Leaving the comfort of student halls, with the luxury of cleaners and all your bills included in the price can often be a shock to the system. Don’t get us wrong, living in a student house share is great fun and provides you with complete freedom, but it can take a little adjusting.
We’ve compiled all of our top tips on living in a student house share so you can make an easy transition from halls to house.
If you’re on the hunt for the perfect student accommodation, why not have a browse here.
What you’ll find in this article…
- Setting up your utility bills
- Deciding who gets which room
- Keeping your house clean
- Dealing with your landlord
- Being considerate of your housemates
Tip Number One – Set up your utility bills
Before you get swept up in the excitement of moving in with your friends, you need to make sure you’ve set up your utility bills. The last thing you want is to rock up to your student house share only to find you’ve got no wifi. Your landlord should have let you know if bills are included in the price of rent. If they’re not, it’s up to you to set them up.
As a general rule, you’ll need to pay for:
- Gas
- Electricity
- Wifi
- Water
- A TV Licence.
It can be overwhelming to navigate your way through multiple quotes, companies and tariffs. So if you’re wondering how to sort out bills for a student house, that’s where we can help!
You have a choice between which energy and broadband provider you choose. We would recommend using a comparison site to find the best deals. Water and TV licensing are with regional suppliers, so you don’t have a choice who supplies these services.
For an easy set up, Resooma sets up all your bills for you and bundles your utilities into one simple monthly bill. Then we split it equally between you and your housemates, so you can relax and focus on studying, (or going to the pub.) Get a free quote here.
Tip Number Two – Decide who gets which room
Before you start mentally planning how you’re going to decorate your new room, you need to make sure you and your housemates are on the same page about who’s getting which room.
Unless by some miracle, you each have your heart set on a different room, there’s bound to be disagreements.
Allocating rooms can be an awkward decision to make in your shared house, so let us make it for you. Use our random room allocator to fairly decide who gets each room in your student house share.
Tip Number Three – Keep your house clean
Now that you’re all moved in, you’ll have quickly realised there isn’t a cleaner to mop up after you in a student house share.
While tenants don’t have to keep the property clean when living there, it does make sense to stay on top of cleaning jobs so there isn’t a mad rush to get everything tidy as the tenancy draws to a close. One of the best ways to stay on top of your chores is through our weekly and monthly cleaning rota.
Tip Number Four – Dealing with your landlord
One of the main differences between living in halls compared to living in a student house share is the addition of a landlord. Unfortunately you don’t have the university maintenance team five minutes away anymore. Instead you have to reach out to your landlord if you have any issues.
There’s often a stereotype that friction between students and landlords is common. As long as you’re respectful and know your tenant rights, you’ll be just fine.
We recommend that you take thorough pictures of any damages when you move in and read your tenancy agreement all the way through before signing.
Tip Number Five – Be considerate of your housemates
While living in a student house share can be the highlight of your university experience, shared living still carries plenty of challenges. When you’re living in close proximity and learning to adapt to different personalities and habits, some conflict is to be expected. To avoid this, we recommend laying down some simple ground rules early on and communicating these with your housemates.
Check out this article for 9 house-sharing rules that will help to create harmony in your student house.
Now that you’re all set to move into your student house share, make the most of your university experience with these student hacks!
Unsure on whether or not you want to live in a shared house? We’ve compiled all the pros and cons so you can decide if a student house share is right for you.