This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Larger rooms, more rent?

We were discussing flats for next year earlier. Theres 3 of us who it looks likely will move in together. When browsing websites, just for an idea of cost, it seems most will have 1 double room, few will have more. So, the other girl (only one currently in a relationship) said "Ooo, can I have the double room?" and I did mention about how she might have to pay more. She also used the comment "but I have a boyfriend". Is it unfair to expect to have a bigger room on the justification that shes the only one with a boyfriend (currently) who only stays a night or 2 a week at most, when she expects to pay no more than anyone else? It's obviously not finalised at all, and all I made was a suggestion. But is it usual to ask someone to pay a bit extra (we're not talking loads here, only a few £ a week) for the larger room? Obviously if they're all a similar size then it doesn't matter.. But if one is blatently much bigger than the rest? This sounds all so petty, but I feel like she's a bit.. Resentful, that she might have to pay more for a bigger room. And it's probably my imagination, but I do feel like she went rather quiet on me as soon as it was mentioned.

Opinions?

(P.s. this is in anonymous because people who know her and me use TSR!)

Reply 1

spider from mars

13

Yes, if a room is significantly bigger or smaller then I think it is usual for the person in that room to pay a different rate. That's how most of the people I've spoken to are doing it (although a couple are going to rotate each term).

Reply 2

Oziris

15

Yes, I have a double room in a student house next year and have to pay £3-£5 more than the people with a single room.

Reply 3

Drogue

19

Anonymous

We were discussing flats for next year earlier. Theres 3 of us who it looks likely will move in together. When browsing websites, just for an idea of cost, it seems most will have 1 double room, few will have more. So, the other girl (only one currently in a relationship) said "Ooo, can I have the double room?" and I did mention about how she might have to pay more. She also used the comment "but I have a boyfriend". Is it unfair to expect to have a bigger room on the justification that shes the only one with a boyfriend (currently) who only stays a night or 2 a week at most, when she expects to pay no more than anyone else? It's obviously not finalised at all, and all I made was a suggestion. But is it usual to ask someone to pay a bit extra (we're not talking loads here, only a few £ a week) for the larger room? Obviously if they're all a similar size then it doesn't matter.. But if one is blatently much bigger than the rest? This sounds all so petty, but I feel like she's a bit.. Resentful, that she might have to pay more for a bigger room. And it's probably my imagination, but I do feel like she went rather quiet on me as soon as it was mentioned.

Opinions?

(P.s. this is in anonymous because people who know her and me use TSR!)

Bigger room should pay more. One of the best ideas someone I know did was to decide how much each room should pay before they're allocated, then draw straws for it. They had quite a difference - 2 large rooms and one about 2/3 of the size, so they paid £300 a month each for the large ones and £225 for the small one (obv. the house was £825 a month).

I don't think the difference should be small either. A double bed is worth a *lot* more. Nobody get's one automatically because they have a bf, it should be done fairly - ie. most people should be roughly indifferent about paying the extra and getting the double bed, or not.

Reply 4

Thanks for the replies, it's left me feeling a little less guilty! But yeah, as soon as I said about maybe paying more for a bigger room... "well what if noone wants it then?". She really doesn't seem to want to pay more, but I think she sees that none of us will ever have a relationship that might be preferable to have a double bed.. At least, from what she said, that seemed to be what she thought.

Reply 5

Helenia

20

Having a boyfriend is not a reason for automatic entitlement to a bigger room, or a double bed. If she wants it that badly, then I don't think it's unreasonable for her to pay more for it. Also, if you guys want the bigger room regardless of relationship status, there's no reason why you shouldn't draw straws to decide.

I'm still in college accommodation, and rents even in the shared flats are varied depending on how large the room is.

If you're feeling really cheeky (not recommended, just an idea that came to me :wink:

) then tell her her bf could always pay the extra as rent for the nights he stays :p:

Reply 6

Zebrastripes

13

Why not show her prices for individual rooms online, then she will see that yes you do have to pay more for a bigger room. Even in halls, if they offer bigger rooms, they will be more expensive, sometimes by £10-£15 a week. So do not be ashamed of asking her for more money for that room. If she doesn't want to pay the extra, someone who would pay that much should get that room.

Reply 7

ellewoods

10

Helenia

Having a boyfriend is not a reason for automatic entitlement to a bigger room, or a double bed. If she wants it that badly, then I don't think it's unreasonable for her to pay more for it. Also, if you guys want the bigger room regardless of relationship status, there's no reason why you shouldn't draw straws to decide.

I'm still in college accommodation, and rents even in the shared flats are varied depending on how large the room is.

If you're feeling really cheeky (not recommended, just an idea that came to me :wink:

) then tell her her bf could always pay the extra as rent for the nights he stays :p:

I agree with Helenia. Having a boyfriend is definately not automatic entitlement, in fact IMO it has nothing to do with it - decisions regarding housing and rooms etc must be done democratically and fairly otherwise someone will end up annoyed and possibly resentful for the entire year.

If she isn't prepared to pay extra if the double room is significantly bigger, then she shouldn't have it. And its not too bad being in a single with a boyfriend anyway :rolleyes:

we managed for a year in halls!!

We were lucky enough to get a 3 bed flat with 3 evenly sized double rooms, so keep looking and hopefully you will find somewhere that doesn't pose a dilemma for you :smile:

Reply 8

Drogue

19

Anonymous

Thanks for the replies, it's left me feeling a little less guilty! But yeah, as soon as I said about maybe paying more for a bigger room... "well what if noone wants it then?". She really doesn't seem to want to pay more, but I think she sees that none of us will ever have a relationship that might be preferable to have a double bed.. At least, from what she said, that seemed to be what she thought.

