Share housing

A share house is a model of household in which a group of people reside together. The term generally applies to people living together in rental properties rather than in properties in which any resident is an owner occupier.

Demographics

Share housing is an increasingly popular household model for young people in developed and developing countries as a result of a variety of economic and social changes such as the declining affordability of home ownership and delayed and decreasing marriage rates. [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778613460~db=all Impact of Share Housing] ] Despite this rise, share housing is little researched. [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778613460~db=all Research about Share Housing] ]

Formation and composition

A share house is often formed when a group of people move into a rental property, with one or more of them having applied to rent the property through a real estate agent, being accepted and having signed a lease.

People who live together in a share house are called "housemates", "flatmates", or "roommates".

Share house residents are typically unrelated to each other in that they genrally come from different familiesFact|date=October 2008, although they may be composed of some siblings and sometimes single parents and their children. Perhaps because of the social cohesion required for their formation, share houses will often comprise of members of the same peer group. For example, university students who have relocated to a new area to commence a course of study often need to form a share house. Share housing often occurs in the 18-35 age bracket - during a life stage between leaving home and having children. Share house residents may have pre-existing friendships or other interpersonal relationships or they may form new relationships whilst living together.

Challenges and complications

Some of the challenges that come with share housing may include advertising for, interviewing and choosing potential housemates; sharing communal household goods, rent (often this may be determined by the size or position of respective bedrooms); sharing household bills and grocery costs; and sharing housework, cleaning, and cooking responsibilities. Of the household models, the share house is unique as the only model without an obvious power hierarchy, so such challenges must be resolved by mutual agreement and sharing. This may be more challenging if, for example, residents have different standards of cleanliness, different diets, or different hours of employment or study.

Popular culture

Share housing is a popular theme for television sitcoms, films, novels, and non-fiction shows, perhaps because of the potential for producing interesting socially dynamic relationships between share house residents. Examples of sitcoms include "The Young Ones" and "Friends". "Bedrooms And Hallways" is an example of such a film, and "He Died With A Falafel In His Hand" is an example of such a book, which later became a stage play and film.

ee also

* Flatmate
* Tenant
* Household
* Home
* Family
* Cohabitation

References