Millions of students have to find accommodation every year. With low budgets, renting an entire flat is often unfeasible. On the other hand, they are often very willing to share a flat with other students and young people. Your flatmates can become great friends so here are our top tips on how to survive to living in a shared student house and feel like at home.

If you don't have accommodation yet

If you don't have accommodation yet, but you are looking to rent a room in a shared flat, you're lucky. This housing search engine will help you to find thousands of rooms in shared student house of different websites, so you just to focus on picking the best according to you.

If you want to find a flatmate

What if I already have a flat and I want to find a roommate? In that case we have 5 tips that will help you to quickly find your new flatmates. You will learn how to choose the most suitable person to share a student house.

1. Boost the image of the flat

Nobody wants to live in an dark and messy house, if you want to make your apartment attractive for others, if it is tidy, and it will look more spacious and charming. The image of your flat will be the first impression that your new flatmates will have of you. So, to have a good impression of yourself, we recommend that you have the common areas such as the living room or the kitchen must be well organized and clean.

2. Take quality photos

Photos are everything on the internet, if you want to share your flat on digital platforms and social networks the first thing they will see will be the images. The lighting is one of the keys to take quality photos, try to take the photos on a sunny day and try to take horizontal photos, with these two details you can reflect all the details of each room, if you see that they are a bit dull, you can add some decorative elements so that the students can get an idea of how their new home will be like.

3. Publish and share every room in different media

Nowadays, there are a many of ways to share adverts to find flatmates. Each one has its own benefits and drawbacks, our recommendation is that if you don't know anyone you trust who might be interested, publish it in platforms that manage the booking and payments online. On this page they offer a contact form to help you choose the best platform for you.

4. Agree terms and conditions before choosing a partner

To avoid long term problems, before choosing your partner you should discuss what you expect from each other. How you will share tasks, expenses and so on. Discuss questions like, if you plan to have parties or bring visitors quite often to home or if you want to share meals and shopping expense. Sharing a flat is sometimes harsh, however, if you have an agreement and it has been discussed previously it will definitely help you in the future.

5. Choose someone with a similar lifestyle to yours.

In many occasions relationships between flatmates end up badly because of differences in lifestyles. Choose someone who is similar to you in terms of order, schedules, likes to get up early or stay up late, prefers partying or chilling. You don't necessarily have to live with your best friends, but, the ideal flatmate is someone who want to have a routine like yours.

Tips for living with flatmates

If you are already in a shared flat with other students, make sure you follow the following tips, all of which are very important.

1. Organise the housework as soon as possible

Living in a shared flat forces you to share areas, rooms and chores with other students, it is important that you divide up the tasks to be done as soon as possible. Taking out the rubbish, cleaning common areas, buying common products, or even cooking are tasks that you will all have to do. Making a common calendar can help you to share out the tasks so that no one skips out and everyone collaborates. Read more about diving housework for happier home with your flatmates.

2. Share common expenses

Some rents do not include common expenses such as internet or heating, but you can share other expenses such as cleaning products or food. Many times in shared flats there is a tendency to throw food away because you can't consume it all in time. Agree with your flatmates and share what you can't use and what they can use.

3. Respect the privacy of your roommates

Privacy is one of the most important aspects of living together, some people are more open, others may want to have their things to themselves or want to keep their own space. The bedroom is the most important space for privacy in the house, a space where no one will disturb you when you are resting or studying, that is why it is the space that you should respect the most from your roommates. By the way, if you need to reorganise your room to make the most of it, take a look at this article in which we tell you how to decorate a room to get the most out of it.

4. Let them know when someone is visiting you

Many people may feel uncomfortable if they receive many unknown visitors to their home. Try to not bother your flatmates with parties or meetings when they want to study or sleep. It is important to ask them before, so your visitors will not disturb any of your flatmates. During exam periods, when your flatmates are studying, you should be very careful and responsible, especially if you haven't finished yet their exams.

5. Make plans together

To improve your relationship with your classmates, there is nothing better than making plans together. During Erasmus, dinners where each student cooks the typical food of their country are really popular, but there are many other plans that you can make together, both inside and outside the house.

Conclusion

Sharing an apartment is not an easy, the key is to fit in with your roommates and maintain a good relationship. Sharing an accommodation sometimes leads to arguments as people's lifestyle and personalities doesn't fit with each other. Sometimes we don't have the chance to choose our flatmates and talk to them before we start living together, which is why there are so many troubles in these relationships. But, if you want to achieve a perfect cohabitation you may follow these tips ffor living in a shared student house, which will help you to feel like a family!

If you have any other tips or tricks for living in a shared student house, let us know in the comments, we are looking forward to hear from you!