From The Golden Girls and Friends to Spaced and The Big Bang Theory, some of TV’s most successful sitcoms over the past 50 years have had flat or house-sharing relationships at their heart.
There’s no doubt fictional shared living arrangements make for great viewing, presenting limitless opportunities for storylines involving drama, romance – and often, utter mayhem.
But in real life, no-one wants a flatshare that’s like back-to-back episodes of The Young Ones – so, at a time when the rising cost of living means more people are considering sharing arrangements, here are our tips on how to be the perfect housemate.
- Pay your way
Once you’ve agreed on who’s paying for what (as well as how and when), stick to your end of the deal. Set up a direct debit or standing order for recurring payments and settle up any one-off costs promptly. Leaving your flatmate out-of-pocket for any length of time is likely to lead to resentment building up. If you have short-term money issues and can’t pay a bill when it’s due, talk to them to manage their expectations.
- Clean up after yourself
One of the most common causes of fallouts among flatmates is different expectations when it comes to keeping things clean and tidy. Unless you’ve agreed to split household tasks, the best approach is to clean up after yourself in shared areas. Letting dishes pile up in the kitchen is a classic no-no – and if there’s a dishwasher, make sure you’re doing your fair share of running and emptying it.
- Keep your paws off your flatmate’s food
Imagine the scene – you’ve had a tiring day at work and battled through the traffic to get home. All you want to do now is collapse on the coach to watch telly with a big glass of wine and a bag of Walkers Sensations thai sweet chilli crisps*. Except…your wine’s at room-temperature because your flatmate has taken the bottle out of the fridge to make room for their cider. And there are only crumbs in the bottom of the crisp packet.
Enough said.
- Be (appropriately) sociable
The degree of interaction you have with your flatmate is likely to vary depending on whether you were friends or strangers pre-flatshare. If it’s the latter, regular hellos / goodbyes and taking the time for an occasional chat when you encounter each other in the kitchen will help you get to know your flatmate a little better. Being polite (as a minimum) and friendly (if appropriate) to your housemate’s friends when they’re around will also help things run smoothly.
- Be respectful of differences – but be honest if something’s not working for you
When it comes down to it, the perfect flatshare is about consideration and compromise: things are likely to work out better if you recognise and respect where your flatmate differs from you in their views and habits.
That said, there may be some things your flatmate does (or doesn’t do) that are deal-breakers for you and where issues like this arise it’s best to raise them in an honest and up-front way, rather than letting resentments grow over time.
*or snack of your choice
