​Having other people around - when is it okay, how many? Visitors staying overnight can be contentious. Discuss this with your housemates. They might not be happy to wake up to see a couch surfer in the lounge! Agree procedures if friends staying over eat your food or leave you the washing up! Is borrowing food acceptable? 

Decide whether someone staying over should donate to the house kitty. After all they may be enjoying the heating, cooking, shower and other facilities in your ‘hotel’ that you are paying towards. You may decide an occasional person staying over is your guest. What happens if someone’s ‘occasional’ guest becomes a more ‘regular’ guest? 

Do you want to discuss candles? Some types of scented candles and diffusers could seriously damage your room(s) with soot and/or oily deposits. If soot/oil spreads, it could cost the group between £500 and £750 per room to repair the damage! 

Decide how to avoid paying for damage caused by condensation you create e.g. mould spots on ceilings, curtains, around windows, peeling wallpaper and paint or water puddles on window sills. We strongly recommend you always dry your clothing outside or in the tumble dryer. Drying clothes on radiators and on airers indoors will usually lead to condensation problems. 

Establish a procedure to ensure the last person exiting the house checks all first floor and ground floor windows are closed and locked (except escape windows), front and rear/side doors locked and intruder alarm set. 

Decide on a fire safety and action plan. Fire spreads quickly. Plan what action everyone takes to escape if a fire starts. Everybody reads 'Fire Emergency' sign on notice board.

Avoid leaving sarcastic, unpleasant and critical notes. If possible, communicate face-to-face! 

How do you let each other know if you have a house problem? What if someone constantly breaks the agreed ground rules. For example, they do not pay their share of the rent on time, leave dirty dishes in the sink or play loud music. Deal with problems quickly. Call a house meeting and calmly discuss what happened.