How to be a good housemate

The first-week conversation

Sit down together once, early, and agree on the basics — it takes twenty minutes and saves months. Write the answers in the house WhatsApp group so nobody has to remember. Cover: how bills are split and by when, who buys shared supplies, how chores rotate, quiet hours during the week and before exams, how guests and partners staying over work, and what happens to the fridge and the kitchen.

Money

• Split bills the same way every month and pay on the same date. One person collecting for the electricity meter and Wi-Fi works if everyone pays before the top-up, not after.
• Keep a running note of shared purchases — dish soap, toilet paper, bin bags — and rotate who buys them, or put a small amount into a kitty each month.
• Never lend rent money. If someone cannot pay, the landlord needs to know, not just you.
• If your names are all on one lease, you are usually jointly liable — read our lease checklist and understand what that means before you sign together.

Mess

• A rota that rotates weekly beats “everyone cleans up after themselves”, which nobody does.
• Your dishes, the same day. The kitchen is the room that ends friendships.
• Shared spaces stay shared: your stuff lives in your room, not on the lounge floor.
• Bins out on bin day is a rota job too.

Noise and guests

• Agree quiet hours on weeknights and a stricter set during exams. Headphones after that.
• Ask before a guest stays more than a night or two; a partner who is there every night is a housemate who does not pay rent.
• Parties: warn the house and the neighbours, and agree who cleans up before it starts.
• Respect closed doors. Knock.

Safety

Lock the doors and gate every time, even for five minutes. Do not give keys or the gate code to anyone who does not live there. Agree that visitors are the responsibility of whoever invited them. If something goes missing, raise it with the house straight away rather than letting it fester — and keep valuables in your room with a lock on the door or cupboard.

When it goes wrong

Talk to the person first, in private, about the specific thing — the dishes, the noise, the late bill — not their character. If it keeps happening, raise it at a house meeting. If it is money and it affects the lease, involve the landlord early; landlords would rather hear about a problem in month two than discover unpaid rent in month five. If you are the one struggling to pay, say so before the due date, not after.

Leaving well

Give the notice the lease requires and tell the house at the same time. Help find a replacement if the lease needs one. Clean your room properly, do the move-out inspection with the landlord, and settle your share of the last bills before you go — your deposit and your friendships both depend on it.