The Ultimate Guide to Moving into a Shared House

Whether you are a student moving to college or university, moving out of home for the first time, or life has thrown you a curve ball, or that is the most affordable way to live in the city of your choice, moving into a shared house for the first time is, how can I say this? A unique experience.

Even if you know the people you intend to house share with, or you are moving into a house with strangers, there are going to be times of laughter……….and tears.

People you will never want to set eyes on ever again, and people who will become lifelong friends.

And until you move into your new place you will have no idea which will be the more common of those two emotions or two outcomes.

So we have created the ultimate guide to moving into shared housing to help you make the most of this adventure, we will share with you everything to know about house sharing, and offer you top tips for living in a shared house.

You may also like to read: Moving in With a Friend: How to Move In With a Friend and Remain BFF. Moving into a shared home with your best friend may seem like the perfect scenario but is it? In this guide, we tell you all you need to know about sharing a home with a friend and share tips on how to make it work so that you remain BFF.

What is a House Share?

A house share is an entire property rented by a group of people under a joint tenancy agreement.

You may also find that some landlords will rent out individual rooms within a property, where the tenancy agreement will be between just you and the landlord.

There are pros and cons for each type of rental but at the end of the day, you will be living under one roof with several people sharing common spaces such as the kitchen and bathroom.

You may also like to read: How to Move Into a Rented Property for the First Time. If you have never rented a home before then there is plenty to know and many pitfalls to avoid. This guide will tell you all you need to know about renting a home.

How Does a House Share Work?

All the bills and cleaning are shared equally between all those within the home. In theory.

And that is where conflict can often happen, as not everyone will be as tidy, thrifty, or considerate as you.

It is best to sit down with your housemates and work out a set of rules, how you will pay the bills, and how the cleaning of common areas will be divided amongst you.

Further down this guide, we will look in more detail at the topic of good house-share rules to adopt, which will help you avoid any house-sharing problems.

How Much Does a Room in a House Share Cost?

www.spareroom.co.uk has produced a list of what it costs on average to rent a room in various parts of the UK. This is what they found:

• East Anglia £630
• East Midlands £550
• North East £526
• North West £567
• Northern Ireland £530
• Scotland £685
• South East £712
• South West £632
• Wales £556
• West Midlands £537
• Yorkshire and Humberside £542
• London £989

Of course, these are averages and the actual cost will vary on the area you wish to live in. You can find specific prices and rooms to rent at www.spareroom.co.uk

You may also like to read: How to Get Help With Moving Costs. Moving home is never cheap but there are various resources available to help you with any removal costs or even with deposits and rent payments. In this guide, we suggest some organisations that may be able to help you.

Tips for Living in a Shared House

• One of the very first things, when you arrive at your new home, is to take photos. Of everything. This is your insurance policy if the landlord tries to charge you for damages that you were not responsible for. Make sure the date and time function is set on your camera.
• Nobody wants to live by a thousand and one rules, but it is a good idea to set out some ground rules between yourselves right from the off.
• Set a monthly budget for all the bills including rent, utilities, and cleaning supplies, including things like bin liners and toilet paper. If you want internet in the home it is best to go for an unlimited package so that there are no disputes about how much each of you is using. Don’t forget you will need a TV licence. If the TV is in a communal room you will all need to share the cost.
• Set up a bank account to pay all the bills by direct debit and a direct debit from each housemate’s account for their share of the bills.
• Cleaning is always a source of friction in shared homes, so why not employ a cleaner for a few hours a week? The cost will be minimal if shared between you all.
• Designate a kitchen cupboard for each person to keep their own food in.
• Allot a shelf in the fridge for each housemate’s perishable food.
• Some of you may want to cook at the same time every day but that is probably impractical. Agree on a schedule when each person will be cooking or even consider a rota for cooking a meal for everyone.
• Washing up is another source of potential arguments. Agree to wash up your things as you finish using them.
• Putting out the rubbish bins may seem insignificant but if no one is scheduled to do it, it won’t get done.
• Each person should have a laundry day allocated so that you don’t all end up wanting to peg out your clothes washing on the same day.
• A bathroom rota is also a great idea, so you each know when the bathroom will be free for your turn in the shower.
• Having other people stay overnight in your room can also cause conflict. Establish some ground rules to prevent any future problems.
• Noise is another consideration, especially if someone is a night owl and the rest of you aren’t. Agree a reasonable time that music stops or the TV gets turned down.
• Schedule regular house meetings so that you can all get to know each other, organise house events, but also to chat about things that need resolving before they become major issues.
• Another great tip is to organise bonding nights, where you all get together for a quiz or a night in the local pub for example.
• Have a communal noticeboard/wipe board. Anything you need to let the others know, just leave it on the board. This is also really useful as a safety precaution in case of fire or if you need help. If you are in the home or going out, mark it on the board. It could save someone’s life. You can also create a social media group if that works for all of you.

