A Student’s Guide to Sharing a House

Sharing a house with your mates can be the best time of your life. The parties, the banter, the drama – the shared house lifestyle results in wonderful memories. But in addition to the huge sound system and the dream of a pool table, living in an actual house means taking on responsibility.

This is a brief list of potential stumbling blocks that could cost you or your housemates if they take you by surprise.

Estate agents

Many estate agents will ask for administration or application fees when you apply to let a house, so ask for an upfront list of fees as soon as possible, and don’t forget to factor these in to your expenses so that they don’t come as a surprise at the last minute.

Your new house

Start searching for a house early, but don’t be rushed into signing the contract on a house unless you’re comfortable that it will become your home for the next year. It’s advisable to view several before deciding which is the best for you, though your instincts will probably tell you immediately when you’ve found the right one!

Your house needs to be within easy reach of your university and not too far from town. It also needs to be clean, comfortable and easy to maintain – a huge garden is great for entertaining (think of the long summer evening barbecue potential!), but if you don’t fancy mowing the lawn every week in the summer, you may be better off with somewhere a little more compact.

On that note, if the contract says you must maintain the garden then make sure you have the discipline to do it. Many landlords will insist that you trim the hedges but don’t provide any tools. This can result in them keeping a substantial chunk out of your deposit when you can’t do the work!

The rent

Student rents can be extortionate, so shop around and avoid the most expensive buildings. You and your friends will normally all sign the lease together, and will be individually liable to pay the rent – if one of you decides to run off and join the circus half way through, you’ll still have to pay for the rest of the rent. Your parents will usually be asked to sign as guarantors.

You may find that you’re able to negotiate the rent down, and you’ve certainly got nothing to lose by trying! Even shaving £25 off the monthly amount is a boost for the beer fund, and you might be able to get an even bigger discount.

Bills

Each person in a shared house is responsible for the utility bills, unless one person is administrating it on behalf of the group. It’s unwise to lumber one person with the responsibility for paying the bills, because they’ll have the added stress of chasing the money. If you are this unlucky person, send the utility companies a photocopy of your contract (with all the names on it) as proof of occupancy. Then, the bill will be everybody’s problem and not just yours.

It’s important to get your details sorted as soon as you move in. That means phoning the electricity and gas companies and updating them with your own information. You’ll normally be asked for a meter reading, so make sure you know where yours is kept.

Phone and broadband both need to be sorted at the earliest opportunity. If you’re getting an expensive package (like one of Sky’s various combinations) make sure the person on the bill is happy to chase the rest of the house for payment every month.

TV licence

It’s a divisive topic and a hotbed of terrible advice, but the TV licence is still an important piece of paperwork that needs to be paid for. At the moment it costs £145.50 and there are a range of options for paying it. You have to pay it if you watch any TV broadcast live, either on a television or online (through a laptop, tablet or phone, for example). Don’t just believe anybody who tells you otherwise. Frankly, £145.50 is one of the cheaper bills you’re going to have to fork out for and it works out at just under 40p per day. That said, if you don’t watch any live TV then you probably don’t need to pay it.

What constitutes a ‘household’ in terms of the TV licence is a web of nuanced parameters and arcane stipulations. Generally speaking, if there’s a lock on the door then the person inside needs a TV licence. That means that you need a TV licence if you live in halls (the halls will have a licence covering the communal areas, but not your room) and if you have a lock on your door in a shared house.

Insurance

Think carefully about getting insurance. Could you afford to replace all of your belongings should the worst happen? . Student houses are crammed full of the things burglars like to steal – computers, bicycles and audio-visual equipment are all very popular. Good content insurance will cover you against theft, and some policies will even cover you against accidental damage.

Whether there’s a lock on your bedroom door may affect your insurance. When living in a shared house, it’s everybody’s responsibility to make sure that all the doors and windows are closed and locked. Even if the house is only unattended for a short time, don’t give burglars an easy time.

Council Tax

If everybody in the house is a student, you should have no quarrel with the local authority. They will have a list of people in the property and they’ll check it against the register held by your university.

Spelling issues could be a problem, especially if you have an uncommon name. The council will see the word Kiran on the tenancy agreement and Kieran on the university register, and could assume that somebody called Kiran is attempting some sort of fraud. Make sure all the records are spelled correctly.

These are essentially the financial problems you might encounter when sharing a house. Your SU might be able to provide more help, especially when it comes to the intricacies and pitfalls of renting. But being prepared before you share a house with your mates gives you a better chance of success – i.e. still being mates at the end of the tenancy.

Image of dirty dishes from Wikimedia Commons

Tags: insurance, student house

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