould immediately after arrival via the maintenance form.
- Extra cleaning caused by poor ventilation or excessive heater use is charged to you; CDA doesn't reimburse cleaning products used on mould.
Full guide
The Mould Guide covers prevention, how to clean it yourself and when it becomes a maintenance job.
- Your Condition Report records the room's state at move-in, including that it's free of bed bugs.
- Check your bed, room and common areas in your first 7 days and report anything you find to hello@cdacoliving.com. Anything reported in that window is treated as pre-existing and is never charged to you. We treat it at our cost.
- If nothing is reported in the first 7 days, we rely on the Condition Report as the record that the room was free of bed bugs, and a later infestation is normally charged to the occupants of the affected room. If you believe that isn't the case, show us what you have; we'll look at it before charging anything.
- Keep your room tidy to avoid infestations.
- Never bring furniture, beds or appliances found on the street into the property. Used items brought in make you responsible for pest control and disposal costs.
- The washing machine is there for everyone in the house. Don't leave your clothes sitting in it after the cycle finishes.
- CDA provides basic appliances only (typically a fridge, microwave, kettle, toaster, washing machine, and basic kitchenware). The appliances and items presented during your property inspection are those provided with the property.
- CDA repairs or replaces its own appliances for normal wear and tear; damage from misuse is charged at the item's depreciated value.
- Dryers are not provided as standard. Where one is available it is a paid service, because of the electricity it uses. Where there is a dryer, clean the lint filter after every use. Damage from not doing so counts as misuse.
- Clothes racks belong in bedrooms and laundry rooms only, never in hallways, living rooms or kitchens.
- Where the laundry is too small to dry in, your property has a covered drying area assigned instead. Ask us which one is yours. Drying clothes in a closed room causes mould, and the Mould Guide explains how fast.
- Bikes go in the front or back yard, never inside the property or in bedrooms.
- CDA doesn't insure residents' bikes or equipment, and we can't watch a shared yard around the clock. Lock yours, and contents insurance is worth the few dollars a week.
- E-bike battery safety: charging e-bikes and e-batteries is not permitted inside bedrooms. Charge outside, or in a designated garage or laundry area, away from anything that burns, and never unattended or overnight. Repeated non-compliance is a breach of your agreement and can end it.
- Property damage from battery misuse or negligence is your financial responsibility.
- Wi-Fi is included, offered primarily for communication, work and study.
- CDA doesn't supply the internet. An outside telecommunications provider does. So we can't promise you a particular speed, or that it will never drop out. Outages, faults and maintenance at their end are outside our control, and so is how far the signal travels through the walls of an older house.
- What we do promise: if the connection is down, report it through the maintenance form and we log it with the provider and follow it up until it's fixed. If you need a connection you can rely on for work or study, a mobile data plan is a sensible backup.
- Gaming consoles are allowed, but they come second. If the house is struggling for speed, console use may be restricted.
- "Andy" is CDA's official company WhatsApp account, not somebody's personal number. Announcements and house info go out there, and it is the place for quick questions. Formal notices, your move-out notice above all, must go by email or through the forms.
- Maintenance requests: cdacoliving.info/Maintenance or hello@cdacoliving.com, which keeps everything documented and tracked.
- Move-out notice: 4 weeks in advance, in writing, via the Move-Out Form or email to hello@cdacoliving.com.
- Rent: pay by the agreed method and on time; payment questions go to hello@cdacoliving.com.
These are the standard charges from Annexure 3 of your Occupancy Agreement. The figures are maximums: where the actual cost is lower, you're charged the lower amount. Ask us for the invoice or receipt behind any charge.
Fair wear and tear is never charged.
If you think a charge is wrong
We tell you in writing what the charge is for and what it costs. Ask and we'll send you the invoice or receipt. If something looks wrong, tell us within 14 days and we'll review it before it's final. If we still disagree, you can take it to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
General items
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Room cleaning | $100 |
| Carpet cleaning | $120 |
| Sofa cleaning | $150 |
| Fridge space cleaning | $100 |
| Dirty curtains / blinds | $120 |
| Room deodorisation | $200 – $600 |
| Personal items left behind | $150 |
| Lost room key | $70 |
| Lost strata key | From $300 |
| Lockout, staff call-out (9am to 5pm, if the team is available) | $150 |
| Lockout, outside business hours (emergency locksmith) | From $200 |
| Change lock | $150 |
In-house cleaning
These are the cleaner's costs passed on to the house, and we send you the invoice behind any charge.
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| General house cleaning | From $170 |
| Deep cleaning | From $350 |
| Fridge deep cleaning | $150 |
| Sorting out the bins | $150 |
| Emptying cupboards for pest control | $100 |
Replacement of furnishings
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Mattress protector | $50 |
| Mattress | $300 |
| Slats | $50 |
| Bed frame | $300 |
| Side table | $90 |
| Wardrobe | $350 |
| Desk | $120 |
| Chair | $90 |
| Lamp | $90 |
| Mirror | $120 |
| Decorations (per item) | $80 |
| Couch | $450 |
| Television | $600 |
| Removing furniture from an occupied room (on request) | $170 |
Appliances
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Bar fridge | $300 |
| 205L fridge | $450 |
| Stove top | $170 |
| Washing machine | $650 |
| Dryer | $500 |
Damage to the building
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Door (hole in the door) | $400 |
| Floor damage | Quotation |
| Wall hook removal (per unit) | $40 |
| Broken glass | Quotation |
| Hole in gyprock | $200 |
| Repaint wall | Quotation |
| Wall damage | Quotation |
Pest control
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Bed bug treatment, one room | $300 |
| Bed bug treatment, whole house | $800 – $1,000 |
Moving out?
The Move-Out Guide shows the same charges alongside the deep-clean checklist that helps you avoid them.
Next guide
Living at CDA: maintenance, rent and transfers