Last week, I noticed a wave of ads on the house-share site SpareRoom that sounded less like invitations to a comfortable home and more like rules for a boarding school. One current flatmate wrote, “Please note – no surprise guests, no music, and no use of the living room because it doubles as a bedroom.” Reading it, I half-expected a curfew to be mentioned next.
It’s no secret that some landlords closely monitor their tenants’ behavior, imposing rules that range from the understandable—like no pets—to the outright absurd, such as no kitchen use at night, being away on weekends if possible, or even restricting toilet use after 8:30 p.m. due to a noise ban that includes footsteps.
But it’s not just landlords; flatmates themselves are increasingly setting strict conditions for sharing a home. One ad requested a new housemate who isn’t a “big kitchen user,” clarifying, “I’m in and out of the kitchen within 10 minutes. Ideally looking for someone similar.” I’m not sure what I could cook in just 10 minutes—maybe that’s the point.
Among these new rules, restrictions on working from home stand out as particularly limiting. Out of the 30 house-share ads I browse daily, more than half specify that the ideal flatmate works full-time outside the home. So, they want you to be kind, friendly, and considerate—but preferably not actually around. Welcome to a rental market where you pay for a room you’re ideally only using to sleep.
Supporters of the “no WFH” rule argue it’s about preserving the home as a space for relaxation and order, not for work calls or office chatter. Nobody wants to tiptoe around someone’s Teams meeting in the living room or overhear a six-hour conference call. But for most people who work from their bedrooms rather than shared areas, it’s hard to see why working from home has become such a dealbreaker.
Much of this tension boils down to money. Rent eats up a growing share of income—in England, tenants spend an average of 36% of their earnings on housing, rising to 42% in London. With renting already expensive, the logic follows that if you’re home more, you’re likely using more utilities and driving up bills. Take one example from a Guardian column earlier this year: a flatmate started counting how many cups of tea their housemate drank while working from home (eight, if you’re wondering), complaining about the “constant boiling of the kettle.”
But if we start breaking everything down into billable portions, where does it end? What happens when someone’s partner stays over for a few nights? Or if someone prefers to batch-cook meals for the week? I don’t think it’s just about people being hostile or inconsiderate—it’s that, with the cost of everything rising, it’s hard to shake the feeling that one extra light switch or kettle boil could lead to a shocking bill.
This surge in rules on SpareRoom isn’t coming out of nowhere. It’s a symptom of a broader frustration—a sense of powerlessness in the face of unaffordable housing, financial instability, and delayed life milestones. It seems few people have fully embraced the joys of house-sharing either: a recent survey of 2,000 renters aged 20 to 40 found that 74% had issues with it, citing problems like flatmates hogging the shower or raising energy costs.
So perhaps it makes sense that people are clinging to what little control they have over their living situation—vetting prospective flatmates with an ever-growing list of requirements, trying to carve out a sliver of predictability in an unpredictable market.When looking for flatmates, it’s tempting to rule out anyone who works “flexibly” or insists on preheating the oven. You can’t change the property market or fix the damp in your flat without getting stuck in a demoralising, months-long email chain with an indifferent landlord. But you can set some ground rules to give yourself a sense of control.
Instead of blaming the flatmate who enjoys cooking, we should push for more affordable housing and join tenant unions to improve our living conditions. So before someone writes another SpareRoom ad full of demands for their ideal flatmate, maybe it’s worth asking: is the flatmate really the problem, or is it a system that turns tenants against each other?
Kimi Chaddah is a freelance writer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Stricter HouseShare Ads
1 What does no pets no guests no music no working from home mean in a houseshare ad
It means the landlord or housemates dont allow pets visitors playing music or working from home in the shared space
2 Why are houseshare ads becoming so strict lately
Rising demand for affordable housing noise complaints and a desire for more privacy and quiet among housemates are common reasons
3 Are these rules even legal
Yes as long as they dont discriminate against protected characteristics Landlords and tenants can set reasonable house rules
4 What are the benefits of such strict rules for renters
They can lead to a quieter more predictable living environment with fewer disruptions which some people prefer
5 What are the downsides of these rules for tenants
They can feel restrictive limit social life make working from home difficult and reduce overall comfort and flexibility
6 Can a landlord really ban working from home
Yes if its specified in the lease or house rules especially if working from home causes extra noise internet usage or disrupts others
7 How do I know if a strict houseshare is right for me
Consider your lifestyle if you value quiet routine and minimal social interaction at home it might suit you If you need flexibility it may not
8 What should I ask before agreeing to such a houseshare
Clarify how rules are enforced if there are exceptions and what the consequences are for breaking them
9 Are there any exceptions to these rules like for service animals
Yes service animals are generally exempt from no pets policies due to disability laws Always discuss this with the landlord upfront
10 How can I negotiate or cope with strict house rules
Communicate openly with housemates or the landlord about your needs suggest compromises or look for a share with more flexible terms
11 Do these rules apply to all types of rental agreements
Theyre most common in houseshares and lodger agreements where tenants live together and
