Study Move - Study in Australia Guide

Share Accommodation

Share Accommodation (flatmates)

In many cases you will have to share your place with other students. Sharing an apartment or house with a flatmate can be a good option and it may be less expensive as you can also share the rent. This is a very important component of your experience because you could make great friends or find it a little bit difficult to live with people with different habits and interests.

When you are looking for a place to share with others, it is important to ask who else will be sharing the place with you. If there are students living in the accommodation already, we suggest you visit them and see what their life style is like.

In general, international students are usually happy with their flatmates but we don’t want you to have a bad experience. We find that it can sometimes be better to share a house with a flatmate/s or friend/s after you have spent some time in Australia.

If you have a bad experience with your flatmates remember that you can always decide to move to another place. It is better to move to a new place than live in a place where you are not happy.

There are a number of ways you can find a share house or find a flatmate in Australia. Below are some options:

Some students post ads on the pin boards at each institution campus advertising either a spare room to rent or that they are looking for a flatmate. This can be a good option as your flatmate would be a student at your university and the accommodation is usually close to the campus.

There are some websites dedicated to finding flatmates in Australia, here are some you might like to look at: Flatmates.com.au and Flatmate Finders (Sydney and Melbourne only)

Positives – Sharing Accommodation	Negatives – Sharing Accommodation
It may be cheaper than renting your own accommodation.	You may not know the person you will be living with
You can meet new people by sharing accommodation.	You may not get along with the person you are living with.
It can sometimes be less expensive than University accommodation.	In some circumstances, you may not need to sign a lease and pay a bond.
The other person may have furniture which you can use.	You need to live with someone else who may have different ideas of living eg. Cleanliness, food, having friends over.
You can choose where to live and who to live with.
It may be cheaper than renting your own accommodation.