The thought of co-tenancy can be both exciting and scary. Renting an apartment with a roommate isn’t as easy as it sounds. It comes with a lot of responsibilities and not everyone feels so comfortable sharing their space. One of the things that come to mind is whether or not you will be comfortable living with someone else.
Regardless of if this person is your friend or just someone you met. In most cases, people settle for co-tenancy when they are running on a strict budget. They do this in hope to save up some money to attend to other pressing bills. Others prepare to rent an apartment with a roommate because staying alone sometimes boring.
There are lots of benefits of renting an apartment with a roommate. However, just before we explore these advantages, it is important to understand the meaning of co-tenancy and knowing why you would want to engage in joint tenancy. Â
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What is co-tenancy?
Co-tenancy is a clause in a lease or rental agreement between the owner of the house (the landlord), the first occupant and the new tenant. This clause states that the first tenant can be a co-tenant. It also states the shared responsibilities as well.Â
The co-tenancy agreement helps to clearly explain the rights and responsibilities of each of the tenants. It is also important when settling disputes between tenants. However, this agreement is very different from the general tenancy agreement between the tenant and the landlord. It spells out the duties of the tenants, the amount each of them is to pay as well.
Benefits of renting an apartment with a roommate
Payless rent
This is undoubtedly the most important benefits of renting an apartment with a roommate. It is also one of the most common reasons why people decide to settle for co-tenancy. If you are looking to rent an apartment on a budget then you should consider getting a roommate. This will help you save more funds than you can imagine.
In most cases, in joint tenancy, the bills are split into equal halves. From the basic rent to electric bills, utility bills, waste bills and every other bill there is to pay. The more the number of roommates, the less each person has to pay.
This is another important reason why people go for co-tenancy. Renters get to share responsibilities in the house especially the household duties. From cleaning, arranging, clearing, and every other household duty there is to attend to. To make this easier, you and your roommates can create a roaster that works daily, weekly or even monthly.
Make new friends
As the saying goes, “no man is an island”. Living with roommates can be an exciting experience as you get the chance to meet new people. Some of their friends become your friends and vice versa. There is always someone new to hang out with or get to know at different times. If you aren’t really an extrovert and you end up with roommates who are outgoing and fun, it will be an opportunity to try out new things with new people.
To keep intruders away
This is quite important as most roommates have different schedules and this makes it a whole better. Sharing an apartment with a friend or friends will certainly keep intruders away as you and your roommates will be home at different times of the day. Some intruders try to keep an eye on tenants to burgle in the middle of the day when everyone is out. However, once there is someone at home at most times, it helps to deter intruders from coming around.
In most cases, we only look out for all the disadvantages of renting an apartment with a roommate. By doing this, we forget that there are also so many benefits attached to co-tenancy. Kindly share your thoughts with other PropertyPro.ng readers.
