It’s great fun to share a flat with friends or even to move in with a partner for the first time, but before you launch in you need to think carefully about whether you really want to live with them.

You will have to put up with them on a daily basis for a long time. We all have our own idiosyncrasies, but can you live with theirs? For example, they might be massively untidy, very noisy, pinch your food, play loud music and be coming and going day and night.

In most cases, all tenants will be named on the tenancy agreement, which means that they are jointly and severally liable for the rent. In practice, that means that the full amount of the rent has to be paid each month, and the landlord is not concerned about which of his tenants makes the payment.

So if one of your flatmates gets into debt and can’t pay the rent, for one month or several months, you will still be liable to cover the whole lot. The same applies for couples who are moving into a property together for the first time. If there is a falling out and one moves out, you still have to cover the whole rent up to the end of the tenancy agreement, not just the proportion that you might consider to be ‘your share’.

Before you think about finding a place with a friend or partner, consider what might happen during the tenancy, for example your flatmate might lose their job or be relocated, or might find the partner of their dreams and want to move in with them instead. Think about whether you can afford all the rent on your own if the worst happens. If you can’t, you will need to be very choosy about your flatmate.