Sharing accommodation or having a roommate means that you will have someone to share the costs with and if you are good friends, good company to come home to at the end of the day.
Before you decide on this type of living arrangement do have a few things in place to make the experience better because when everyone concerned knows what is expected of them as from the start, sharing living quarters is easy.
So before anything else, sit down together and makes some rules. Let everyone contribute and be part of the process but, be sure to include these 6 things
Bills
Bills are the number one thing that divide room and housemates frequently. And make living together very difficult. So from the start, decide how the bills will be paid, how much will be contributed and which bills will be paid by each of you. Include rules on the maintenance of the place of all things that are not covered by the owner of the premises. A rule like “IF YOU BREAK IT, YOU REPLACE IT” can come in handy.
Also, it is wise to decide from the start what repercussions there will be when one of you does not fulfill their end of the bill paying arrangement.
Cleaning
If you each have a bedroom of your own, hopefully it is obvious that you will take responsibility for keeping it clean. If you share one sleeping room and or other rooms, like a kitchen and sitting room, you will both have to contend with these.
A cleaning schedule pasted where everyone can see it usually makes things easier and eliminates quarrels. Also, cleaning up after yourself in communal areas is a must. Especially if you will be sharing a bathroom and toilet.
Food
Food can be another sore point in a house sharing scenario, so from the start have some rules about what you would like to happen when it comes to dealing with food.
You may decide to have separate storage places and separate cooking times. Or you may decide to pool your resources and have one pantry and one fridge that everyone can help themselves to. In any case decide how you will deal with foodstuffs in the house.
This will be a good time to also discuss how guests will be catered for and also, what the rules and boundaries are on favorite treats (esp. drinks and desserts).
Guests
Every once in a while one of you will have a guest over. Be sure to let your roommate/s know about this and if possible well in advance. Also tell your guests some of the important house rules when they do visit. Like respecting the fact that you share the space with other people and sharing the space, means some things are out of bounds.
When it comes to visitor’s that are likely to stay a day or 2, do let your roommates know. And it would be wise to have a house rule on how many days and nights are actually acceptable.
Hours
There is no way, any of you will keep the same hours. In this case, have rules on the acceptable hours of movement and noise in the space. One of you may have a job that requires night duty or waking up early in the morning. The other may be studying some time of the day and may like to have music playing at less than desirable levels or one of you may have prayer sessions that may tend to start very early in the morning and sometimes be on the loud side. Come to an agreement about all these goings on and respect each other’s need for a quiet time.
Rules on hours that are a strictly adhered to, especially when it comes to movements in and out of the premises are a must and very, very important for safety and your security.
Problems
Where two or more are gathered there will be problems so you need to be prepared to deal with them as soon as possible. Also, always let your mates know as soon as possible about any problems. Big and small. Especially when it comes to the maintenance of the home. And for these, refer to the rules you made about fixing and replacing. And, also contact the owner of the premises if it is something they are responsible for.
For the social hiccup, have a talk as soon as possible. Do not keep quiet and let things fester. Or, do not start shouting at the other person. Most problems can easily be solved by sitting down, maybe with a cup of tea and a matter of fact talk.
However, if things go back to the same after the talk and you cannot agree after another adult sit down, it may be time for one of you to look for alternative accommodation.
