OCC Spain
Welcome to the OCC flat in Barcelona!
Full address of the flat: Carrer de Gombau 12, 2-2, 08003, Barcelona
“2-2” means that it is flat number 2 on the 2nd floor.
The flat is located in El Born, one of the neighbourhoods in Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella. The OCC office is just a 5 minute walk away from the flat, at Carrer del Rec, 27.
Arrival and departure
Before arriving, make sure you inform someone from OCC about your time of arrival so that there is someone at the flat to welcome you. They can also meet you at the train or bus station and help to carry your bags.
You will receive your set of keys upon arrival (one key for the main entrance downstairs, and one key for the door that enters the flat).
When you move out of the flat:
return your set of keys
leave your room clean and tidy as you found it
clean your spot in the fridge
leave your cupboards empty (you can move anything left into the common cupboards)
let everyone know if you are leaving things behind so that they don’t get thrown away and can be used by other flatmates
Rules
IMPORTANT: As the apartment is very central and in the middle of other housing with some elderly people, we need to be very strict with keeping people in the building happy with our presence - that means that the rules below are very important to adhere correctly.
We had quite some severe issues with this in the past when we did not fully adhere to these rules and in the worst case, it could lead to eviction.
General rules
The whole apartment has to stay clean which is supposed to be done by all the residents
Do not play loud music or cause any other loud noise/sounds
Between 21:30 and 9:00 make sure to be extra quiet to not break general housing rules in Barcelona
The public spaces (including the rest of the building) should always be kept clean and tidy, and also there, noise should be prevented at all costs
It is not allowed to smoke/use drugs in or around the volunteer house - please go outside to not disturb neighbours with the smell
Make sure that we don't disturb neighbours in other ways (leaking water from the balcony, leaving stuff in the hallway, hanging in front of the building, etc.)
It is forbidden to take bikes or scooters in the elevator.
Guest policy
Parties and gatherings with non-residents are not allowed
If you have a guest/friend over longer than 1 night, please let the OCC Spain coordinator know through Slack or by email
People not living in the apartment are only welcome on invite-basis and if all residents feel comfortable with their presence - if this is not the case, call the coordinator immediately
Reporting
Any issues in the house - dirtiness, feeling uncomfortable, unwanted guests, etc. - should be directly reported to the OCC Spain coordinator. You can also report anonymously if needed.
Portera and neighbours
It is important to maintain good relations with Gabriela, the "portera", as well as the neighbours in the building.
Gabriela is in charge of security and cleaning the entrance hall during the weekdays, and also receives our mail and informs us about anything happening in the building. She generally works from Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 16:00. Don't hesitate to ask a Spanish speaker to help if you have any trouble communicating with her.
As mentioned above, we have had some issues at the flat in the past, which almost led to an eviction. In order to avoid any risk, it is important to stay on good terms with the neighbours in the building.
Bedrooms
The flat has 4 bedrooms and can accomodate 6 people. There are 2 single bedrooms and 2 double bedrooms. Depending on how many volunteers are living there, the people in the 2 larger rooms might be sharing their rooms.
It is up to those living in the flat to determine who goes in which room, always being respectful and understanding of each other. If you have any problems with your bedroom, please discuss it with your flatmates, or with Vincent or your own manager if it is not resolvable.
Shared items
Not covered by OCC
The main items in the flat that are shared by everyone are kitchen essentials, cleaning products (sprays, bleach, disinfectant, etc.) and communal bathroom items (toilet roll and soap). Flatmates take it in turns to buy these things and they are not covered by OCC.
Washing machine + detergent
We also share washing detergent and take it in turn to do laundry. As there is only 1 washing machine and 1 clothes rack, we try not to wash our clothes too regularly so that everyone has time to clean and dry their clothes. We usually ask everyone before putting the machine on, to avoid laundry traffic jams. There is also a laundrette on our street.
Items covered by OCC
Anything that is going to stay in the flat permanently is covered by OCC. This includes: furniture, lights, pots and pans, solid cleaning supplies (broom, mop, duster, etc.), bedding, games. If you are unsure about a specific item, you can ask Marcel, Joana or Vincent. Any products or traps to fight the cucarachas are also covered by OCC, so we should use the OCC cards when buying these items.
Responsibilities
Cleaning
Everyone is responsible for keeping their own bedroom clean and tidy. If you are sharing your room, it is important to keep your space tidy and respect your roommate’s space too.
There is a rota for cleaning the flat’s common areas (the spaces that are shared by all the flatmates). The rota will change depending on how many people are living in the flat, but there are 3 areas that should be cleaned once per week: kitchen, bathroom, hallway and living room.
Recycling and emptying the bins
It is really important to separate our waste and empty the bins regularly.
We have 4 bins: organic, paper/cardboard, plastic and general waste.
There are containers just around the corner outside, so we don’t have to walk far to empty our rubbish.
Cockroaches love to hang out in wet and dirty places so we try to keep the whole area around the bins clean too.
Opening/closing the OCC office
Usually, one of the sets of keys to open the OCC office is kept at the volunteers flat.
This means that the flatmates can be asked to unlock or lock the office if someone else doesn’t have keys (MigraCode students, volunteers, employees, visitors, etc.). If you aren’t sure how to do it, another team member will help you!
Vegetables
Every Thursday, we receive a delivery of some fresh vegetables from outside Barcelona at the OCC office. One of the crates is for the OCC flat, the one for “Didac”. These are organic vegetables to be shared by all the flatmates.
So, every Thursday one person should pick up the box from the office and bring it back to the flat. The veggies should be put away in the fridge and the black boxes should be returned empty to the office as soon as possible.
Flat meetings
There are flat meetings once per month with all the flatmates and the Coordinator of OCC or the office manager. These meetings are to check that everything is running smoothly in the flat and flag any problems.
Contact persons
The flatmates who have been in the flat for a while already are familiar with the flat and local area and can probably help in most circumstances.
Marta is in contact with the energy company and can help making phone calls in Spanish or Catalan if necessary.
Marta is the contact person for the estate agency that rents the flat, and can also be in direct contact with Didac for any issues related to the flat.
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