THE MOST SUCCESSFUL GROUPS CREATE

SIMPLE ‘GROUND RULES’ TOGETHER FROM DAY ONE 

 

Ground rules can be an informal arrangement or you could create a written ‘Housemate Agreement’. 

 

House sharing can be great fun, especially if you were friends beforehand, but it can also be tricky at times. It can be more difficult to get away from each other in a house and small disagreements can get out of hand. Everyone’s preferences and lifestyles are different. What matters most is figuring out how to cooperate and live together. You will probably have to compromise here and there.

 

A housemate agreement could be useful if this is the first time you’ve lived together as this group. It’s usually a set of rules the group agrees to follow during the tenancy. It could include what individuals find particularly annoying such as not properly cleaning the toilet or untidiness and how you’re going to share the space so you’re all happy. Even if you don’t write everything down, using the list below to start a discussion could help avoid tensions later.

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Ideas for ground rules on the next page...

 

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