How to Maintain a Happy House Share
How to maintain a Happy House Share
Many problems in shared houses arise from tenants not taking personal responsibility for communal areas, especially leaving the bathroom or kitchen dirty or untidy. This ‘someone else will do it’ attitude, understandably, doesn’t go down well at all!
When conflicts arise, we recommend calling an informal meeting of ALL house-mates in the shared house, so the problem can be discussed and resolved. Most problems can be resolved by talking.
Our 4 top recommendations for living together happily in a house share are:
1. Keep the noise level down, especially between 11pm and 7 am
2. Help to keep the house clean and tidy
3. Pay your rent on time
4. Have mutual respect for each other
Here’s some more information that should help you enjoy your house share in Leicester:
VIEWINGS, INSPECTIONS
If a viewing or maintenance needs to be carried out at the property, you will be informed by text, 24 hours in advance. Room inspections in Best City Rooms house shares are carried out at 3 month intervals.
MAINTENANCE
Please report any maintenance issues immediately by completing the online maintenance form here:
OVERNIGHT GUESTS
In our Leicester house sharees we say that ONE night during the week and ONE night at the weekend is acceptable for overnight guests. However, if do you have the occasional overnight guest, it is a common courtesy to inform your housemates. How would you feel bumping into a stranger in the middle of the night?
If someone is abusing this rule, then please call a house meeting to discuss. If this doesnt resolve the issue and someone has a partner living permanently with them, then please report this discreetly to your Property Manager as this is in breach of the Tenancy Agreement.
CLEANER
In our Leicester house shares, the communal areas are cleaned every fortnight. However, in between visits, housemates are expected to maintain the property to a good standard of cleanliness and hygiene.
The best way forward is to draw up a simple cleaning rota with other housemates over a cup of tea – to agree simple chores – like emptying the bins, hoovering, wiping down the work surfaces.
It’s important to note that if you have a rented a room with an ensuite, it is your responsibility to keep the shower, toilet and sink clean, and free from any mould.
If you don’t want to clean it yourself, you can pay the cleaner a small fee to do this for you when he/she comes to the property. Please speak to the Property Manager if you are interested in this service.
BROADBAND ACCESS AND TECHNICAL HELP
Wifi is provided for the property and the login information (Network and password) is displayed on the Notice board in the hallway. You will also find the information you need to report and resolve any wifi problem directly with the provider, should one occur.
SECURITY
In our Leicester house shares is very important to close all windows and external doors securely when leaving the property unattended. You may be liable for missing items if it is discovered that it was YOU that left the door unlocked! If you will be away for some time, please let your housemates know.
KEYS
Please remember to take your keys with you when you leave your rented room, and to look after them carefully. There is a call-out fee of £25 if you get locked out and if you loose your keys you will be charged for replacements.
ELECTRICS AND PLUMBING
Please familiarise yourself with the positions of the fuse-board and the stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) for turning off the water. This information can be found on the Noticeboard in the hallway of your house share.
BLOCKED DRAINS
It’s very important to not allow excess hair to clog the shower or basin – simply remove it and put in the bin please. You need to do this every time you shower, not wait for the cleaners to do it.
Also take care what is deposited into the kitchen sink and WC – YOU may have to pay for call outs and plumbers are r-e-a-l-l-y expensive! Especially avoid disposable wipes!!
HEATING
In very cold weather please do NOT turn off the heating when the property is left empty. The heating will be set to come on at regular intervals to ensure the pipes do not freeze.
FAIR USAGE CAPS
There is a fair usage cap on gas and electricity that you agreed to in your Tenancy Agreement. We REALLY don’t want to charge you for excessive use of the Gas and Electric and so strongly encourage all housemates to play fair. It is in everyone’s interest to keep all bills to a minimum. Just be sensible– don’t leave the lights/heating on all day. Stick to this and you WILL, one day, earn total respect from your great-grandchildren, for helping to save the planet’s eco system.
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
The contact details for EMERGENCIES out of office hours are on the notice board of your shared house. Save them on your phone just in case. For any suspected gas leak please contact Transco 0800 111 999. These numbers are ONLY to be used in the case of an emergency. If the contractor deems the repair not an emergency, YOU will be charged for their call-out fees… and you don’t really want that to happen, do you?
We hope you enjoy your stay.