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It's important to make sure you are happy with the people you choose to live with  - you will be living together for a year and may be jointly liable for their rent if they don't pay! Make sure you will all get along and alll want to same things.

Who should I live with?

Choosing who to live with is an important thing, so take your time with the decision and don’t feel pressured into signing something you are not comfortable with.

When it comes to renting there are multiple options available to you and it is important that you make the decision that’s right for you.

How many people should I live with?

You can live in a big house which can have up to 8 or 9 bedrooms or you can live in a flat with 3 or 4 people and there are pros and cons to each living situation.

If you decide to live in a house with lots of people here are some of the pros to this living situation:

• There’s always someone around to have a chat to.
• Your house will be big.
• You may have a wider network to meet people, as your flatmates could introduce you to their friends.
• There is a good social atmosphere, with a big house there is always some fun things to do altogether as a house.

If you choose to live in a smaller place with less people there are some advantages too such as:

• Your flat could be quieter and this could mean more quiet time to study or relax.
• You may have more options for finding a house as there are fewer of you.

When deciding where to live, it may be useful to make a pros and cons list for yourself before you decide.

How Can I find people to share accommodation with?

Sometimes you may not fancy living with the people you have got to know in Halls or your course, or you may be coming back from a year abroad and needing to find some housemates.

Here’s a few places to start:

• Unipol regularly organise house hunting events and mixing days. You can contact Unipol to check the next event.
• You can also use Unipol’s student-to-student noticeboard to find housemates. You can have a look at what rooms students are advertising as well as posting what it is you are looking for.
• You may want to consider living or staying in University of Leeds accommodation.

Before you decide who you want to live with, make sure the property is right for you and that you think you’ll get on with your housemates. Once you sign you are taking part in a legal contract and can be difficult to leave, so any doubts need considering. Some questions to ask yourself:

• If the housemates are in different academic years, will they have the same study patterns?
• Are you happy with the location?
• Is your individual room and the common areas big enough for you?
• Are you happy with the price?
• Will you have joint liability and can you trust everyone to pay the rent?

The most important thing is making sure everyone is happy and in agreement before you decide to live together, as it is very hard to get out of a contract after you have signed it.