What are peoples experiences with houseshares in the UK?
Posted by FlaviousTiberius@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 27 comments
Wondering how people found them compared to alternatives, particularly if you've been in multiple and what people in them tend to be like, as it seems like the UK is moving towards this being a more long term common practice for a lot of people as rents go up. Did you find it liveable or hellish? Did you find most people in them respectful or a pain? Any particularly awful experiences and how you dealt with them?
Suonii180@reddit
Like everything they have their pros and cons. They can be useful if you're moving to a completely new place and you don't know which area you want to settle in, they're usually all bills included so at least you only pay rent and all of the ones I've lived in have a cleaner that come in once a week so shared areas never become too messy. I've only ever lived with strangers but I've been pretty lucky. There's only a few people I've had issues with including talking late into the night and stealing all the cutlery but as long as you're not afraid to stand up for yourself it usually ends up alright. Avoid places with alcohol bottles on all the kitchen counters/window sill if you don't want to live with students and I never live places where there aren't locks on the bedrooms.
UKStudentHustle@reddit
I’m considering this too
Odd_Squirrel1866@reddit
Good and bad. Depends on housemates and room size.. I could live long term in a large room with own en suite. I also don’t like being on the ground floor.
Chinablue_@reddit
What are my experiences? how long have you got lol. I shared for about 17 years before I could afford my own place. I have so many stories.
My honest view would be to advertise for people to share with, find people you get along with first for a pint/coffee/whatever, and then rent together. You all arrive on an equal footing, and during the house/flat search you'll get to know them before you move in.
RPG_Rob@reddit
I lived in a few...
The nicest was an old post office that was owned by a lady in her 70s. Part of my (low) rental agreement was that I had to sit with her in the evenings and discuss the events of the day.
This was a very rare but quite lovely arrangement.
ApprehensiveField920@reddit
Absolut hell, if i lose my apartment im leaving the UK.
Radiant_Office6445@reddit
What do you mean by this? You've got a flat, aye? Why would you lose it? Sorry I'm just genuinely confused and curious
ApprehensiveField920@reddit
If the landlord sells or something
Radiant_Office6445@reddit
I had to come up with some songs to deal with mine:
My flatmate washes his dishes in the bath tub, Pots and pans, a loofah in his hands and a rub-a-dub
What's that on the shower head? Clumps of marmite and crusts of bread? What's that on the bathroom floor? Cutlery now I can't take no more
Take no moooooooore Take no Moore...
My flat at washes his dishes... Etc.
BrummbarKT@reddit
Diabolical, but thank you for the laugh. Did they get in the tub while they washed them?
Radiant_Office6445@reddit
Ack, god only knows
ParsleyChops@reddit
I’ve lived in 8 around Biggin Hill, Bromley, Nunhead and Brize Norton and I have mixed feelings, hence why I lived in 8 haha. The first one (Nunhead) was good, housemates collaborated well with errands and house purchases, I only moved out due to personal reasons (Mum had a stroke so moved back home for a stint). I think that was the most expensive, I tried to go a bit cheaper for the others and now I know why, they were all a living hell apart from the Brize house. Worst one I think was a secret drug den, there was poop smeared around the toilet (actually on the seat and lid), my housemate would screech at the top of her lungs during the night, I walked into the kitchen on the first day and walked straight back out, I just ate out of a mini fridge in my room after that. There were always people coming and going throughout the day and night. One day a man used a key to come into my room while I was in it and halfway through getting dressed (which is pretty intimidating for a small built 28 y/o woman). He apologised and left but it ultimately lead me to moving out of London, so I could stand a chance of being able to live by myself. I tried living with an old lady as a lodger, she owned a cute cottage in Biggin Hill but she pulled up all the skirting boards exposing the foundation and then blamed me for mice. She also went into my room while I was at work and took away my curtains as she “planned to make new ones” (I mean, who takes someone’s curtains away BEFORE they sort a replacement lol) I never saw those new curtains and would have to crouch down to get dressed in the morning. I couldn’t do anything without her following me and trying to talk, which is fine without the following part, I was trying to audibly poop once and she was outside the bathroom still talking to me. She then accused me of having an eating disorder because I wasn’t using the kitchen (which lead to me eating in my room and then attracting mice from the lack of skirting board) but that was because she was following me all the time and interfering with my cooking too and I just didn’t want to cook with her crowding me. She was nice otherwise. The Brize house was nice, one of my housemates tried to tell me about his penis but otherwise it was ok. I would never house-share again though
Jervis_Mantlepiece@reddit
Depends on your age. In your 20s you can put up with anything and a houseshare is usually a lot of fun with a strong possibility of making great friends. After 30, it's a chore having to share space with anyone, but especially if they're dickheads. Best suited for young folk imo.
lavayuki@reddit
I lived in one but moved out after 4 months. No bad experience as such, I just didn’t like having to share the hob/microwave/washing machine etc because whenever I wanted to use it someone else was. Otherwise I got along with them and everyone was nice
Two of my other friends live in house shares. One said they all get on with their own lives, none of them interact with each other at all. She barely knows who they are, they just say hi on passing but that’s it.
