Share Accommodation

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There is usually a number of share accommodation vacancies listed on the housing database. Vacancies vary and may be in houses, flats or units and sharing with one or more students or working people.

 Finding share accommodation
Why chose share accommodation?
 Sharing successfully
 Food, chores and bills
 Bonds and legal issues
 Conflict resolution
 Other points to remember

Access the housing database

Finding Share Accommodation
All housing offers are now available on line to prospective and current students. If you are a current student you can access the database using your student ID. If you are a prospective student you can be granted temporary access to the database by contacting the housing adviser on your campus of study and presenting your letter of offer to a course at Swinburne. Once your status has been confirmed, access to the database will be granted. Click below to access the housing database.

Access the housing database - click on either current or prospective students.

In addition to the housing on-line database, you may also like to look at the Wednesday and Saturday editions of The Age and The Herald-Sun newspapers. There are also share accommodation agencies but these often charge a registration fee and may not be suitable if you’re on a tight budget. Go to the helpful housing websites page for specific newspapers and share agency websites.

Once you have found something that sounds suitable, the usual procedure is for you to first make telephone contact with the person making the accommodation offer and arrange a suitable time to inspect the property and meet the members of the household.

Typically in a share accommodation situation, each person has his/her own bedroom and the rest of the facilities in the household are shared. Household chores and cooking are normally shared though cooking is sometimes done individually. Costs vary according to the location and quality of the accommodation. Share vacancies near the Hawthorn and Prahran campuses would generally fall within $120-$170 per week per person, whereas for the Croydon, Wantirna and Lilydale campuses $70-$120 per week per person would be the range. On top of this would be the cost of bills, on average around $15-$20 per week.

Why chose share accommodation?
Sharing accommodation is one way of coping with your daily cost of living. In addition to the financial benefits, sharing can also offer a way of meeting new people and making new friends, a way of learning about different cultures and a way of developing your own independence as well as a support network.

How to share successfully
To make sharing a success, it is important to make sure that have thoroughly considered what it is you will need from your new home, and ensure you decide on the best housing solution for you before you choose to move in.

Some important considerations when seeking and deciding on shared accommodation are:

To share successfully it is also important to establish some house rules with those with whom you will be sharing. You should always meet everyone in the property and thoroughly discuss things before you agree to move in. Use the Occupancy Agreement to help you with this. Having things in writing before you move in can avoid arguments and disputes later on. Also, you should always ask for a receipt whenever you hand over any money to move into a place.

Friends visiting or staying over
Guests are usually a bone of contention in most share households. You will need to discuss with those you are sharing with about having friends staying over or a guest for dinner. One person’s dinner guest can be quite expensive. If you are having a friend stay regularly it may be a good idea to offer to pay a little extra when it comes time to pay the utility bills. It is therefore a good idea to work out the rules before you invite someone over.

Food, chores and bills

Food
Many households prefer a kitty system when it comes to buying food as it is cheaper to share the expense between a number of people and each person can then take their turn at cooking. However, this does not suit all households and you will have to come to your own arrangements with the others in the household. Some share households just have a kitty for communal expenses such as toilet paper, washing powder, and other cleaning products and each person buys their own food.

General Chores
The number of people you are sharing with will determine how often you will have to do chores. Inevitably, a set of house rules is the only way of eliminating a situation where one person is left to do everything. A roster system is probably the best away of allocating the work. It should include things like shopping, dusting and vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom and toilet, putting the rubbish out for collection, cooking/dishwashing duties, and periodic jobs such as cleaning the fridge, stove, windows and maintaining the garden. Each person should be responsible for their own laundry and bedroom. It is important to work out how often each chore is to be done. What you do with people who do not do their share of work is up to you. Like all things the roster should be open to suggestions and changes.

Bills
It is usually your responsibility to pay your share of the bills such as gas, electricity, telephone and possibly water. You will need to come to some arrangement with those you are sharing with as to how you will share these bills. For example, keep a tally sheet or a money box by the phone for people to either tick off their local calls or put their money in the box. STD, Mobile and ISD calls are now itemised on the back of your phone account. (Please note you may be eligible for a health concession card which entitles you to a 17.5% discount on your gas and electricity bills between May and November).

