Who stole my yoghurt?! The recipe for housemate harmony revealed

If you’re currently looking for a flatmate, be warned – a new study reveals that two in five people (42%) who have lived in a flat or house share, have done so with someone that they would happily never see again.

The findings are released as our new ad hits screens for the first time, following on from the BT Family adverts featuring Adam and Jane, and featuring Jane’s son, Joe, as he moves into a flat with new characters Simon and Anna. The new ads will follow them through the laughs, trials and tribulations of sharing a flat.

Annoying habits

The survey reveals that annoying flat mate habits include not doing household chores (67%), not paying bills on time (64%) and stealing food (53%).

Other aggravating housemate habits identified include: Playing loud music at unsociable hours (52%), inviting loud guests back to the house (49%), hogging the TV remote (21%) and hogging broadband (17%). For the 14% who found flat sharing a negative experience, this was mainly because they didn’t like sharing a bathroom/kitchen/lounge with other people (69%).

The perfect recipe

The survey also reveals that:

• > When asked what the right flat share combination should be, the most popular response (41%) was for four people. Within this, a combination of two males and two females was by far and away the most favoured set up (70%)
• > Reasons for preferring a male flatmate include: they are less likely to nag (40%); they are more relaxed and don’t mind a mess (37%); they’re more independent and less clingy (31%); and they will provide entertainment (30%)
• > There are some positives to come from sharing a flat. Almost half of those (47%) saying that it taught them to share with others and to be more considerate (47%). For some, the positive experience could have been more to do with finding love – nearly one in three (28%) flat-sharers admit to fancying a flatmate at some point

Lessons from Big Brother

Corinne Sweet, psychologist and Consultant and ‘expert’ for Big Brother said:

“As we’ve seen from programmes like Big Brother, throwing together a group of people with different interests and disparate opinions and backgrounds in a ‘home’ environment can lead to both positive and negative experiences. Ultimately, it’s about striking a balance and learning tolerance – living the way you want to but being considerate towards those around you, and learning to listen and be sensitive to other housemates needs, is pretty crucial. Get this right and house-share harmony will prevail. However, insisting on pinching other’s belongings, or leaving them to clean up after you is without doubt a recipe for house-share hell.”

Have you ever had an annoying flatmate? What are the personal habits that drive you up the (shared) wall? Let us know below.

Find out the perfect recipe

See more from the survey in our housmate harmony infographic.

Find out more