{"id":2007,"date":"2012-08-02T19:42:10","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T19:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/?p=2007"},"modified":"2026-04-06T02:55:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T02:55:04","slug":"lend-your-flatmate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Borrow That? The Unwritten Rules of Flatmate Borrowing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2007\" class=\"elementor elementor-2007\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-773406a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"773406a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4745b03 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4745b03\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-10478\" alt=\"Photo by Negative space car-key-held-by-a-man\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a514dd1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"4a514dd1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ea64b5c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ea64b5c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">There&#8217;s a moment every share house resident knows. You&#8217;re standing in the kitchen, halfway through a recipe, and you realise you don&#8217;t have a grater. Your flatmate does. You&#8217;ve spoken to this person maybe forty times. You once watched three episodes of a show together. Surely you can borrow a grater.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">But can you borrow their favourite jumper? Their car? Their date&#8217;s number? Where exactly is the line?<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Welcome to one of share house living&#8217;s most nuanced social contracts: the borrow.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>It Starts Innocently Enough<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Most flatmate borrowing begins with kitchen staples. A splash of milk. A couple of eggs. Maybe a teaspoon of olive oil when yours runs out and you can&#8217;t be bothered going to the shops. These are low-stakes transactions, usually accompanied by a &#8220;I&#8217;ll replace it, I swear&#8221; that everyone understands is a social nicety rather than a legally binding promise.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">From there, it escalates. A phone charger here. An umbrella there. A coat hanger in a pinch. All reasonable. All within the unspoken code.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Then someone asks to borrow the car.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>The Borrowing Tiers (As We See Them)<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Not all borrows are created equal. Here&#8217;s roughly how most share houses organise the hierarchy, whether they&#8217;ve talked about it or not:<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><em>The Sure, Go For It tier:<\/em> Condiments, a pen, a sticky note, phone charger, paracetamol, an umbrella. Nobody keeps score here.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><em>The Yeah, Probably Fine tier:<\/em> Clothes (with permission, not just raiding the wardrobe), kitchen appliances, a book, a movie, hair dryer, bike pump. These require a genuine ask, and a genuine answer.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><em>The Tread Carefully tier:<\/em> Toiletries, perfume or cologne, anything expensive, anything sentimental, anything you&#8217;d notice immediately if it came back broken or not at all.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><em>The Absolutely Not tier:<\/em> Varies wildly by person. For some it&#8217;s their good headphones. For others, their car. For many, anything that plugs into the bathroom wall.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>The Golden Rules<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">If you&#8217;re borrowing, the rules are simple: ask first, return it in the same condition you received it, return it when you said you would, and if you break it, replace it. Don&#8217;t wait to be asked. Don&#8217;t pretend it never happened. Don&#8217;t borrow it again until the first situation is fully resolved.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">And for the love of all things holy, don&#8217;t use the last of something and put the empty container back.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>But What About When You Need to Ask?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Sometimes you genuinely need to borrow something and you&#8217;re not sure how it&#8217;ll land. The key is to read the room. If your flatmate treats their belongings carefully, match that energy. If you&#8217;re asking for something unusual, offer context. &#8220;My charger died and I have a job interview in an hour&#8221; lands very differently to a vague &#8220;can I borrow your charger?&#8221;<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Timing matters too. Don&#8217;t ask for a favour right after a tense moment, or at 11pm when they&#8217;re clearly winding down. And when in doubt, go without. Improvise. Most things can wait.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>The Real Currency<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The thing about borrowing is that it&#8217;s really about trust. Every time someone borrows something and returns it intact, on time, without drama, they&#8217;re making a small deposit into the share house goodwill account. Do that enough times and you build the kind of flatmate relationship where someone will happily lend you their car and genuinely not worry about it.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Blow that trust once, and you might find the answer to your next request is suddenly a very polite, very firm no.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>We Want to Hear From You<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Every share house has its stories. The flatmate who borrowed a jacket and it came back with a mysterious stain. The time you lent something and genuinely forgot it existed until you spotted it in someone else&#8217;s room three months later. The thing you&#8217;d lend to anyone versus the thing you&#8217;d sooner sell.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">What would you lend to a flatmate? What&#8217;s completely off limits? And have you ever had to borrow something that made the ask&#8230; interesting?<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Tell us in the comments. We&#8217;re collecting data for entirely legitimate purposes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9a86ea6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9a86ea6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dfd46d6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"dfd46d6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;youtube_url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/youtu.be\\\/dHPnF0svX8k&quot;,&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;youtube&quot;,&quot;controls&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-video\"><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s a moment every share house resident knows. You&#8217;re standing in the kitchen, halfway through a recipe, and you realise you don&#8217;t have a grater. Your flatmate does. You&#8217;ve spoken to this person maybe forty times. You once watched three [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[481],"tags":[46,47,48,150],"class_list":["post-2007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living-together","tag-borrowing","tag-lending","tag-personal-items","tag-survival-guide"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What would you actually lend your flatmate?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If your flatmate had nothing to wear would you lend your flatmate a cute top? How far does the lending ability extend itself before you&#039;ve had enough?