See the things to consider when choosing who to live with at University.
How to choose your housemates
Finding housemates to live with can be a challenge. You may decide you’d rather live alone, with a small group or that you’d prefer to live with a larger group of students. Whatever you choose, make sure you meet all your prospective housemates prior to signing your tenancy agreement and trust your instincts when deciding whether or not to move in.
When choosing housemates, it's important to consider:
- your budget and if it matches up with the budget of your housemates
- your hobbies and interests and if they are shared by the people you may be living with
- location, including where you want to live, and how far you want to travel to campus.
- whether you want to look for housemates who are in the same communities as you, such as searching for housemates in your societies and social groups or in a housing cooperative.
You may also want to consider if:
- you want to live with people you know already, or meet new friends through a house share
- your course dates match your potential housemates (for example, will they be looking for a house for the whole academic year)
- you or your housemates have a guarantor, and if this will be accepted by your landlord.
How to find housemates
You can use our Facebook page to reach out to other students who are looking for housemates.
Students who have already secured a property sometimes post adverts looking for housemates on our Facebook page, too.
You can also go to housemate mixer events where you can meet other students seeking accommodation. The sessions are hosted by our private sector housing officers, who are also available to answer questions about private sector housing. These events are advertised on Facebook and Instagram.
If you’re struggling to find people to live with, you could join a club or society on campus. Joining a club or society gives you the chance to meet new people and, potentially, new housemates.
You could also speak to other students on your course. You may find others are looking for housemates or have available rooms in their existing house shares.
You may also want to ask your school administrator if there is a school message board where you can ask if other students want to form a house share.
Individual tenancies
Some agents offer individual tenancies to students. This means you can live in a shared property without needing to find housemates or sign a contract with others.
Some agents arrange group viewings for these properties, so you can meet other interested students, too.
Find out more about individual rooms and tenancies with landlords registered on Sussex Studentpad.