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Most people choose to rent with others in order to share costs. Whilst some people rent a room in a house shared with strangers, many more choose to band together with friends or family to allow them to rent bigger or more expensive properties.

Choose carefully

Just because you already know the people you're thinking of renting with and you enjoy socialising with them, it doesn't naturally follow that you will enjoy living with them. It's important to select the people you're planning to live with carefully, because personality traits that seem like foibles when you're in the pub can easily be very irritating when you're living with them all the time.

Choose trustworthy friends

Although you may be sharing a property, you must make sure that the people you live with will bear their responsibility for the costs of the rental. This is not just the monthly rental, but the bills and associated costs. It's worth knowing that you're all responsible for the bills, so if one person defaults, the rest will be held liable for making up the payments. If you volunteer to be the person who's named on the bills, you will be liable for the full amount whether or not your rental-mates pay up.

Agree some basic rules

Even if you know each other really well, it's useful to draw up some basic rules that you all agree with. This helps to avoid arguments over cleaning, bill payments and other day-to-day occurrences. Put the rules on a poster and display them somewhere visible to remind people of their obligations to the house.

Review

Review your circumstances and those of your friends during you rental period. They may find partners who change the dynamic of the house, or you may find that you would prefer to live on your own for a while. If anyone is thinking of leaving or introducing a new person to the house, there should be a discussion and agreement so that no-one is left in the lurch.

Renting with friends can be one of the best things you do if it's managed carefully.