Legally Speaking
We always recommend that when you move into share accommodation you clarify whether the property is owner occupied or is being rented. This has important implications for your rights as a tenant. If the property is being rented we recommend you get your name put on the lease as the owner has a legal right to know who is living in the place. You should always get your name taken off the lease when you move out. As stated elsewhere, you should also use the Occupancy Agreement to put the terms and conditions of your stay in writing.

Sharing a house or flat with other people can either be a co-tenancy, when all tenants have equal status, or sub-letting, when there is a head tenant and sub-tenants. Share accommodation situations are a little difficult to sort out legally mainly because the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 does not cover the rights and responsibilities of co-tenants to each other. Check out the Tenants Union of Victoria's online publications for more information, specifically the one on Shared Households. They also have many other useful fact sheets and an excellent section on Student Housing which is worthwhile reading. The Tenants Union of Victoria's website can be found at www.tuv.org.au.

Bonds
You will normally pay the bond to the person who is moving out, however before doing this there are some simple things to check. Check the original condition report on the house to make sure you are not moving into a house that has been trashed by the person moving out or those remaining. If it has been you may not want to move in. Remember to pay careful attention to the condition of the room you are going to be moving into. The second thing, as mentioned previously, is to check is that the landlord knows you are moving in. If the landlord does not know of your existence in the house you may not be covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. Thirdly, make sure you get the correct forms completed by everyone concerned, especially a transfer of bond form. Do not pay any money until the remaining tenants and the tenant moving out have completed the transfer of bond form.

Owner Occupied Situations
The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 does not cover owner occupied situations. If you move into a house or flat in which the owner also lives, we strongly recommend you use the Occupancy Agreement to outline the conditions of your stay. It is not a legally binding document but it is a useful guide that can prevent misunderstandings and disagreements after you have moved in. As there is no lease involved the owner will not be lodging a bond with the Bond Trust Authority. If the owner requests that you give him/her a bond/security deposit, we recommend that an amount equivalent to two weeks rent be given. This should be refunded to you at the end of your stay. Always ask for a receipt whenever you give any money to the owner and kept all receipts in a safe place.

Conflict Resolution
If there is conflict over issues relating to sharing a house or flat within the household, it is always best to deal face to face with the person and to discuss an issue quickly and openly. Here are some suggestions:

		Plan to talk to the other party at the right time and allow enough time to do it. For example, don’t start the discussion when the other person is on their way to classes or work.
		Think beforehand about what you want to say. It’s important to state clearly what the problem is and how you feel about it. It may help to write things down as well.
		Don’t begin by blaming the other party for everything or begin the discussion with your opinion of what should be done.
		Give the other person a chance to respond with their side of the story, what they think has been happening to cause the trouble. Be prepared to relax, listen and learn something.
		Let the other party know you understand what they are saying. You may not agree with them, but there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to talk to someone who doesn’t seem to be listening.
		When you have reached this point try to start working towards resolving the dispute cooperatively. Work out what you both have to do to resolve the problem. Again, it can be useful to put things in writing, go to the Occupancy Agreement.
		Two or more people working on a problem together often get further than one person telling the other that only they have to change. If you take the time to work on a problem, take the time to do it right. Get the whole issue out in the open. Don’t leave out the part that seems less important or is the hardest to discuss.
		Agree to check with each other at a specific time in the future to see how things are going, and don’t "forget" to do it.

Sometimes you may find it difficult to talk to the other person on your own. You may end up getting upset and yelling at each other. The Dispute Settlement Centre may be able to provide assistance by phoning (03) 9603-2550 or visit www.justice.vic.gov.au/disputeinfo. Both parties must agree to attend any mediation session.

Other points to remember

Your responsibility - Accommodation is not pre-arranged for students owing to the need for personal inspection. The Housing Advisor does not organise inspections of properties or meetings with providers, these are the responsibility of the student.

Quality - As with most other things, when searching for accommodation, you get what you pay for. Lower priced places may be small in size, lacking effective heating and generally in need of some maintenance. You may need to compromise a little if you’re on a tight budget.

Be patient – Finding suitable and affordable accommodation can be time consuming and frustrating. Places often sound good but when you inspect them you are disappointed with the quality and standard offered. It is always good to look at a few places to compare prices and what is available and you should allow at least a couple of weeks to find somewhere suitable. The ideal situation is if you have friends or family in Melbourne with whom you can stay for a few weeks while you look around. If you do not have anyone you can stay with, you may need to look into temporary accommodation.