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What would you lend your flatmate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A dress? Or much more?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"flatmate.com blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/flatmatecom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-02T19:42:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T02:55:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/original5.gif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"260\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"flatmate.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Can I Borrow That? The Unwritten Rules of Flatmate Borrowing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@flatmateTV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@flatmateTV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"flatmate.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"flatmate.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4eb87eec43dbed835c2654df4724ffc\"},\"headline\":\"Can I Borrow That? The Unwritten Rules of Flatmate Borrowing\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-02T19:42:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T02:55:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":684,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/08\\\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"borrowing\",\"lending\",\"personal items\",\"survival guide\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Living Together\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/\",\"name\":\"What would you actually lend your flatmate?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/08\\\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-02T19:42:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T02:55:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"If your flatmate had nothing to wear would you lend your flatmate a cute top? How far does the lending ability extend itself before you've had enough?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/08\\\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/08\\\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Photo by Negative space car-key-held-by-a-man\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/lend-your-flatmate\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What would you lend your flatmate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"flatmate.com blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"flatmate.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/blog_ad_300_280.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/blog_ad_300_280.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"flatmate.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/flatmatecom\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/flatmateTV\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/flatmateTV\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/flatmateTV\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/flatmate\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4eb87eec43dbed835c2654df4724ffc\",\"name\":\"flatmate.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/89e912505d8499a52eab9ceee99a727d4e32b4876eec5753b619312b4671ae13?s=96&d=identicon&r=x\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/89e912505d8499a52eab9ceee99a727d4e32b4876eec5753b619312b4671ae13?s=96&d=identicon&r=x\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/89e912505d8499a52eab9ceee99a727d4e32b4876eec5753b619312b4671ae13?s=96&d=identicon&r=x\",\"caption\":\"flatmate.com\"},\"description\":\"This author is managed by John Stericker, founder of flatmate.com in 1998. Various contributors write for flatmateTV, and references are made when applicable. Thanks for dropping by :)\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flatmate.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/flatmate\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What would you actually lend your flatmate?","description":"If your flatmate had nothing to wear would you lend your flatmate a cute top? How far does the lending ability extend itself before you've had enough?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What would you lend your flatmate","og_description":"A dress? Or much more?","og_url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/","og_site_name":"flatmate.com blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/flatmatecom","article_published_time":"2012-08-02T19:42:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-06T02:55:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":260,"url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/original5.gif","type":"image\/gif"}],"author":"flatmate.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Can I Borrow That? The Unwritten Rules of Flatmate Borrowing","twitter_creator":"@flatmateTV","twitter_site":"@flatmateTV","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"flatmate.com","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/"},"author":{"name":"flatmate.com","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a4eb87eec43dbed835c2654df4724ffc"},"headline":"Can I Borrow That? The Unwritten Rules of Flatmate Borrowing","datePublished":"2012-08-02T19:42:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T02:55:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/"},"wordCount":684,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg","keywords":["borrowing","lending","personal items","survival guide"],"articleSection":["Living Together"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/","url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/","name":"What would you actually lend your flatmate?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2012-08-02T19:42:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T02:55:04+00:00","description":"If your flatmate had nothing to wear would you lend your flatmate a cute top? How far does the lending ability extend itself before you've had enough?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pexels-negativespace-97075-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Photo by Negative space car-key-held-by-a-man"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/lend-your-flatmate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What would you lend your flatmate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/","name":"flatmate.com blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"flatmate.com","url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/blog_ad_300_280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/blog_ad_300_280.jpg","width":300,"height":280,"caption":"flatmate.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/flatmatecom","https:\/\/x.com\/flatmateTV","https:\/\/instagram.com\/flatmateTV","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/flatmateTV","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/flatmate"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a4eb87eec43dbed835c2654df4724ffc","name":"flatmate.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/89e912505d8499a52eab9ceee99a727d4e32b4876eec5753b619312b4671ae13?s=96&d=identicon&r=x","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/89e912505d8499a52eab9ceee99a727d4e32b4876eec5753b619312b4671ae13?s=96&d=identicon&r=x","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/89e912505d8499a52eab9ceee99a727d4e32b4876eec5753b619312b4671ae13?s=96&d=identicon&r=x","caption":"flatmate.com"},"description":"This author is managed by John Stericker, founder of flatmate.com in 1998. Various contributors write for flatmateTV, and references are made when applicable. Thanks for dropping by :)","sameAs":["http:\/\/flatmate.com"],"url":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/author\/flatmate\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2007"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10484,"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007\/revisions\/10484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}