Accommodation Service Glossary

Share accommodation
Your own room in a house or an apartment. Other people already live there. Each person has their own private bedroom. You share everything else - kitchen, bathroom etc.

Temporary accommodation
This is simply share accommodation for a short period of time - from one night to a few months.

Full Board
Your own room in a house or apartment. However, in this case, meals will be provided for you, so you don't have to do yor own cooking. Breakfast and dinner are included in the cost.

Accommodation in exchange for work
This means that you get free accommodation, but you have to do a certain amount of work instead of paying rent. The type of work varies considerably, but may include gardening, housekeeping or child minding.

Flatette
Similar to a studio. A bedsitting room with (usually basic) cooking facilities and (usually) a separate bathroom which is shared with the tenants of other flatettes in the same building.

Rental Properties
An entire property. No one else lives there. For example, it may be studio or one bedroom apartment where you can live alone, or a four bedroom house which you could establish with friends. It may be unfurnished, partly furnished or fully furnished. If you already have your own furniture, the existing furniture might be able to be moved out.

Utilities
Gas, electricity and water bills. If utilities are included in the rent, you'll need to budget for these. The usual procedure when a bill arrives is that the members of the household divide the total so that each person contributes equal amounts.

The telephone bill is not included in the utilities, so regard this as an extra cost. It's usually calculated individually by each person in the household, as mobile and long distance calls are itemised.

Bond
A bond is like a security deposit for the landlord. You pay the bond at the beginning of your tenancy. If there is no damage to the property when you move out, you should receive your bond back, plus any interest earned in that period.

By law, the bond must be lodged with the Rental Bond Board. Pick up a form from any Real Estate Agent.