Tenants: the pros and cons of house sharing

Whether you’re looking at renting a room or living with friends, moving into a house share can be a very different experience to living at home. Take a look at our list of advantages and disadvantages to see if you think it’s right for you.

One of the main reasons why many people choose to house share is the financial benefits. The great thing about sharing a house is having someone to share the bills with. And that’s not just the rent; it includes all your utilities, such as gas and electricity, plus your internet and TV subscriptions. You could use that extra money for hobbies and socialising, or by splitting the costs, you could splash out on a fancier place or bigger TV package. By sharing, you could also save money to buy your own place.

When you live with other people, there’s always someone to hang out with. From having someone to talk to when you need to share your worries or a binge-watching partner for your favourite TV show, they’ll usually be someone on hand to keep you company. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to meet new friends outside your usual circle.

This also means you’ll have a lack of privacy and could be an issue if you like a lot of time to yourself or if you don’t get along with your housemates. But you can always retreat to your room if you’d prefer some time alone.

Pans, plates, cheese graters, it’s a lot of stuff to gather up by yourself. You never know how useful a tin opener is until you haven’t got one. Sharing a house means that between you, you can collate all of the things you depend on to make your life that little bit easier. Unfortunately, it also means that someone is more likely to borrow your fancy shampoo or use up the last of the milk.

Lets face it, cleaning isn’t that fun of a task and as they say, a problem shared is a problem halved. It can also be rather annoying if someone doesn’t pull their own weight or hasn’t got the same cleaning standards as you. Making a cleaning chart could be beneficial in this situation, or if you can afford it, hiring a cleaner to pop over once every couple of weeks if your place is getting a little bit too grimy.

As the saying goes, you never really know someone until you live with them. Who knew your best friend shed that much hair in the shower? Living with friends can be difficult or it could be the best fun you ever had, you just won’t know until you try it. 

With an open mind and a little bit of patience, house sharing can be an exciting, cost-effective living option. But if you like your own space and have a specific way of ordering the cutlery drawer, then it’s probably not for you.

Sign up fees

To apply to rent a property, whether a flat, house or just a room in a house share, you’ll need to save up the money for application fees, deposit and your first month’s rent in advance.

Insurance

Thought about what you’d do if you got broken into or even if you lost your keys? With HomeLet’s tenants contents insurance you can be covered for up to £50,000 worth of items.

Tenant liability insurance also covers items in the house that you’re contracted to look after, such as carpets, blinds and even sofas if your property is furnished. This means you’ll be covered for any accidental damage like a wine spill on the carpet.

Get in touch with a member of our team if you’d like to find out more about our Tenants Insurance.