With rents steadily on the climbing, a flatshare Manchester arrangement is becoming the more financially viable option for many people, especially students and single young professionals. There are advantages of living in a flatshare on top of the lower rent. You get more people from different backgrounds and expand your social networks easily. But getting into a flatshare with incompatible flatmates can be a nightmare. Differences in financial, social and cultural attitudes can bring about conflicts. Ask your potential flatmates these questions to get a compatible flatshare arrangement.

How are bills shared?

Is there a common fund to foot monthly bills? What happens to those who are late in their contributions?

Are you longtime friends?

If they are, you could sometimes feel like a stranger, left out of their favourite stories and jokes.  If they barely know each other, you have chances of being at the start of a new group relationship and bonding. It could also be a place where no one really cares what happens in each other’s lives. It all depends on whether you are a people person.

Is the cooking communal?

The kitchen is the premier source of flatshare conflicts. If the cooking is communal, who plans the menu?  Is there a cooking duty Rota? Who does the dishes after cooking? How are groceries bought? What happens if there is someone with special dieting needs? What is the policy on leftovers?

What about other food and drinks?

Apart from the groceries and other food ingredients, how do the flatmates treat other foods, drinks and snacks? If I bring in a bag of peanuts, is it mine only, or it viewed as a treat for everyone? If this is the case, do the flatmates take turns in buying the treats?

What is the policy on guests?

If you plan on having a guest over, is sleeping over allowed? How many guests can you have at once, and is the use of the common living room allowed for guests? Will the guest share in the meals, or do you have to make separate arrangements? What hours are allowed for guests?

You might also want to know the policy on boyfriends/girlfriends. Are they allowed to sleep over, and will their use of the common bathroom take the lower priority than that of the flatmates?

What is the entertainment policy?

Are there Saturday movie nights, and if so how are the movies picked? Can I bring my own sound system and put it in the common living room?

Do not be afraid of making your potential flatshare Manchester mates feel like it is a game of 21 questions. You will be spending a lot of time with them, so it better be comfortable.