What is shared renting?
Shared renting is living with other people in the same house and sharing the monthly costs for the household. This way, all the renters pay a lower rent.
The major benefit of sub-renting for people newly settling down in a city is that you’re not obligated to the usual 1+ year minimum lease term. So this is the perfect step-up when you’re unsure which suburb to choose, where you are going to find work, etc. Sharing as a sub-renter can give you more freedom.
It is not always allowed by the landlord, so make sure you’ve got his/her approval before you start sub-renting you place yourself. This might be a good idea if you do want to live near your work place or that fantastic trendy suburb that is simply above you budget.
The downside is that you’ll share the common rooms with other people. So this is only a good idea if you’re tolerant enough to deal with other peoples quirks. Sharing the kitchen and bathroom with other people, while yourself are going through the most stressful experience of your life (which migrating is usually considered), can be an interesting experience.
If you’re using it as a temporary solution until you’ve got some certainty before engage in longer term contracts, this is something you’ll find easy to deal with. And as a big plus, you can start making friends as your roommates might already have a social life and they can also give you good advice on stuff in your direct neighbourhood.
Where to find shared housing
The best place to look is on Gumtree. On this second hand trading site you can search per city for stuff people sell, but also on shared housing. The good news is that you can do this from a distance, so you can start to make arrangements from you home country and check a couple of houses right after landing.
Do make sure that you’ve got a good feeling about the people you’re going to share your house with and if you’re in any doubt, say no and stay in a backpackers hostel while you find something that does suite you. This is not something you want to take risks with.
Shared prices
The target prices for sharing range from $100-$200 per week, but you can get cheaper or more expensive if you want. For a normal, relatively proper room in a nice house you’ll end up paying what I just mentioned.
You’ll have to check what’s included in the weekly price as it won’t allways include Gas, Electricity, Water, Internet, Maintenance, Cleaning. Checking those expenses upfront can prevent bad experiences.
For the other costs, check following list of expenses (Divide by the number of people sharing to get your share of the costs obviously).
