A common complaint that is often heard from flatmates is that they don’t get enough quiet time in their own home. For people who need quiet time to relax, work or study, or of course get some good sleep this can be extremely frustrating. One way to combat the noise and make sure that everyone gets enough quiet time is to set some house rules regarding quiet time.

Using common sense to set the rules and agreeing on how to handle any problems with the rules are all great ways to make sure that each flatmate gets a chance to tell his or her side of the story and have some input into the kind of home life that (s)he would like. Then, when the rules are established, flatmates can determine if any of them were made to be broken.

DEFINING QUIET TIME

People always have differing views on what is quiet time. For some people, quiet time is only real if they can hear a pin drop. For others, chatting on the phone with quiet background music is their quiet time or even playing a computer game while watching the television and talking to someone else in the next room is their definition of quiet time.

Flatmates will need to define precisely what they consider quiet time to be in order for each to be able to follow any rules set on this topic. While it would be impossible to draw up a comprehensive list of what is or is not acceptable during quiet time, a general agreement that from 11pm to 7am there should be relative quiet (and definitely no band practise)!

BREAKING THE RULES

As with anything, house rules regarding quiet time are probably made to be broken every now and then. For example, celebrations for birthdays, finishing exams or promotions at work may all require a little more noise than a typical Tuesday evening. Flatmates should be aware of this and strive to remain flexible when certain circumstances arise.