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Speed Housemating: a free kit for students’ unions

Run a 60–90 minute "meet potential housemates" night on campus. Students who have a room meet students who need one, in a public place, with clear safety rules. Everything is free to print, and you run it yourselves: no StayLister staff, no sign-up and nothing to pay.

What you need

  • A public room on campus for 60–90 minutes: the SU bar, a café, a hall or a large classroom, with tables and chairs.
  • Two people from the students’ union to host: one to welcome people, one to keep time.
  • A phone timer or a bell for the rounds.
  • The printed sheets from this kit: the poster (1–2 weeks before), name badges, "What I’m looking for" cards and pens.
  • Optional: a sign-up sheet, if your union wants to tell people about the next event. It stays with your union.

The night, step by step (60–90 minutes)

  • Arrive and fill in a badge (15 min): Each person writes a name badge (first name, "I have a room" or "I need a room", area and budget) and a "What I’m looking for" card. First names are enough.
  • Welcome and the safety rules (5 min): The host reads the safety rules below out loud and points to the poster. Anyone can leave at any time, and nobody has to share a phone number.
  • Rounds (30–45 min): Rounds of 5 minutes. People with a room stay at their table; people who need a room move to the next table at the bell. Students who want to find a house together sit in groups of 3–4 by area and budget, and swap groups each round.
  • Open chat (15–20 min): Free time to talk again to anyone you liked. Swap cards or numbers only if you both want to.
  • Next steps (5 min): The host repeats the safety rules, says when the next night is, and shows where to search for rooms and post a room for free.

Safety rules (read them out at the start)

  • Meet in public. Tonight is in a public place; keep the first meetings and viewings in daylight, and tell a friend where you are going.
  • Never pay before viewing. No deposit, rent or "holding fee" until you have seen the room in person and have the agreement in writing. Never pay in cash, crypto, gift cards or by money-transfer apps.
  • Bring a friend to every viewing.
  • Share only what you want. A first name is enough tonight; swap numbers only if you both want to.

Print the kit (A4)

  • Event poster: With blank lines for the date, time and venue, and a QR code to your college’s StayLister page.
  • Name badges: 8 per page: name, "I have a room / I need a room", area and budget.
  • "What I’m looking for" cards: 2 per page: area, budget, move-in date, how long, and what kind of house.
  • Sign-up sheet: For your union only, with a data protection line. StayLister never sees it.

Tips for the hosts

  • Put the poster up 1–2 weeks before, and share your college’s StayLister page in your newsletter and social posts.
  • Different badge colours (or a green and a blue pen) make it easy to see who has a room and who needs one.
  • Good times: the first weeks of term, late August and January, when students are still looking.
  • Afterwards, tell students they can post a spare room or search near the college for free on StayLister. Every ad is checked before it goes live, but checks reduce risk; they don’t remove it.