Worst roommate habits revealed: These are the things that drive your housemates mad!

Leading room share platform, ideal flatmate, has revealed the worst things you can do as a roommate when it comes to disrupting a harmonious flat share.

ideal flatmate surveyed 1,000 people currently renting a house and asked them – what is the worst thing about sharing with a roommate?

The overwhelming winner was a lack of cleanliness with 32% of people causing a stink over their roommates causing a stink!

If you can’t keep clean, the least you can do is pull your weight, and 22% of people stated that roommates that don’t do their fair share of the housework was the worst thing about sharing a house.

It’s a habit that divides the nation, but people that smoke without consideration for their roommates is the third biggest bug bear (11%), along with not splitting bills fairly (9%), your housemate eating your food (6%) and the amount of time spent in the bathroom in the morning (5%).

Partying, pets, nocturnal exercise and walking around half naked ranked as the least annoying things about sharing a house with roommates.

Co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen, commented:

“While the room share space may have evolved due to the integration of technology improving the speed and convenience of finding a roommate, the things that remain most important to those in a co-living environment remain largely the same as they’ve always been.

People don’t tend to care about your skin colour, your sexual orientation, or what clothes you wear, but the basic courtesies of pulling your weight with the house work, keeping clean, and respecting others are what form the basis of a great house share.

Of course, when you live with someone, there will always be friction points, that’s natural. However, we’ve found that by matching people based on personality, interests and lifestyle, we can reduce the amount of friction dramatically and create a far happier environment for all involved.”

What is the worst thing about sharing with a roommate/s?
Bad habit
Percentage
Poor cleanliness
32%
Not doing their fair share of chores
22%
Smoking in the house
11%
Not splitting costs/bills fairly
9%
Eating my food
6%
The amount of time they spend in the bathroom in the morning
5%
Partying with their friends at short notice
5%
Stinking out the place with the food they eat
4%
Partying with their significant other in the bedroom (sex)
4%
Their pet
1%
Walking around naked/half dressed
1%

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Buying Alone? What Solo Buyers Need to Know Before Making an Offer on a House

Figures show that solo buyers accounted for 36.9% of Barclays’ mortgage completions in June 2026, as more people chose to step onto the property ladder without a partner beside them. Choosing independence over waiting for a joint purchase has doubled over the last 50+ years, with solo first-time buyers doubling from 15% before 1980 to…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

How to Make a New-Build Living Room Feel Less Like a Show Home

An empty new-build living room can be surprisingly difficult to furnish. The walls are freshly painted, the sockets are in place, and there is nothing to remove before decorating begins. Yet once the sofa arrives, the room can still feel unsettled: too bare in some places, awkwardly crowded in others. The answer rarely involves buying…
Read More →
Breaking News

Mortgage Borrowing Dip

Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals decreased to £3.9 billion in September, from £4.2 billion in August, below the previous 6-month average of £4.9 billion. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased to 53,400 in September, below an average of around 58,800 over the previous 6-months. Approvals for remortgaging increased to 42,600…
Read More →
Breaking News

Autumn Budget 2026: Property industry reaction

Following today’s Autumn Budget, reaction from property industry experts on six key areas for the property market. First-time buyer support: The £4.7bn Your First Home equity loan scheme, supporting 70,000 buyers, alongside the introduction of a new First Time Buyer ISA. Inflation and borrowing costs: The extension of the fuel duty freeze, household energy support…
Read More →
Breaking News

Can you legally BAN Halloween Trick or Treaters?

People who dread the annual knock of trick-or-treaters may have more power to keep Halloween callers away than they realise. As millions of children prepare to take to the streets on October 31, a property law expert has explained what homeowners can do if they do not want strangers walking up their path or knocking…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

What the sector need to do differently to give first time buyers a chance

By Peter Hawley, Director, SOWN (part of LRG) The mortgage and property sector needs to stop assuming that younger buyers are either ready to buy outright or not ready at all. For many, the reality is somewhere in between. They may have stable employment, a deposit and a strong desire to own, but still find…
Read More →