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30 questions to ask before sharing a flat

A list to take to the viewing. You don't need all of them: six or seven well chosen ones teach you more than an hour of polite conversation.

6 min read · Updated September 2026

The point isn't to interrogate anyone. It's to replace the questions that reveal nothing — “are you quiet?” — with ones that describe a situation and make people tell you what actually happens in that house.

Cleaning

  1. 1.How long can dishes sit in the sink before it bothers anyone?
  2. 2.Who cleans the bathroom, and how often?
  3. 3.Do you have a written rota or does it just happen?
  4. 4.What happens when someone skips their turn?
  5. 5.Does a cleaner come? How is that paid for?

What to listen for: specificity. People with a system describe it without hesitating. People improvising give vague answers, which usually means the topic isn't settled.

Noise and schedules

  1. 1.What time does the flat go quiet on a weeknight?
  2. 2.Does anyone work or study from home?
  3. 3.Does anyone work nights or get up very early?
  4. 4.Can you hear through the walls?
  5. 5.Have the neighbours ever complained?

Guests and partners

  1. 1.How often does someone from outside come over in a month?
  2. 2.Does anyone have a partner who stays over? How often?
  3. 3.Do you give notice before bringing people round, or is it assumed?
  4. 4.Has there been a party here? When was the last one?
  5. 5.Is there anything agreed about this?

This is the block most people skip out of embarrassment, and the one that prevents the most conflict. Asking doesn't make you a killjoy: it makes you someone who'd rather know now.

Money

  1. 1.What exactly does the room price include?
  2. 2.What do bills come to in an average month?
  3. 3.How are they split: evenly or by usage?
  4. 4.Who is on the contract?
  5. 5.How much is the deposit and how is it returned?
  6. 6.What happens if someone leaves early?
  7. 7.Has the rent gone up in the last year?

How to split shared costs without arguing

Everyday living

  1. 1.Do you ever cook together, or is it each to their own?
  2. 2.Is food shared or separate?
  3. 3.Are things shared — pans, chargers, food — or do you ask first?
  4. 4.Are there pets? Is anyone allergic?
  5. 5.Does anyone smoke indoors or on the balcony?
  6. 6.How do you organise house matters: group chat, sitting down, as it comes up?

The five almost nobody asks

If you can only ask five, these give you the most information per minute spent.

  1. 1.Why is the person I'd be replacing leaving?
  2. 2.What happened the last time there was a problem between you?
  3. 3.What's the thing you like least about living here?
  4. 4.How long have you lived together?
  5. 5.What are you looking for in the person who moves in?

Find out which profiles you fit with

Keep reading

  • How to choose a flatmate

    We choose a flat on price and location, then spend a year living with the consequences. This guide is about the other part: how to know, before you sign, whether you'll get along.

  • House rules that actually work

    Most flatshare rules get written in the first month and ignored from the third. These are the ones that hold, and why.

  • How to split bills in a flatshare (without arguing)

    Money is the flatshare argument nobody has out loud. Here's what actually needs splitting, the three ways to do it, and the one rule that stops it turning into a running tab of resentment.

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