Your uni housemates will be there through thick and thin. They will be there to help you if you need it, and they could well become lifelong friends. But sharing a home with others can be tricky to navigate, and it takes some serious effort. Here are our tips on how to be a good housemate.

 

Tidy up after yourself

Messiness isn’t cute, and it’s not quirky. Leaving your dirty dishes in the sink is a sure-fire way to annoy your housemates, so make sure you clean up after yourself. The most serene houses tend to have some sort of established agreement about cleaning – who does which room, and when. We would suggest weekly cleans – one of you take the bathroom, one the kitchen, and so on, then swap around the following week. Stick to the agreement and you won’t annoy your housemates, and just as importantly, they won’t annoy you.

 

Get cooking

Cooking for friends, and with friends, is a really good bonding experience. There is something about sitting down to a meal together that feels special, even if it’s just a random Tuesday night. It doesn’t have to be haute cuisine, but if you have a couple of simple recipes under your belt then you will make yourself a very popular housemate indeed. We love a curry as they can be cheap and easy to cook, and a veggie chilli always goes down well too.

 

Make the most of the special times

There are some moments that you will share with your university housemates that you should cherish. Getting ready for a night out for example. Put on some music, switch on the disco lights, and have a dance as you get dressed into ten different outfits. Then there’s the morning after too. Laughing about the night before over a fry up and a cup of tea will leave you with some of the loveliest memories.

 

Know when to be quiet

When you all have different timetables and different deadlines it can be tricky working out who is up for company and who needs to be left alone to study. Take care to judge people’s moods and keep your music down to give your housemates the chance to concentrate. The same goes for getting home late after a night out, you won’t make many friends if you insist on waking the rest of your household up at 3am.

 

Think about who you invite round

Housemates will always have other friends or partners round to hang out, it’s a big part of what make student living fun and sociable. It’s all about balance though. If you have friends over often, or people to stay every weekend, check that your housemates don’t mind. It’s always good to talk these things through and be direct.

 

For more information and advice about student life, and to browse the latest luxury student rental homes in Leeds, take a look around our website.