Flat share checklist
Everything here is a conversation better had while everyone's still being polite. Write down the agreement now, because moving out is the wrong time to start.
24 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Rent split agreed, and whether it's equal or by room sizeThe biggest room costing more is common, but say so before moving in, not after.
- Deposit contributions and who holds the money agreedOnly whoever's named on the tenancy and its protection scheme can legally claim it back.
- Bills split method agreed
- Equal split or by usage
- One person collecting and paying, or everyone paying separately
- What happens if someone pays late
- Joint account or shared app for household costs set up
- Cleaning rota agreed before anyone's annoyed about itWrite it down while everyone's still being polite — the conversation gets harder later.
- Guests talked about
- How many nights before it's a house discussion
- Overnight guests and any awkwardness around it
- Shared costs a guest adds
- Furniture ownership notedWhose sofa, whose table — write it down now so moving out isn't the first time anyone asks.
- Food arrangement agreedShared shopping, separate cupboards, or something in between, decided before the fridge gets crowded.
- Noise and quiet hours discussed
- Who's named on the tenancy agreement, and what that means for everyone else
- Emergency contact and next of kin shared among housemates
- Communal supplies agreed
- Bin bags, cleaning products, loo roll
- Whether it's a shared kitty or whoever notices buys it
- Smoke alarms and fire safety checked together
- What happens if someone wants to leave early discussed upfrontA notice period agreed among housemates avoids one person covering the whole rent.
- Contact for the landlord or letting agent shared with everyone
- House meeting scheduled for anything that comes up laterAn actual slot on a calendar gets used far more than a vague promise to talk about it sometime.
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- How should bills be split fairly in a flat share?
- Agree the method up front — equal or by usage — and write it down. Disputes come from an assumption nobody said out loud, not from the split itself.
- What if one housemate is on the tenancy and others aren't?
- Whoever isn't named has fewer rights if something goes wrong. Take advice before agreeing to that arrangement, and be honest with each other about it.
- How do you handle a housemate who won't do their share of cleaning?
- A written rota, agreed early, makes it a shared standard rather than a personal complaint. It's much harder to raise once it's already become an argument.