Top tips for living in a house share
Published on 20 September 12
Here's a guide to all of things you should take into consideration when moving into a new house, including tips, advice and useful links.
Household essentials
To avoid getting any nasty bills half way through term, make sure you get your household finances in order as early as possible.
Here is a list of the things you, and your housemates, need to do as soon as you move in;
- If you are paying for your own gas and electricity, take meter readings.
- Contact the gas and electricity companies and give them the meter reading and the date you moved in. This should ensure you don't get charged for energy used by the previous occupants.
- If you're in a joint house ask the gas and electricity companies to put ALL the housemates names on the new bill. This will ensure that just one housemate isn't liable for everyone else's bill.
- Contact the telephone company and do the same. Always ask for an itemised bill so you don't all end up paying for someone else's hour long conversations with their sister in Australia.
- Report any damage to the landlord or agent immediately. This includes fire blankets and extinguishers that may have been tampered with or used as well as any damage. If you don't, they may hold you liable and keep some of your deposit at the end of your term.
- Check that there are enough keys for each of the housemates. If not, get the landlord to cut some extras.
- If you've got a TV, you need a TV licence. It will set you back £131.50 a year, which is still cheaper than the fine (up to £1,000).
- Find the stop taps or switches for the water, gas and electricity. When water's pouring through the ceiling at 4am on a Sunday morning you'll be glad you did.
- Test the smoke/heat alarms, and then re-test them every couple of weeks.
- Check the security throughout the house. Do all the catches and locks work on the windows and doors? You might also want to work out a system for making sure all your housemates have made it home OK at the end of the evening.
- Even if you're already registered to vote, after moving house you will need to register again from your new address. See here for more details on a looming deadline for electoral registration.
Council Tax ExemptionFull time students are normally eligible for council tax exemption provided that everyone at your address is aged 18 or over and they are all full time students or student nurses. If you live in a hall of residence you are exempt from council tax automatically. If you are a full time student and live at a private, rented address (not a hall of residence) within the following postcodes: M1, M4, M8, M9, M11 to M16, M18 to M23 and M40 you must inform Manchester City Council that you are a student at the University of Manchester by completing their online form as soon as possible after registering. For more information about Council Tax exemption, click here. |
Healthy housemate relationships
Living in a house share can be very difficult at times, especially if you feel that someone isn’t pulling their weight without the household. Manchester Mentoring have put together a guide, how to solve conflict which is aimed at helping students in these situations.
There are always some easy tips that may help reduce any friction and improve housemate relationships.
- Spend the time to put together a rota of chores so the duties don't always land on the same person.
- Work out the household bills together, it may help to have a separate bank account that everyone can pay their share into.
Top money saving tips
Make sure your money can get you through until your next loan instalment. It’s essential to make a budget so that you can have the peace of mind that you won’t be counting the days until payday.
- When working out a budget plan, don't forget to include an amount for irregular costs e.g. birthday presents, extra travel home etc...
- Try to keep a note of everything you spend. This will help you to see where your money goes – you'd be surprised how quickly the small spends like buying a coffee, or a magazine add up.
- If you want a new hairstyle but don't want to fork out the cash, you can get cheap haircuts and colour at academies around the city. Most of the time you will have an experienced stylist, who is refreshing their skills, and you'll get a haircut for less than £10 and a colour for less than £20.
- If you can, use internet banking or an App on your phone to regularly check your balance. That way you can keep track of your spending, and avoid any overdraft charges.
- Don’t think of your overdraft as your money, you will have to pay it back so only use it if you have no other choice.
- You don't necessarily have to take your cash card with you at all times. Decide how much you really want to spend before you go shopping or on a night out, and take the cash; that way you can't impulse spend more than you intended, and it reduces the risk of your card being lost or stolen.
Top tip: It’s also a good idea to keep some ‘emergency’ funds separately from your spends – such as an extra ten pound for a taxi in case you get separated from your friends or lose your bus pass.
- Never forget, you are a student. Many local businesses and high street chains will offer student discounts if you show them your student card - don't be afraid to ask either. There is a comprehensive list of popular discounts and offers available on the NUS website, as well as some additional find money saving tips.
Ready to take the first steps towards saving? Get started on your budget with a little help from Brightside Student Calculator, or International Student Calculator.