What comes first in a house share?

What comes first in a house share? Finding a housemate or finding a place?

When you start thinking about a house share, whether it be for the first time, or after several years of successful sharing, there are two possible starting points.

Do you start by finding a room in the area you already live in? This will probably be an existing house share and you can take into account the person or people you’ll be sharing with. If they are the home owner, then this is a part of the arrangement. They will set the house rules, either spoken or unspoken. It can be perfectly fine if these ‘rules’ meet your needs, and in many cases live-in landlords with some experience of house sharing, will be flexible – up to a point.

Alternatively, you could start your next house share by finding a like-minded person who is already looking in your area, and then finding a house or flat to rent.  If you’ve been sharing for a number of years already and have experience of different sharing situations and different personalities, then this could be the best approach for a long-term house share. You can advertise yourself as a housemate and see who else is looking for the same sort of thing.

If you can find a like-minded housemate with similar sharing experience and expectations as you, then the chances of developing a longer-term and more sustainable share should be better. Plus, you’ll be able to share responsibility for house ‘rules’.  You will also have to share responsibility for paying households bills such as council tax and Tv licence, in addition to the usual contributions to utility bills.

The third way: renting a property and becoming a lead tenant

There is another way that some more experienced house sharers adopt, and that is to rent a house or flat in the area you are interested in, then searching for a suitable housemate. For the person renting the flat, this has the advantage of making them the landlord, determining the style of share that will be adopted, but it also brings some risk and disadvantage in that they have to become the principle tenant with a short-term assured tenancy agreement only in their name. Their future housemate would have a lodger agreement allowing them use of the room, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the main tenant. This can certainly work, but be aware of the added responsibility.

What’s the best way to find a house share?

This very much depends on your experience of house sharing and your needs and preferences. If you are looking for a longer-term share and like to share some social time with housemates, then finding a person to share with, then hunting for a suitable property could work well for you.

If on the other hand, you just want a room Monday to Friday, or somewhere shorter term that is closer to work, then finding a room to rent with a live-in landlord, or in an existing and established house share is best. You will of course have to adapt to the household, but you’ll also have less responsibility for running the home.

What do you need to invest in a house share?

One of the biggest things to think about is the level of social interaction and the contribution you are willing to put into a shared home. Having a handy housemate can be of great interest to a live-in landlord, who might want support with anything ranging from dog-walking, decorating, admin, to companionship and company.

Bringing these things into a house share can provide you with positive feelings and also your won sense of belonging and companionship. Many longer-term housemates, be it with a live-in landlord or not, report long term friendships that endure long beyond the time sharing the same home.

Not everyone wants to ‘invest’ in a house share in the same way, and that is often  fine. But in some cases the homeowner or lead tenant does want this ‘investment’ and this is made clear on the room listing. Try to get a sense of each other’s expectations in this regard when you view the room or meet up to discuss sharing.