Blog: Four essential habits for happy shared living

Hi, my name is Hannah. I’m a final year law student and have previously lived in both student accommodation and a shared house. Sharing a house or a student accommodation flat with other students can be fun and exciting, but it’s also important to build essential habits for happy shared living.

I’m here to give some advice on how to create a healthy environment with your flatmates so you can enjoy having the best university life together.

Plan social activities

Spending time socialising with your flatmates can help you learn more about them and discover any shared interests. Before moving in, I would suggest creating a bank of questions to ask everyone about their hobbies and interests so you could easily plan doing social activities together. For example, if anyone has a favourite movie, you could ask to do a movie night as a flat.

Cultural holidays, such as Pancake Day or Christmas in the UK, are great opportunities to celebrate together with your flatmates by making pancakes or visiting the annual Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market as a group.  

How to tackle chores and bills 

To keep the kitchen and living room clean, I find that a cleaning rota works best so chores are split equally. The cleaning schedule can be electronic or printed and stuck on the fridge so people can easily check which duty they are on for that week.

If renting privately, remember to keep track of utility bills, WiFi, and water bills so they can be easily settled. I like to use the Splitwise app with my flatmates which sends notifications of any outstanding payments.

Create ground rules 

Agreeing on shared expectations and boundaries with flatmates early on can help create a comfortable living space for everyone and avoid arguments. It’s best to discuss matters as a group which may include:

- setting a maximum number of people allowed to be invited over

-what time daily quiet hours start/end

- a limit on allowing friends, family or partners to stay overnight.

Ask if any flatmates have dietary restrictions or allergies to lay down rules in the kitchen to keep them safe and make sure to note down emergency contacts for each flatmate.

If you’re renting a student house, ask everyone to check that all doors are locked if nobody is in and keep windows closed at night.

Communication is key 

Effective communication with your flatmates can allow you to deal with problems before they escalate and look out for each other’s wellbeing. I would highly suggest creating a group chat together to have an easily accessible space for everyone to notify and talk to each other. However, I think that speaking to flatmates face-to-face is equally important, especially if there is conflict to reduce any misunderstandings. Try to look out for the wellbeing of your flatmates too. A good conversation starter to use when bumping into each other is asking how their day has been or if they had any lectures that day.

I hope you have found some of these tips useful on building habits for happy shared living. If you are having any issues, you can get in touch with the Community Safety Team at the Community Safety Hub near the North Gate on campus, or get support through the SafeZone app. The Student Living Team is also available for advice for living off-campus.

I hope you have a great academic year living with your flatmates!