If no-one wants it, it's priced too high. Simply keep raising the price until only one person wants it. They get it, and pay that amount.

Auction theory :cool:

Or you could just think whether you want it. I'm single, but a double bed was top of my list of things I wanted when I chose my room. All someone has to say is "actually, I quite fancy it, and I don't mind paying an extra couple of quid for it". Then it's put up or shut up - either she can pay more and have the room, or let the other person.

Reply 9

spider from mars

13

What does the other person you are living with think? You should talk to them (if you haven't already) because you don't want to get in a position where you look like you are moaning. If both of you say something (without ganging up on her and getting aggressive) then it will be harder for her to ignore your feelings. If it's just you, then it will be quite hard to get her to do anything she doesn't want to.

Reply 10

ellewoods

10

clockworkapples

What does the other person you are living with think? You should talk to them (if you haven't already) because you don't want to get in a position where you look like you are moaning. If both of you say something (without ganging up on her and getting aggressive) then it will be harder for her to ignore your feelings. If it's just you, then it will be quite hard to get her to do anything she doesn't want to.

Good point.

Its pretty common practice (well it is among my friends / people I know through my uni anyway, not sure about nationwide attitudes!) so hopefully she will understand.

Reply 11

Apricot Fairy

16

The person with the biggest room should definitely pay more money. Why should you pay an equal amount of money for less space? The boyfriend thing could be an issue too. Why does she not live with the boyfriend if it's that much of an issue? It sounds like she could end up having him to stay ALL the time, in which case he'd be using communal water, heating, electricity, toilet paper, food and who knows what else? If the boyfriend's going to be around all the time, arguably he should pay rent as well! The person with the double room should definitely pay more. Her having a boyfriend is nothing to do with it, as he isn't living with you and won't be paying rent.

Reply 12

Poica

14

I agree with everyone here. She should pay more if she wants it.

Reply 13

Snowfall

10

You are definitely in the right. I just want to emphasise strongly that you decide and agree on this asap and perhaps even have a signed agreement. I was in the exact same position (well, pretty much) and ended up paying the same (although at first it was agreed that i would pay less-it didn't get sorted as I was away for the first 3 months of the tenancy and got ignored when i later brought it up). And don't think 'oh it'll be ok coz we're friends'!! (You may've notice my thread last week. i think it was called 'am i really being unreasonble?').
My situation was that I let the two other girls have double rooms (and the boy have the huge but single bed room) as they asked for them for the same reasons as your friend - they had a bf. I'd broken up with my long term bf so was single and didn't NEED a double room, although I would've liked one. Now that I do have a bf, I seriously regret being so nice and letting them have the rooms.

I agree with others that bf does not = choice of big room. The person who is willing to pay more should have the room. if she's not willing, then tough!-she can't have the room. Perhaps set the different amounts of rent and if you can't decide who has which room, draw straws!!

Reply 14

dremmel

ah i cud be the bitch with the bigger room... i got the double room for next year... same price as the single rooms and everyone is kicking off but they weren't making a decision and were being polite and we were wasting the woman at the rent office's time basicly so i said "I'LL HAVE THE BIGGER ROOM" and thus it was sorted... although in my circumstances i think i deserve the bigger room because
1 - i have a boyfriend
2 - i have ran around after the lot of them all year, cleaning up, getting things fixed, finding the new flat!
so i reckon for all the effort i've put in over the year i deserve it for living with a bunch of morons lol!

if this girl doesnt do anything i dont think she deserves it for free! you should ask whoever is renting it to you, as they surely mustve worked out how much for each room just incase you didn't have enough ppl in your flat and wanted to bring another person in?!

Reply 15

Apricot Fairy

16

dremmel

ah i cud be the bitch with the bigger room... i got the double room for next year... same price as the single rooms and everyone is kicking off but they weren't making a decision and were being polite and we were wasting the woman at the rent office's time basicly so i said "I'LL HAVE THE BIGGER ROOM" and thus it was sorted... although in my circumstances i think i deserve the bigger room because
1 - i have a boyfriend
2 - i have ran around after the lot of them all year, cleaning up, getting things fixed, finding the new flat!
so i reckon for all the effort i've put in over the year i deserve it for living with a bunch of morons lol!

if this girl doesnt do anything i dont think she deserves it for free! you should ask whoever is renting it to you, as they surely mustve worked out how much for each room just incase you didn't have enough ppl in your flat and wanted to bring another person in?!

For the last time, nobody deserves a bigger room because they have a boyfriend. It's the stupidest excuse in the world. Even stupider than saying I deserve the bigger room because I eat more and have a fat arse.

Reply 16

dazmanultra

1

In my flat I have the only double room. The difference being I've bought and paid for nearly every piece of electronic equipment that my other flatmates use daily (big Sony TV, surround sound system, DVD player, projector, wireless router (back when they were £150!)) so we all pay the same rent.

Reply 17

dremmel

susiemakemeblue

For the last time, nobody deserves a bigger room because they have a boyfriend. It's the stupidest excuse in the world. Even stupider than saying I deserve the bigger room because I eat more and have a fat arse.

number 1 was ment as a joke.... im pretty sure all the running around i've done for them more than makes up! plus no doubt i'll have to do it next year too

Reply 18

princessa

1

just want to back up what everyone else has said! last year we had two slightly smaller rooms in a 7 bed house, but they were all still double rooms and all quite large so we paid the same. but next year i will have the only room with a single bed and it is much smaller, so i will be paying £12 a month less and the other 3 will split the difference. so i think its only fair that she should pay more, you . stand firm on this one. if it were me i would have lost patience and said i dont want to live with her anymore!

Larger rooms, more rent?

Related discussions

Articles for you