It really varies. Im sure there are plenty of nightmares, it depends on who is there.
Ive also lived in house shares abroad in Ireland and Japan. Ireland could probably be similar to a UK experience but it was hell, everyone was always drunk and noisy, broke the appliances which the landlord charged us all for, left the place filled with empty vodka and beer bottles every weekend. Absolute nightmare. Survived a year before leaving.
If you have to share a bathroom it becomes a pain. Especially if there’s only one. If you get an en suite room it’s more tolerable
jolie_j@reddit
I had a generally very positive experience in my last one. But, I looked for a house where I got to meet the other tenants before I moved in, which was very hard to find and essentially gave me a choice of two out of all the ones I enquired about and viewed. The vast majority were a landlord looking to fill a room.
In the two where I met the housemates, I’m pretty sure I would have been happy in either of them. We sat down and had a chat about the sorts of things we’re into, what the house vibe is like, what a typical week day looks like and what a typical weekend day looks like etc. It was a two way interview.
I didn’t know any of them before I moved in, but I’m still very good friends with them now after living with them for 4 years and being moved out for 6.
It also meant that when one of them left we got to choose the new housemate to replace them.
BUT the landlord was super hands off and definitely not doing things by the book, so I don’t know how common that scenario was.
But meeting the housemates was an absolute must for me.
notaspecificthing@reddit
Three different houseshares, three different housemates from hell.
First house a tenant pulled a knife on another tenant during an argument over internet; knife puller had stuck a LAN cable into the already shitty WiFi box and it was 'mysteriously' cut overnight.
Second houseshare we had communal meals, one housemate didn't believe my allergies and food intolerances so would spike my food with stuff I couldn't eat. I got very concerned that almost every meal meant I was glued to the toilet after. She also would sneak into my room at night and watch me sleep.
Third houseshare is my current, only moved in April. Another housemate just had their partner move in, both notorious for loud kinky sex at indecent hours (talking 2am when I have to be up at 6am for work). Multiple complaints and promises of correcting the behaviour then eventually they stopped apologising stating that it's their lifestyle and to get over it. My partner decides to stop talking to them and that caused a meltdown with threats to make us homeless because they knew the landlord longer. Partner and I are looking for somewhere else, landlord surprisingly on our side and is letting us leave whenever we can.
FlaviousTiberius@reddit (OP)
What the fuck, were there no locks on the doors?
notaspecificthing@reddit
No locks, everyone in the house knew each other
FlaviousTiberius@reddit (OP)
Oh was this a student thing or something? I can understand that otherwise I couldn't imagine anyone making a houseshare with randos with no locks.
notaspecificthing@reddit
Not students, my ex friends so no locks needed
coastalkid92@reddit
I've seen it go well and I've seen it go terribly.
My friend's last houseshare was amazing. The letting agents worked hard to make sure it would gel well and it ended up being a really fun place to hang out and made some amazing friends.
My last houseshare was a nightmare which resulted in one of my house mate's overnight guests threatening to kill me and send me home to Canada in pieces. I moved out a week later.
Complex-Honeydew-111@reddit
Hell. Absolute hell. I'd rather live in a tent
Comfortable_Love7967@reddit
The expensive ones are really the good, the cheap ones are absolutely terrible.
If i had to do it again I would pick a slightly more expensive one, keeps the riff raff idiots out
Nielips@reddit
Generally it's not too bad, but as with any situation in life you will come across diabolical arseholes.
Tenants:
About 20% of the time you will get:
In my experience it ranges from the nightmare housemates or neighbours who will be filthy barely human reprobates than have no concept of there actions affecting others, and you can expect: theft of belongings, loud noise at any time of day, particularly when you will need to sleep, inability to clean anything and likely rats caused by the lack of cleanliness, destruction of property and the building, maybe fires, absconding and leaving you with rent payment issues.
70% of the time things will be mostly fine with no real issues
10% of the time you'll find someone/people you really gel with and you'll become best friends.
Landlords/estate agents and property condition
90% of the time landlords will do the bare minimum or not even that, and it'll look like they've lightly touched the walls with the most watered down paint they could find.
10% of the time it'll be a wonderful well looked after building and everything will be fixed quickly.
TellMeManyStories@reddit
Find a house share with a living room, and ideally live with a bunch of friends not strangers. If they must be strangers, choose people with stuff in common with you (same hobbies, languages, careers, etc).
If you find a house with all the bedroom doors closed on your house tour, it's a bad sign. It means the housemates don't know/trust eachother.
Character_Savings966@reddit
I'm Intrested to see what people say as maybe an option for me as I'm. Struggling with a guarantor
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