10 signs your flatmate relationship is on the rocks

Living with housemates can be the very best years of your life, or some of the worst. Luckily, wayfair.co.uk has shone a light on the telltale signs to watch out for to know if your relationship with your housemates could be on the rocks. The number one reason with 65% for why people decide to move out is they feel “emotionally stressed.”

With over half of 20–39 year olds in UK predicted to be renting by 2025, Wayfair surveyed over 1000 renters across the UK to ask a series of questions regarding the health of their flatmate relationships and to discover what really causes flatmates to break up. The results are in:

The number one reason with 65% for why people decide to move out is they feel “emotionally stressed”. Coming a close second with 60% of the vote was feeling there was “zero trust” with their fellow renters. Getting to the stage you actively try to “avoid your flatmate” followed into third space with 56%.

Renters said that arguments between housemates over finances and who owns what is also a major recurring flashpoint for confrontation and over time builds feelings of resentment. 

A Wayfair spokesperson commented: “house sharing relationships should be treated like a marriage. Solid ground rules & expectations should be set from the outset and respected. Most people unfortunately aren’t afforded the time to really get to know the people they live with properly before moving in. Many people are driven financially to secure a new flatmate or find a place to live as fast as possible and the facade of being super friendly and easy to get on with is one that can often slip weeks or months into a new living arrangement. Living with people can be really hard work and the effect if things go wrong on people’s emotions and health should not be underestimated”

Wayfair also discovered that there is an increasing trend for for housemates to pool together to purchase larger items such as sofas or other communal items and it seem’s this is often the cause of dispute later down the line. To help renters out Wayfair have created a free flatmate prenup (Furniture Sharing Agreement) that anyone can download and use to try avoid a messy break up and set those boundaries and expectations early.

Here are the top 10 warning signs that contribute to people deciding to move out:

10. Noisy love making when you want to sleep

9. Using all the hot water so none for you

8. Having your food stolen

7. Leaving the Kitchen a complete mess

6. Moving a boyfriend or girlfriend in with little discussion

5. Keeping hours that conflict with your sleep

4. Inviting groups of people you don’t know back

3. Discovering ranty social media posts about you from Flatmates

2. Shouty confrontations

1. You hope your flatmate moves out before you have to