Types of shared accommodation

Flat/house share

The most common type of share – where a flat or house is rented by a group of sharers under a joint tenancy agreement (AST). Every tenant in the share is responsible for paying the rent and sticking to the terms of the contract.

It gets tricky when one of you wants to leave before the tenancy is up – in a joint tenancy their notice technically ends the tenancy for everyone, so you’re not guaranteed a replacement contract and flatmate. But fear not – most landlords are generally okay to let you find a replacement and sign a new contract. It’s down to you to decide who wants to be part of the flatmate-hunting process to find a replacement.

Renting a room from a landlord

Renting a room from your landlord? You’ll have a separate agreement with them, which is great as you’re not responsible for any other tenants in the property. The only drawback is that it’s probably your landlord who gets to choose new tenants if one of you moves out, and they might not involve existing flatmates in the search if they want to fill the room quickly.

Renting a room from a live-in landlord

This is basically what it says on the tin: your landlord (and possibly their family) lives in the property with you, so you’re a lodger. Your house might be a better standard if it’s your landlord’s home – let’s face it, if the boiler breaks they’ll want it fixed just as quickly as you do – and rent can often be cheaper too. But the drawback is they might be around a lot so relaxing could be hard.

Sublets

If you rent a property as part of an AST with other tenants, then let your room out to someone who pays rent to you, you’re subletting. 

This generally isn’t allowed, but some landlords might agree to it with good enough reason. It’s a pretty risky setup as you’ll be losing your rights and putting yourself at risk if your replacement doesn’t pay you rent.

If in doubt, The Citizens Advice Bureau can give free advice.