The Co-Living Conundrum

December 2nd, 2021

Who does what, in shared homes? Dividing Property Management Responsibilities

How do you negotiate responsibility with other occupants in an HMO (House in Multiple Occupancy) or shared student/professional home? The conversation is much more nuanced than ‘I’ll take care of my room and you take care of yours’.

Even in a family home, it can be difficult to know who is managing what i.e. setting a heating schedule, bills, insurance, appliances, and furniture. Though there’s typically a matriarchal/patriarchal role with whom others can talk during mealtimes.

Managing a shared home is different; It comes with legal and compliance issues for each occupant which creates a need for more structured management systems.

For example, who is responsible for managing the paperwork and liaising with the landlord, agent, or repair persons for different types of issues/incidents? If the landlord is live-in then it’s easy to presume they can be your first point of contact but otherwise, that role can end up determined by competence, seniority, personality type, rota, etc.

Either way, there is no definitive way to track which issues are getting resolved and by whom, at least not without the possibility of confrontation.

A dedicated ‘digital home manual’ that could store information about all the particulars of a property, catalog any changes/additions made, and facilitate communication between all involved parties. As opposed to make-do solutions for property management such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger chats, which often devolve into a place for airing grievances, if not dominated by overbearing people or muted because of excessive noise.

How would a ‘your digital home’ app work?

Here’s a scenario; you are one of three tenants in a 3-bedroom student HMO sharing a single bathroom and notice the shower only runs cold water.

STEP 1: NOTICE
You would be able to log into the app, select the shower and report it as ‘requires attention’ then provide more detail in a text box. The app would automatically notify the other two tenants, perhaps the landlord/agent too if they have ‘opted in’ to see notifications regarding the shower. Repairs are often delayed in homes because people assume others are already taking care of it but the app can help everyone stay up to speed and in the loop, with who is doing what.

STEP 2: ACTION
The landlord/agent or managing person(s) can then take the necessary steps to find, approve and book the works needed to repair the shower – all of which would be logged through the app. Any repair person who might need to visit on-site could then be invited into the app, therefore, they can liaise with the tenants for further information i.e. When would be a convenient time to visit, and where to collect keys from.

STEP 3: TRANSACTION
When repairs are complete, they can be logged into the app once confirmed by the tenants. A digital copy of the receipt, containing details of everything that happened, is then archived by the app for safekeeping and future reference.

What is currently used to manage HMOs digitally?

Current property management software does not effectively cater to people living in shared homes. We also believe there should be a digital alternative to printed ‘homeowner manuals’ that can also be used by tenants, managing agents, and interested parties i.e. a ‘home manual’ as opposed to a ‘homeowner manual’

An ‘ad-hoc use case’ app that is there when you need it; taking care of things in the background without needing to be accessed all the time as that would be counterproductive to making property management easier.

If you live in, or manage, a shared home and have any feedback to help improve the platform, get in touch at[email protected]

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