THE Rate Your Landlord survey has so far found that 17.7% have had a dispute with a housemate that resulted in them considering moving.
For a lot of people, choosing who to live with seems to be an easy decision, but as some students have found out, you should always think about it carefully.
One student who was put off living with first year housemates again is Laura Parker, a second year Psychology student:
“One of my former housemates had a terrible problem regarding toilet etiquette. All I’ll say is the toilet was unusable for at least three days after each time.
“The culprit never owned up, but we narrowed it down to two people and I’m not living with either of them again!”
This kind of problem might be disgusting for those who live with the offenders, but is mostly harmless. It’s always worth thinking about how well you really know people before you live with them, and especially discussing the grown-up, boring things – like how you’ll divide bills, a central heating timetable and excessive water use.
Catrin Lewis, 21-year-old third year Social Policy student, found this out the hard way:
“I had a housemate for two years who made it her personal mission to get our gas and electricity bills as high as possible, whilst also stealing my best friend of ten years.
“My biggest regret is that I didn’t get to delete her from Facebook first. The moral of the story: make sure you know your housemates before you move in with them!”
First years have only been here a few months so this is always a tricky one; and that’s why it needs to be talked about first.
Do you stick with the people you are living with, because you know their behaviours, or risk moving in with course friends who seem amazing, but you are unsure of their housing habits?
Is it really better the devil you know? Whoever you decide to live with, think about the group dynamics too.
You may get on with them all well, but do they get on with each other?
“You would think that living with seven other girls, would be challenging at times, but we have found that our house is more laid back without any lads” says Jess Dunn, 21-year-old Civil Engineering student.
“It also helps that we have lived together before, so we know each other’s living habits.”
Jess’s experience shows us that when you choose your housemates well you can end up having a fun, harmonious house.
The most important thing is to be realistic, put a lot of thought into it, and if it does go wrong, try to make the best of it and seek advice.
