Any time two or more people share a living space, issues are bound to arise. It doesn’t matter if it’s a married couple, a parent and their kids, or roommates renting Athens, Ohio, Court Street apartments together—conflicts will happen. If you’ve never had roommates before, you might be wary of how to handle those kinds of conflicts when they do pop up. Here’s a quick guide to some of the most common roommate issues and how to handle them.
Know How Bills Are Handled
Different apartment complexes handle rent and utilities in different ways. So, first, you need to know how your university apartment’s billing works. Does each individual have their own contract for a spot in the apartment? Or is there a total rental cost you’ll have to divvy up yourself? If it’s the latter, you and your roommates need to take the time to sit down and discuss who is paying for what.
Keep in mind that rent isn’t necessarily going to be an equal division among all roommates. For example, if you’re in a two-bedroom apartment and there are three of you living in it, then the person who has their own room should pay a bit more than the ones that are sharing a room. You should discuss the cost of rent and what everyone’s share will be at the very beginning, and everyone should pay their share each month. If someone starts slacking off on their share of the rent, you should consider finding a new roommate.
Establish Clear Expectations for Chores
You’re adults now, and that means mommy won’t be coming to clean up after you. Chores around the apartment are another common point of contention among roommates. If one person feels that another isn’t pulling their own weight, it can cause a lot of resentment; and that resentment can keep building until it’s a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode.
Rather than bottling up your resentment or channeling it into passive-aggressive reminders to your sloppy roommate, start out your relationship with clear expectations. Even if it sounds a little silly, chore charts can make apartment life much easier by making it clear which roommate is responsible for which chores. And if you have a roommate not doing their share, a clear verbal reminder can go a lot farther than dirty looks as you wash their dishes for them.
Know What’s Shared and What’s Not
Some roommates share just about everything in their apartment; they’ll borrow each other’s clothes, buy groceries together, and use each other’s toiletries—though hopefully not each other’s toothbrushes. Others, however, like to have their own items that nobody else touches. This is another area where you need to establish clear expectations on day one.
Decide from the beginning if you want to go in on groceries together, or if you’ll buy your own food and keep it separate. Or, perhaps you’ll do some mix of the two and share most of the food in the apartment, but have a few special treats that are just for you. Make it clear what’s being shared and what you want to keep for yourself. Respect your roommates’ boundaries just as you’d want them to respect yours.
Above all, clear communication can prevent many of the issues commonly encountered in Ohio University apartments in Athens, OH. So, speak up, be heard, and talk it out. You’ll be amazed at how much more peaceful your apartment life will be.
If you and your roommates are looking for a place to live in Athens, contact Wharton Rentals today. View our listings online or call us at 740-592-1399 today.
