Residing in an apartment may be an adjustment from owning a house, but everything comes with responsibilities. An apartment lifestyle might be more complicated when it comes to etiquette issues because of the limited space between other people. Yet, a little courtesy can certainly make apartment life much easier. Here are a few helpful tips on maintaining a courteous relationship with your fellow apartment neighbors to ensure that living in close proximity with others proceeds well.

• Be friendly towards others. You don’t necessarily need to know them, but a simple hello or greeting goes a long way.

• Be soft-spoken when entering or exiting. It may be normal to walk from the parking lot to your front door and vice versa, but you will need to consider how loud a person is. Avoid stomping on stairwells, especially when leaving before sunrise or coming back late at night.

• Be considerate of the noise level inside the apartment. This is one of the most common complaints. If a neighbor requests for you to keep the noise level down, try to negotiate a solution.

• Have on-site laundry etiquette. It is advisable to avoid leaving clothes abandoned for a prolonged period. If there’s a limited amount of washers and dryers available and another person’s clothes have been in there for a long time, it is considerate to lay their clothes on a clean plastic or garbage bag on a counter or somewhere off the floor. Each person is responsible for their own belongings, but it is also a two-way street way of using shared amenities.

• Offer any positive assistance or convenience to your elderly neighbors. If you see them in the parking lot with groceries, ask them if they need help carrying them inside the building or hold any doors open. If you see their mail piling up or you don’t notice their light on at night for some time, knock on their door and see if they are doing okay.

Live the GOLDEN RULE. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Put yourself in their shoes considering noise levels, parking in one’s stall, and other lifestyles. These aren’t your family members, friends, nor roommates. They are just ordinary people, some of whom prefer to live in peace and quiet.

With the new year upon us, the Annual Lease Re-examinations will be fast approaching in February. In the meantime, if you receive a letter from the Social Security Administration indicating your income increase for 2015, please bring it to the CCHA office and we will make a copy for your file. Also, you will be receiving a letter from our office regarding the required information needed to complete your re-examination.

Upon receipt of the Lease Re-examination Letter, call the CCHA office to schedule your appointment. Please be sure that all applicable forms are completed prior to your appointment. It is especially important the “Banking Verification” form be taken to your banking institution a few weeks prior to your appointment to be completed. A few local banks must forward the paperwork to their office headquarters, which may be in a different state, to be completed.

As a reminder, all re-examinations must be completed and forwarded to the Chicago HUD office by February 27, 2015. If your re-examination is notcompleted by this date, your lease will not be renewed.