You may also like to read: Can’t Find Somewhere to Live? Have You Considered Intentional Living? Intentional living is a community of people living together who share a common goal, belief, or way of life. Moving into a shared home can be daunting, you never know whether the other housemates have the same interests or share the same values as you. But when you move into a home that was created for intentional living, you know that others in the community will have something in common with you.

House Sharing Etiquette

Everybody is different. We all have different values, what is tidy to one person is chaos to another.

So there are some life skills that you need to adopt to make your home-sharing experience a more harmonious time for everyone.

Tolerance will be needed in bucket loads. Not everyone will live by your standards or will consider normal as you do.

You will need to accept this, and that you will not always have things your way. It is a fact of life that we have to often compromise and be flexible.

Cleaning pots and pans is always a bone of contention, so clean up after yourself. Always. Don’t leave things in the sink to be washed up later, do it as you use it.

As the saying goes, neither a lender nor a borrower be. But if you really must borrow something, be sure to ask first and replace it as soon as possible.

If you are the only smoker, smoke outside the house, or only in your room if that is permitted by the landlord.

Having your partner stay overnight can be awkward for others in the house, so set out the boundaries of what is acceptable early on.

Respect your housemates and treat them as you would wish them to treat you.

We all have bad days and things don’t always go right.

They may have overslept or even had an emergency which meant they could not do the chore they were meant to do. Life happens.

Give them the benefit of the doubt, unless it becomes the norm, in which case the subject will need to be talked about.

It is also important to know the boundaries of what is acceptable behavior.

Respect each other’s space, we all need some me-time occasionally.

You may think it OK to just walk into someone else’s room or help yourself to their toiletries, they may not.

And try to be friendly, it is easy to say hi, offer a helping hand, or even share your cooked meal.

You may also like to read: Where to Get Free Stuff When Moving Home. If you are just setting up your first home then money is likely to be tight. In this guide, we look at where you can get free things to help you kit out your new home, as well as discounts and vouchers to save you some money.

Moving Into a House Share

First off you are going to have to establish what is, and isn’t, in the home, and what you really, really need to move in with you.

If you are moving into a new home share at the start of your college life for example then it is a good idea to contact all your fellow housemates and establish exactly what each of you is taking. It is pointless having two microwaves or two toasters.

You may also like to read: Everything You Need to Know About Moving to College. For those starting out on higher education and looking to house share, this guide will be invaluable.

Moving into an established house share normally means that everything is already set up so you will likely only need to take what you deem as essential for yourself.

Either way, you likely have to take more stuff than can be taken in a car or on public transport.

A local mover near you will be used to handling these smaller types of home moves and will be able to help you move in effortlessly.

You may also like to read: Small Home Moves. Moving With No Furniture. In this guide, we look at the different options for moving home with no furniture.

To save costs you will probably want to pack your own things for moving and usually, you can find good quality moving boxes for free at the local supermarket or on free ad websites.

You will still need to follow some packing rules to ensure your things arrive safely though.

To save on packing costs, and having to dispose of mountains of packing materials, use bags and items that can hold other things. Think Russian dolls, if it has an internal space, they can be used to transport your items.

Strong refuge sacks are also good for softer items like bed linen and pillows and can be reused once you arrive at your new home.

Slip a refuge sack over clothes still on hangers and just tie off the bottom of the sack. These can then be hung straight back into the wardrobe in your new room.

Remember to photograph any connections for any electronic items you intend to take so that you know how to reconnect them.

Pack fragile items in small boxes and they will be easier to handle. Use clothing to wrap fragile items which will protect them.

Don’t waste time or money by paying to have food transported to your new home. There will be plenty of 24-hour shops to stock up from locally.

And finally, be safe. Change the locks of the house and your room, you never know who has a copy of the key.

We hope you have found this guide useful and if you have any tips or advice you would like to share with other home sharers, just leave a comment below. Thanks.