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Despite clearly assigned cupboard space and your own shelf in the fridge, your stuff keeps going missing.

The brie you bought at the weekend is half gone by Tuesday, and when you get back from a night away your new shower gel is empty. Worse still, no one will own up to the toiletry theft or cheese pilfering.

Sadly, housemates “borrowing” each other’s supplies is one of the harsh inevitabilities of the flatshare. All you can do is take it in your stride, insist on communal purchasing, or keep stuff in your room. Which isn’t ideal when it comes to dairy products.

However bad it gets, don’t start leaving passive aggressive notes on the fridge. Raise the issue in person to reach a solution (or try to catch the culprit red-handed).

Some items in the house fall under “shared purchasing responsibility”, and one of these is loo roll. If one person feels like they buy the lion’s share, and they’re fed up with the slacker who never seems to restock, it can result in a game of chicken over who’s going to fork out first – with just mere sheets of loo paper left in the house.

To avoid said risky scenario, start a kitty or simply keep a checklist so you know whose turn it is.

On the upside, living with others means you can pool resources.

You get to use your housemate’s hairdryer, smoothie maker and wok, while the others make use of your cheese grater, Netflix account and full-length mirror. And there’s no shortage of wedding guest attire or interview-appropriate garb to go around. Everyone’s a winner.

4. Cleaning stalemates

The bin never gets put out because everyone is convinced they did it last time. The shower plughole is blocked again but no one wants to buy drain unblocker. And there’s a crisp on the carpet that’s been there for weeks. Keeping a flatshare clean can be one of the toughest challenges.

A rota can help (although it can be hard to enforce). But when it comes to washing-up it’s simple – clean everything you’ve used before you leave the kitchen, and before you forget whose mess is whose.

You all get home from work at the same time, famished and ready to make dinner.

But the kitchen isn’t big enough for everyone to prep food simultaneously – four hobs between five people simply doesn’t go.

One way around this is to share the cooking duties and eat together as much as possible. This means you get a few nights off and don’t have to look for meal inspiration every day. It also means that when you cook for the others, the washing up is on them.

Getting on with your flatmates is one thing, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to like their choice of partner. And you might find that you’re spending more time with your housemate’s boyfriend than your own.

Of course it’s important to make an effort, but if they’re sleeping over six nights out of seven, stealing your shower slot, and drinking but not chipping in for the milk, then it could be time to subtly sabotage the relationship.