Doors of Shared Houses in Perth Opened

Ever wondered what’s happening behind the front door of the average West Australian shared house? Is it really a domestic battleground or a great way to save money on livings costs?

A survey conducted recently revealed encouraging statistics on the topic of conflicts within shared homes, with 66.1 per cent saying any household conflict was resolved with fair and rational conversation and only 6.1 per cent said that conflicts were dealt with by way of arguments.

It seems the biggest source of conflict between flatmates was cleaning, or cleaning responsibilities, followed closely by bills and house party arrangements.

Surprisingly, food sharing arrangements rate low on the conflict scale with 3.5 per cent of respondents saying they lost items of food on an almost daily basis. 52.9 per cent of respondents indicated that food is routinely shared only sometimes. It is also interesting to note that 47.2 per cent said an item of their food mysteriously disappears only once a month or less.

Old traditions such as house meetings and notes left for flatmates are also alive and well, coming second and third place behind fair and rational conversation.

Feedback from the participants in the survey confirmed that flat sharing led to cost savings, new friendships and fun experiences.