Brits biggest houseshare 'icks' revealed

A poll of 2,000 adults who have lived in a shared home in the last decade found 95 per cent thought it was important to get on well with the people you live with. Despite this, 84 per cent admitted life with housemates isn’t always plain sailing.

Being noisy at night (24 per cent), not contributing to any chores (22 per cent) and not paying bills on time (18 per cent) are also among the worst habits they faced. Disagreements about money and bills (32 per cent) topped the list of areas which people in shared homes take most seriously – followed by hygiene (25 per cent) and cleaning (20 per cent).

But 31 per cent often had to talk to housemates about financial disputes, with 28 per cent regularly needing to chase them to pay bills on time. As many as 78 per cent said having a way to track how much energy they were using in their shared home would have helped reduce the number of arguments over bills and 84 per cent of those who have had a smart meter in their shared space said it was useful for monitoring their energy costs.

Comedian and writer Fern Brady said: “I know from experience that living in flat-shares is not always simple. I’ve seen it all in over 20 rented homes – good, bad and ugly.

“Arguments about money and bills can really get under people’s skin, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

"By getting a smart meter installed, renters can feel more in control of their energy use.”

The research also found a quarter claimed the thing they would find most difficult to tolerate in a house-share would be someone who didn’t pay their share of the bills on time. But 53 per cent have lived with a person who didn’t pull their weight financially, according to the stats by OnePoll. On the other hand, 78 per cent claimed to have got on with their housemates, even though living together did sometimes lead to disagreements.

Victoria Bacon, a director at Smart Energy GB, added: “Shared living is a big part of life for many and it can come with a few frustrations.

“Disagreements over bills can be common, and when people aren’t sure what they owe, or feel they’re paying more than their fair share, even small frustrations can escalate into bigger disputes.

“Smart meters take the guesswork out of energy bills by giving households a clearer picture of their usage and they can help housemates stay on top of bills.

“If you rent privately and the bills are in your name, it’s your choice to request a smart meter from your energy supplier.”

TOP 20 HOUSE-SHARE ICKS:

1. Not cleaning up after cooking
2. Leaving the bathroom dirty
3. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink for days
4. Leaving rubbish bins overflowing
5. Being noisy late at night
6. Not contributing to household chores
7. Not washing up properly
8. Not paying their share of the bills on time
9. Playing music or TV too loudly
10. Borrowing items without asking
11. Leaving food to go off
12. Slamming doors
13. Leaving lights on unnecessarily
14. Never replacing empty toilet roll
15. Having guests over too often
16. Turning the heating on or off without asking others
17. Never replacing household essentials
18. Not locking doors or windows at night / when leaving the house
19. Leaving laundry in shared spaces
20. Taking excessively long showers