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About house sharing

 Quick Summary

There are lots of benefits to sharing a home. Sharing with friends or flatmates is a great way to cut the costs of rent, mortgage and household bills, share household chores, meet people and share the good and the hard times. Sharing also has its disadvantages. Disagreements and difficulties are a part of life. Living with really good friends will not guarantee that you will agree on everything or that you will not find some of their habits annoying. Successful share housing needs everyone to work as a team to keep the house going. Living with others is not for everyone and often the best way to know if it will work for you is to give it a try.

You can choose to:

  

About House Sharing

Before you share a house with someone it is a good idea to interview each other and ask each other important questions. This helps find out if you will be well-matched housemates. Click on Get Started to see a list of interview questions you might like to ask prospective housemates.

You will need to decide if you want to be a head tenant, a co-tenant or a sub-tenant. See Get Started for more information about the various types of tenancies.

Other things to think about include: how you will split bills and housework, how you will manage food and groceries, and issues such as noise, visitors and privacy. See Get Started for more resources on share housing and the types of issues you need to consider.

GET STARTED

Get prepared to interview prospective house mates

Use the finding your way resource – Interview Questions for Prospective  Housemates.

Check out the Finding Your Way Page – Deciding On An Area To Live. If you are creating a new share home, make sure that your housemates agree on an area to live.

Work out a good number of people to share with.

It’s important for you to know the kind of tenancy you will be moving into. There are 3 kinds of legal sharing relationships in Tasmania.

Go to Flatmates.com.au to look for flatmates.

 

For legal reasons, prepare to make sure that your lease is clear about your relationship with others you are sharing with

Will you be a co-tenant or a Head Tenant or Sub- Tenant?

Read the Share House Living Factsheet by the Tenants Union.

Service Resource: For more on Share Houses, co-tenants and sub-letting, visit Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Website.

Use the Finding Your Way resource Setting Up in a New Place Item List.

ACTION STEPS

Here you can find a simple list of the best actions to take if you are interested in this topic:

1 . If you are starting a new share house, find and interview possible house-mates.

2 . Search for a rental property that has a number of rooms and separate living spaces.

3 . When you have found a home, agree on how many people will live together and how the spaces will be used.

4 . Make sure that your lease is clear about your relationship to others you are sharing with.

5 . Set up Centrepay through Centrelink or direct debit from your bank for rent or mortgage payments and other regular house hold bills.

6 . List the household items you have and what you will need to buy

Download the Finding Your Way resource: START UP ITEM LIST – SETTING UP IN A NEW PLACE

7 . Budget for the costs of running the home.

Agree with your house mates about who will be responsible for paying the bills and when and how this will happen.

8 . Agree on house rules with your house mates.

What will happen if someone: can’t pay their share, causes damage to the property, behaves in a way that is dangerous or illegal or puts you at risk of losing the rental, or does not or will not contribute to keeping the home clean and in good repair.

9 . Decide if you will shop and cook together and use food, drink and cleaning products as needed or separately.