Improve Your Circumstances
You may be a student, graduate, key worker or young professional wanting to live close to a study or workplace, or someone going through changing circumstances such as divorce or financial difficulties and you need a stop-gap home, but whatever the case you cannot afford market rents. Many homeowners are happy to offer a spare room at much lower fees in exchange for a little practical help or good company. The Hapipod meeting site offers a way for you to find conveniently located, compatible Hosts. Homemates must be over 18 but there’s no upper age limit. Hosts can be any age so long as they don’t have a health condition that would impact on your enjoyment of your stay.
The Living Arrangement
In exchange for an affordable room, you provide up to 8 hours a week of company or help for pre-agreed activities. This could include anything from light housework to DIY, cooking, child or pet-sitting, or sharing leisure activities like tennis, going to the theatre, or just the odd meal or conversation. The fee is mutually agreed as somewhere between £58-£81 per week to include most bills (£250-£350 per month) but it is up to you to agree whether expenses such as WiFi, if not already set up, are included, or paid in addition*. The schedule should take into account your need for work and leisure time and should not include personal caregiving or heavy housework. You have your own bedroom and access to share the kitchen and bathroom unless there’s an en-suite. Sharing the living room must be pre-agreed. This arrangement will save you hundreds of pounds per month on market rents.
* During the energy crisis, Hosts may also ask for a small contribution to energy bills. It is up to you to decide if the opportunity is worth it.
Find Your Ideal Host
The key to successful homesharing is compatibility and Hapipod’s smart search can help match people by personality, shared background, or interests. You can look for someone in your desired location who needs help with things that your skills are best suited to such as IT or child-minding for example, or perhaps someone who shares a similar career, faith or exercise regime, or even someone who could be a mentor. To help give you confidence in the identity and background of the Hosts everyone you connect with has passed a robust ID verification and background check. You can also see who is Covid vaccinated or has a DBS certificate (criminal record check) that you can verify. Our safeguarding guidelines explain how to do your own necessary background checks. Register for free to browse the Hosts in your area.
