HOUSEMATE HEADACHES: HOW TO CALM CONFLICTS BETWEEN SHARERS AT YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY

Housemate headaches: how to calm conflicts between sharers at your rental property

More people than ever are sharing a rental home as rents keep rising and supply continually falls short of demand.

Shared homes and HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) have been highly profitable for landlords, but they also come with the inevitable challenges of multiple people living at the same address.

Whether you’re already renting to sharers or just considering the idea, it makes sense to see how other landlords plan for peaceful homes and diffuse disputes, so in this week’s blog we’re going to cover:

• Setting up a harmonious house share.

• Getting your tenants to talk.

• Managing noise and guests.

• Household chores and shared spaces.

• If someone wants to leave.

What you'll discover is that almost every situation can be resolved, and often without too much action from you beyond the correct setup and a few encouraging words.

SETTING UP A HARMONIOUS HOUSE SHARE

The best way to minimise the potential for conflict among sharers is to include clauses in the tenancy agreement about the way tenants are expected to behave around issues like:

• Overnight guests: Make it clear where the boundary lies between someone staying overnight and someone moving in.

• Household chores: Clarify details of cleaning and using shared areas like kitchens, bathrooms, halls and living rooms, along with appliances.

• Noise: Set quiet times when tenants should lower the volume of their voices, music, television, moving around, and preparing food.

Keep reading for more detail on all of this, and remember that while you can’t force amendments during initial contract periods, you can add them when they’re up for renewal or when new tenancies start.

GETTING YOUR TENANTS TO TALK

Unless one of your tenants has expressly broken the terms of their contract, your best bet when there’s friction between housemates is to help them resolve things themselves with encouragement like:

• Acknowledging the challenging situation and suggesting your tenants discuss things in person at a house meeting rather than through an angry exchange of texts.

• Reassuring them that most household conflicts are resolvable with language that doesn’t leave anyone feeling attacked and concentrates more on the desired outcome.

• Nudging them to look for compromises wherever possible. For example, if one person goes to bed at 10pm but quiet time is from 11pm, could they all settle on 10:30pm?

When your tenants settle issues independently, it does more than give you peace. It makes them more self-sufficient when living at your property now, and whenever they move into their own place later on.

MANAGING NOISE AND GUESTS

While every tenant has the right to have friends and partners visit, their housemates also have the right to a peaceful home life that doesn't involve sharing with guests who overstay their welcome.

You can’t predict every scenario, but you can clarify a few things that cover the most common areas of disturbance, including:

• A guest staying longer than ten days in any six-week period is usually deemed a tenant, which, as well as unsettling other housemates, could breach your property license.

• The murmur of conversation is an accepted part of sharing, but slamming doors, shouting, and playing loud music can lead to resentment and conflict, whatever the time of day.

• Whenever a tenant wants to invite friends for movie nights or dinner, it's courteous to notify the rest of the household in advance to avoid clashes over using the shared spaces.

Again, it's worth remembering that not everyone realises when they’re annoying their housemates. When approached in the right way, they're often embarrassed and remedy the situation immediately.

HOUSEHOLD CHORES & SHARED SPACES

People have different views about what clean and tidy mean, so in a shared home where no one is boss, the key to domestic bliss is setting guidelines around hygiene and mess, including:

• Make it clear in the tenancy agreement that everyone is responsible for keeping the shared areas in clean and tidy order, and that they’re not for personal storage.

• State that everyone should remove their belongings from the washing machine and dishwasher as soon as the programme is complete to free them up for others to use.

• Encourage your tenants to set up a rota for chores (divided by days or tasks that work for them) and a household pot to cover the cost of loo rolls, washing-up liquid, cleaning products, etc.

Many HMO landlords include a monthly clean of shared areas by adding the cost to the rent. This maintains a minimum level of cleanliness and often inspires tenants to do their bit as well.

IF SOMEONE WANTS TO LEAVE

Very occasionally, the situation between tenants is unresolvable, and it can feel like the only answer is for someone to leave. The question is, who should go, and how do you approach it?

• First, try stepping in to find a solution. Your outside perspective may help you or your managing agent to come up with something that works for everyone - it certainly does for us.

• No luck? Offer the bothersome tenant a free exit or tell them you won’t be renewing their contract. The prospect of having to move out could be the motivation they need to change.

• Last, if an upset tenant asks to end their tenancy early and their contract makes them liable for the cost of referencing their replacement, you'll need to decide whether to enforce that.

If you’re already at this stage and unsure what to do next, call us on 0118 304 5877 for a no-strings chat. We're happy to run through your options to find the right solution for you.

Do you rent a property to sharers?

Shared homes and HMOs can be hugely profitable, and with the correct preparation, selection process and management, they can also run extremely smoothly.

So, if you own an HMO or shared rental property in Berkshire, call us on 0118 304 5877 or message us at lettings@pauk.property to find out how we help local landlords optimise their investments for peak performance.