Directorate
Sharing Accommodation
| Shared Accommodation Shared Accommodation is available in flats, units, or houses either with other students or with the owner of the property. You usually have your own room with the use of house or flat facilities. In 2008 the approximate cost is $100 to $250 per week depending on the size of the premises, location, and whether it is furnished or unfurnished etc. Other costs like electricity and/or gas, telephone and food are usually shared.
Other share arrangements can be found, such as living with someone who needs support due to age and fragility, disability or mental illness, as a companion. This can be for a low rent, or even for free in some cases, in exchange for a contribution towards household chores and provide some practical support to the householder. Perth Home Care Services (PHCS)* is trialling Homeshare WA. For more information about this scheme and to enquire about Homeshare WA, contact Kate Sowden directly at PHCS on 08 9204 7872 or email kate.sowden@phcs.org.au Some tips on sharing accommodation: If you share with others, the rental cost will usually be much cheaper. However you should take the time to ask your prospective co-tenants a lot of questions. You probably want to share a house with people you get along with!
You should also seriously consider arranging for a lock on your bedroom door and you should hold the only key to the lock. If you need to make your room more secure, please discuss this with the property owner first. Another issue you need to consider is if the person you intend sharing the property with actually owns the property you may be viewed as a boarder or lodger in the eyes of the legal system, and as such you would not be covered by the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). Equally if the person you intend to rent the property from is a tenant themselves but is offering the room on the basis of "Full Board" you may still be viewed as a Boarder or Lodger. This means if a dispute arises the protection offered to a Boarder or Lodger is not as extensive as that offered to a tenant under the RTA. You should read the Department of Consumer and Employment pamphlet ‘Boarders and lodgers’ to help you determine if your accommodation arrangement is covered by the Residential Tenancies Act or not. To assist you to determine the suitability of shared accommodation you may find it useful to read material we have on the subject available at our office or other publications such as “Share Housing and the Law” published by the Tenants Advice Service. Copies are available from the Housing Office in Student Services or on the TASWA website.
TASWA has produced a fact sheet on shared tenancies that may provide you with useful information.
If you need more information on this issue contact the Housing Officer. Before you move in it is also a good idea to agree on a few "house rules". Establishing a roster is a good way to ensure household jobs are shared equally. (However rosters only work if they are fair and everyone has input into drafting them). You may like to work out a roster for things such as cleaning the bathroom, kitchen and communal living areas. It may be a bit more difficult to organise communal cooking as students come and go at different times and some students have special dietary considerations. If this is the case, perhaps you can be responsible for your own cooking and buying of food. A kitty may still be useful for certain communal food items such as salt and sugar and for general cleaning items. If you & housemates all put aside a weekly or fortnightly sum for your share of the bills, then it won't be such a shock when the bills come in. Telstra Like gas and electricity, it is advisable to contribute regularly towards your account. Before taking on a property, please ensure that there is an active phone line. Once a phone line has not been used for three months, Telstra needs to rewire the property. This is expensive. Even if this is deemed as the Owner's responsibility, they usually don't like to pay for this as how can they determine whether they will need to pay for the same for subsequent tenants? The Owner is not under any obligation to rewire their property, unless it has been advertised with a (active) phone line and it is a part of the Property Condition report. What to do if you can see problems in paying your bills: Let any service provider eg gas, electricity and telephone carrier know if you are going to have a problem paying the bill. You should contact them well before the due date of the bill. It may be possible to make alternative arrangements. If you need advice, come and see the Housing/Financial Aid Officer. If there are a number of tenants who hold a single tenancy agreement direct with the owner, you may each be a co-tenant and therefore have equal rights and obligations in relation to the tenancy. Disputes between co-tenants are quite common in share housing. The Residential Tenancies Act does not incorporate remedies to settle disputes between co-tenants. Similarly the Tenants Advice Service will not usually comment on co-tenant disputes. Therefore it is best to try and avoid them in the first place!! Drafting a simple "Accommodation Agreement" when you first move in often prevents disputes later on when everyone is relying on their memory for the issues discussed and agreed to months earlier. (A copy of a sample accommodation agreement is available from the Housing Officer in the Support Centre). At the end of the day if all tenants are tolerant, prepared to compromise and communicate difficulties early the household should run smoothly. Remember your "best friend" does not necessarily make the "best housemate".
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*Perth Home Care Services (PHCS) are not linked with UWA in any way, nor do we have any association with them. This link is provided in good faith for information only.
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If there is anything in the relationship between you and your housemates or you and your landlord that is worrying you, or if you have any difficulties with any aspect of your accommodation needs or just want help and advice or more inforamtion, please do not hesitate to contact the Housing Officer in Student Services or the Tenants' Advice Service (TASWA) on Ph 9221 0088 or Freecall 1800 621 888 or visit the TASWA website. |
