House Sharing Etiquette: 6 Unwritten House Sharing Rules

  Apr 27, 2020       No Comments   

At Prem-Lets we understand that moving into a professional house share can be daunting, but don’t worry, we have tons of ideas to help you with the process! Just remember the best thing about house sharing isn’t just the added point of it being cheaper, but it always provides you with the opportunity to meet new people in your area and in professional house shares, you even meet people with the same sort of lifestyle as yourself, which makes it a whole lot easier.

Choose your housemates carefully

This one is not really an unwritten rule of house sharing, but if you have the ability to choose your housemates, make sure you focus on things you may clash on. For example, do they smoke? Are their working hours vastly different from your own? Do they seem like organised people? Make sure you are honest about your current lifestyle, what you enjoying doing and your work schedule, as this could all come into account when choosing and looking for a housemate. Just remember, a lot of your potential housemates will be in the same situation as you and work a lot, so they may just want to relax when they get home.

Don’t be THAT person in the group chat

As soon as you have all moved in, make sure you establish an easy way to communicate with each other. Potentially create a group chat in Whatsapp or Messenger, this means everyone can see what is being said and it’s an easy form of communicate. However, don’t be THAT person and send passive aggressive messages in the group.

“Was just thinking it would be a great idea if we could all make an effort to keep the hallway clean, I keep on tripping on things when I get in from work lol” – everyone will know who you’re talking about.

If a situation becomes heated, make sure to discuss these problems face to face as it will lead to better communication. The better you communicate with each other,k the better your house share experience will be.

Keep it clean (don’t leave dirty dishes on the side for a week)

No one wants to live like wild animals. When it comes to cleanliness, everyone seems to have a different stance on what is clean and tidy. When you first begin your tenancy discuss how everyone would prefer things to be cleaned, so everyone knows sooner rather than later.

Also, make sure everyone cleans up after themselves when they leave a room, especially in the kitchen and bathroom, nobody wants to clean up 1 week old dirty dishes.

If issues do arise from cleanliness draw up a cleaning rota so everyone has their fair share of cleaning. This can include rooms, or tasks such as ‘cleaning the dishes’, ‘hoovering’ and ‘mopping’.

Sharing is caring (but don’t steal!)

Being in a house share can sometimes feel smaller than it needs to be. This usually occurs when housemates have x5 of everything. 5 washing powders, 5 salt shakers and 5 irons can cause things to become cluttered and unorganised. What we suggest is to share out the essentials such as, condiments, kitchen basics and repetitive food items (milk, butter and bread). But don’t take what is not yours!

Be considerate (stop hogging the shower)

Everyone has their own morning routine. Some people spend an hour getting ready and others take 5 minutes. If you’re living with multiple people, you may want to co-ordinate your morning routines so that people don’t run late for work, for example. A 30-minute shower in the morning can feel AMAZING, but it’s not exactly considerate when you’re living with other people!

Organise the bills!

Bills and payments are common argument starters. Why not plan out your potential bills and outgoings when you first move in and let everyone know how much is to be paid and how. At Prem-Lets we suggest you set up direct bank transfers so no payments go missing. This also makes it easier for everyone to keep track via their online banking apps.

Other factors to consider:

Security

Security when moving into a professional house shares can seem far from protective, however, there are a number of things you can do to increase the security of your personal belongings, as well as the property.

If there aren’t locks already on individual bedrooms, make sure to add get some added! This gives yourself privacy, as well as providing an extra layer of security to your belongs, meaning no one can intrude or take things without asking. We even suggest you have lockable boxes throughout the property so you have space outside of your room.

We suggest you always keep your personal belongings in your room and make an agreement between your housemates that all doors and windows are locked when you are in or out of the house and if you have a house alarm use it!

Visitors

Make sure you let your housemate/s know if you plan on having visitors over. If you plan on having a few drinks or a bite to eat, clean up after yourselves. Don’t leave things lying around that will make your housemates frustrated.

Pets

Not everyone thinks pets are cute. If you plan on bringing a new furry friend into the house, make sure you have had a conversation with your housemate/s. You wouldn’t want to bring home a pet to find out your housemate doesn’t approve, or they’re allergic!

Contact Prem-Lets

Are you still undecided on whether to move into a professional house share? Why not contact us today to find out more information? We will be able to answer any of your queries and even help you with the process of selecting the house shares you would like to look at. Ring us on 0191 287 2888, email us at   info@prem-lets.co.uk  or why not pop in? Prem Lets Ltd, 196 Heaton Road, Heaton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 5HP.