Shared Accommodation
Information, tips & resources about shared accommodation
Things to consider with shared housing
To share or not to share? That is the question you might be thinking about now you have worked out your rental budget. Finding affordable housing on your own that is within your rental budget can be hard. That is why sharing accommodation might be your only option – but remember – it’s not your forever option! It’s just a good start to help you on your way to your own accommodation one day. You could move into shared accommodation with your friends or look at joining an existing share house. Here are some things to consider:
The Good
- Great way to meet new friends, develop social networks
- Sharing the bills reduces living costs
- Each house member can bring various pieces of furniture/whitegoods to share, reducing costs.
Things to be aware of
- Disagreements over who pays what share of living expenses.
- Arguments over lifestyle factors such as cleaning, entertaining and the use of the kitchen, bathroom or television.
- Legal liability issues regarding property damage, bond repayments, failure to pay rent.
There are a few ways of sharing but in all cases the landlord or real estate agent must be notified of any share arrangements. Some share arrangements include:
Subletting
This is when the current tenant leases one or more rooms to other tenants but those other tenants are not named on the lease agreement. The person whose name is on the lease must ask written permission from the rental provider to sublet. The first tenant is called the head-tenant and the other tenants are called the sub-tenant. The agreement between them is called a sub-lease. If you are becoming the sub-tenant, ask to see written permission from the landlord/real estate agent.
For more information Lease transfers and subletting – Tenants Victoria
For information about the pros & cons of subletting go here: Co-tenancy vs sub-tenancy: The pros and cons | realestateview.com.au
Co-Tenancy
Co-tenancy is when two or more tenants are all named as tenants on the lease or tenants agreement. Each of the tenants are individually and collectively responsible for the rent.
Fore more detailed information go here: Share Accommodation | Flatmates.com.au
For more tips on living in a share house, making cleaning rosters & house share agreements check out our Everyday Living Skills section - Shared Housing.
How to prepare for your interview
So you’ve applied for vacant room in a share house property & have been invited to an interview. That’s great! Going for a house share interview can be daunting because you are meeting with a bunch of people that you don’t know yet who will decide if they want you as their new house mate. To make things a little less stressful get yourself prepared with the help of these handy.
Be yourself
It’s natural to want to make a great impression at an interview. But you also want to be yourself because if you are successful this will be a place for you to relax & feel at ‘home’. So get yourself into a positive mood, smile, be polite, but it’s also super important to just be yourself. No need to overdo it and dress to impress either unless you want to. Dress as you normally would if you going to the shops.
Check your social media privacy settings
Not that you have anything to hide but think about what personal pictures, posts etc are on your social media. Is your account open for everyone to see or is it set to private? You don’t want to be unfairly judged before you get to the interview so have a think about whether you want to set your privacy settings.
The interview goes both ways
This is a mutual sussing-out situation. A house share interview is equally about you assessing your prospective roommates, the house and neighbourhood. Sure it’s good to make a good impression but don’t let that be your main focus. Before the interview, make a list of what’s important to you (click here to create your property wants checklist), look around the area to sense it’s vibe, make a list of questions you want to ask your potential house mates.
Click here to download some questions you might be asked during your interview. Ask a friend, family member or support worker to ask you some of the questions so you can practice what your answers might be.
About You
In the interview you will be asked question to try to get you know you a little better to see if you would be a good fit. The About Me form in the rental pack will help you think about what makes you a good house mate. Are you a good cook? Do you like to clean? What are your likes & dislikes, hobbies? Have a think about what would make you a good house mate that you can bring up in the interview.
We have put together some useful resources with loads of information about living in a shared house.
5 Tips For Living in a Share House | Youth Central
Tips on managing shared bills, cleaning, if things go wrong etc
Choosing a housemate | Youth Central
Tips on how to choose a housemate & what questions to ask
Share Accommodation | Flatmates.com.au
Information on how to make a flatmate agreement with a free downloadable agreement template
Living with housemates | Leaving home | ReachOut Australia
Tips on living with housemates
Private Rental Resources
