For the very first time you land in Australia with no support, you will search either for college accommodation or go for a shared living.
While college accommodation makes you feel uncomfortable (sharing your room with an unknown fellow), shared living provides you with a single room of your own (independent) but with shared common space such as a kitchen, living area and lawn.
It has been reported that 41% of those aged between 20- 35 years prefer shared living. For this age group, it’s a cost-effective way to start your Australian journey, but there are cases where you strongly dislike the concept of shared accommodation.
Let us share a few commoner issues shared by the new bees who are less acquainted with shared living. Dividing a refrigerator with individual labels on the food and supplies is confusing for figuring out the actual food owner.
The second one is deciding who will make the payment first for basic requirements (toilet paper, paper towels etc.). The third one is getting stuck for making payments for the entire group and never getting paid back on time.
Fourth is getting into heated arguments with your roomies for cleaning common space.
The situation is endless.
But you can still make your shared living in Sydney miraculously enjoyable. No matter how tricky shared living can get, there is still a way out to make the entire shared living relaxing, livable and friendly.
With this in mind, we share the practical 7 secret tips for making your living in a shared house more enjoyable.
Living in a shared house with a stranger: 7 secret tips
Living in harmony with a share flatmate is a no rocket science. You need to practice respect and collaboration. Even when staying in a family home with parents and siblings, you find individual differences in the individual lifestyle.
The way your mom lives is different from your sibling’s life. Still, we manage to keep up with everything through respect and collaboration.
So, here we share the top 7 rules for living in a shared house.
#1. Setting up a cleaning rooster
Nobody likes to see a filthy area after a long workday.
So, cleaning is essential, and you can’t wholly and solely take responsibility.
Create a cleaning rota. Discuss with your flatmate and create a cleaning routine. Do include every flatmate in the rooster.
If none of the flatmates is available for the cleanliness, then decide and get a housemaid to do the entire chores. It might be costly, but still, it will keep you away from arguments.
#2. Respect the privacy
Be aware that your housemates are also people, and give them the benefit of the doubt whenever possible.
Think of them with respect you would like for yourself, communicate with them the way you would like to be, and remember that you aren’t the only one having a hard time.
Take the following steps to work on mutual respect and comfort in your house share:
Don’t expect their priorities always to match yours. You may care about an empty sink, but your housemates may not. It is sometimes impossible to split up responsibilities and chores based solely on your preferences.
If your comfort is the only thing at stake, you may need to do the lion’s share of the work.
#3. Creating a common platform for communication
The best approach for bringing up an issue is speaking with the person directly to address the problem quickly.
Establish a way to communicate about issues specific to your houses, such as a Facebook group or WhatsApp group.
If the relationship hasn’t developed, it is adequate to say “please” and “thank you” to your housemates.
#4. Wash up the dishes asap
There can be nothing worse than washing so many dishes!
Wash your hands immediately, and divide the cleaning responsibilities across your property fairly.
It may seem more straightforward to delay the washing for “another day.”, but a week can turn into a month, and then everything gets grimy and dirty!
Don’t put off washing up any longer, we promise! Stream your podcasts as you do the dishes!
#5. Being responsible for the food
Rather than throwing that mouldy banana away, help a friend out by composting it. Your flatmates will thank you.
Furthermore, please do not store leftovers from last week or almost-empty jars of sticky.
A problematic aspect of food responsibility is eating other people’s food. Replace anything you have eaten if you have eaten it. However, even this may not hold in practice.
It is unlikely that your flatmate will even have time to replace the milk you just stomped on since they may be eating their last round of breakfast in the morning.
So get yourself clear, and keep away from the food mess. Ask your flatmate before using it and get it replaced immediately, even if you want it.
#6. Settling the everyday household bills
It is common for arguments to result from the waybills will be paid and split between housemates when you move in. Maintain a record of what’s agreed upon regarding payments and set up bank transfers to cover your monthly bills.
Using an app, you can track expenses by logging in from your mobile device instead.
#7. Getting on frequent get together
It can make your overall renting experience more pleasant if you put effort into cultivating a relationship with the people you live with.
It would help if you go to a pub with your flatmates, make dinner together now and then, go grocery shopping, or enjoy a short vacation.
If awkward conversations need to take place, this will keep things friendly.
Moving into a shared house: Rules for living in a shared house
Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 covers the tenants for shared living. Individual residents take up shared flats and need to follow the rules and regulations described by the State.
Proprietor rules for living in a shared house. However, below are the general rule for living in a shared house in Australia.
- Signing an agreement with the tenant, co-tenant or subtenant.
- Paying bond to the tenant (the bond differs state-wise).
- Getting a receipt for every rent paid unless any bank transfers were made.
However, the rules must not differ from the Residential Tenancies Act 1995.
The rules are in written form and should focus on the safety and care of the occupancy.
The proprietor must:
- Share a copy of the rules with the tenants and
- Display the rule in the common areas.
House rules, when prepared by the house owner, can include the following information:
- common area and facilities room.
- Expected behaviour from the tenants.
- Smoking areas and non-smoking areas.
- Noise and alcohol inside the house.
- Parking facilities for every tenant.
Tenants’ responsibilities for living in a shared house . Residents living in a shared flat or house should make sure that they are not:
- Using the shared accommodation for illegal purposes.
- Keeping any pets without the proprietor’s permission.
- Informing the proprietor regarding property damage.
- Allowing the proprietor limited access to the room they are staying in.
House share or living alone: which one is costlier?
You need to pay the weekly rent and bills alone when living alone.
There is no sharing.
For instance, if your weekly rent in Sydney is $238 with additional fees of $50, you need to pay it entirely; there is no cost-sharing in living alone.
But for a share house in Sydney city, for $238 weekly rent and $50 additional fee, you pay $144 every week (in between 2 flatmates) or $96 in between three of the members.
You can see the cost difference.
Every week you save $144 (2 flatmates) or $192 (3 flatmates), suitable for beginners in Australia.
Find a room in Australia: Real estate for a share house
Many real estate websites offer a quick overview of shared living in Australia. You can go through the websites and compare the price, but you can take service from a real estate agent for a more reliable and reluctant share house in Sydney city.
When going through the real estate agent, you can get access to the house rules for a shared house before signing the agreement and get stressed if it does not fit your normal housing lifestyle.
Finding shared housing is challenging for a newcomer in Australia. You get uncertain about where to find flatmates and how to move into a house share, so taking assistance from the real estate agent can ease the entire transitional process of house sharing.
To find the nearest real estate provider to find the best-suited shared housing arrangement, connect with us if you are seeking immediate assistance with house-sharing or buying real estate in Australia!
