Social apartment system that eliminated problems in shared houses

What kind of image do you have when you hear the word "share house"? Some people have positive impressions, such as "it sounds fun" or "I can expand my social circle," while others have negative impressions, such as "relationships can be troublesome" or "cleaning seems like a lot of work.

Those who have actually lived in a share house have not only had good things to say about them, but have also reported many troubles, making many people uneasy about living in a shared house.

So in this article, we'd like to introduce some of the problems that are often reported in share houses, and how social apartments are structured to create an environment where problems are less likely to occur.

We hope you will understand that Social Apartment is a lifestyle that combines the best of both share house and single life, and that we have designed a variety of systems to make this lifestyle a reality.

What are common problems with share houses?

First, we would like to organize a ranking of common troubles that tend to occur in a typical share house (a small building with around 10 households).

No. 1: Relationships and Communication Problems

The most common problems in communal living such as a share house come from poor human relations and communication between residents.

• Bad manners in shared spaces: not washing dishes, leaving garbage unattended, leaving laundry unattended, eating or using items in the refrigerator without permission, leaving personal belongings in shared spaces, etc.
• Failure to greet others or poor feeling: Lack of daily communication and frustration over trivial matters.
• Differences in lifestyle and values: Differences in lifestyle, such as sleeping and waking times, standards of cleanliness, and the presence and frequency of visitors, cause stress.

No. 2: Noise problems

Many properties have a single wall dividing one space into rooms, and the noise of daily life can cause problems.

• Noise of daily life: footsteps, door opening/closing, snoring, alarm clocks, etc.
• Talking and phone calls: Late-night conversations in the living room or phone calls in private rooms.
• Noise from visitors: Late-night noise when having friends over, etc.

No. 3: Cleaning and sanitation problems

Cleaning of communal areas and differences in hygiene between tenants can lead to problems.

• Failure to keep up with cleaning duty: some people do not clean even though they are on duty; sloppy cleaning leaves common areas dirty.
• Dirty common areas: Kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, washrooms, etc. are left dirty after use.
• Garbage disposal rules: Garbage separation is not followed, garbage is accumulated, etc.

These problems can be avoided to some extent by checking the house rules in advance, taking a close look at the shared space and the atmosphere of the tenants when viewing the share house, and confirming how the management company will handle any problems that may arise. However, due to the nature of share housing, there are often cases that are difficult to avoid.

What is a Social Apartment?

Before introducing the system for resolving share house troubles, we would like to briefly introduce social apartments.

Social apartments are exchange-style rental apartments that include a lounge and other substantial public spaces in addition to conventional rooms.

The features are summarized with a focus on the differences from share houses,

Privacy: Many properties have kitchens, bathrooms, and washstands in the private rooms, so you can complete your life in your own room, just like in a regular apartment. A unique feature of these apartments is that they are designed with a flow line that allows access to the rooms without passing through the common area.

Large scale: In many cases, an entire condominium building is used, and there are many hotel-like common facilities such as a lounge, bar counter, working space, theater room, library, billiard table, and so on. Many of the spaces are well designed and sophisticated.

The social apartments are managed and operated by Global Agents, which employs its own housekeepers to clean the common areas and provide customer service.

The target group is clear: Many of them are working people who are looking for a new community and interaction with a variety of people while maintaining their privacy. People who want to switch on and off, usually relaxing in their own rooms and using the common areas only when they want to socialize, are choosing this type of residence because of its "one-person plus α" value.

This is a good example of the above.

Five mechanisms of social apartments to prevent problems

Here are five mechanisms to explain why such social apartments are less likely to cause problems. There are many other detailed mechanisms designed, but we have picked out five especially important ones.

1. privacy is secured by designing completely private rooms and lines of communication

Living space is designed to be completed around "your room". You are not forced to interact with others in shared spaces. On days when you are tired, you can relax in your own room. This prevents "excessive interference" and "invasion of privacy" that can cause stress. We are also particular about the design of the lines leading up to your room, ensuring that you can get to your room without passing through the shared space in all of our properties. 2.

2) Unique tenant screening

Whenever you visit a social apartment, our staff will show you around and conduct a screening of your character and creditworthiness before you move in. We take one to two hours to show the apartments to give our clients an idea of the concept and the lifestyle they can expect.

We want to value "interaction," but we also want to value "privacy.

We explain how to make this lifestyle possible, along with the structure of a social apartment. By taking the time to carefully guide you through the process, we aim to build a mutually satisfying relationship with you by having you empathize with the lifestyle that we want to realize in our social apartments.

3) Hiring in-house housekeepers

Social Apartment hires its own housekeepers to perform daily cleaning of common spaces. Generally, cleaning is done on a rotating basis or outsourced, but by assigning our own staff, it is easier to spread the concept of Social Apartment and to build relationships with tenants, thus creating a situation where moral hazard is less likely to occur.

The staff will be more likely to understand the concept of social apartments and build relationships with tenants, thus creating a situation where moral hazard is less likely to occur.

This kind of situation can be naturally created in the common space of a social apartment.

Related article】 Housekeeper's thoughts working at Terminals Takatsuki

4. reinforced concrete and steel construction

Social Apartment adopts reinforced concrete or steel-frame buildings and does not deal with wooden buildings. As is generally known, there is a big difference in sound insulation between wooden and reinforced concrete buildings. The structure of the building is an important criterion in order to reduce living noise and noise problems on the hardware side.

5. Familiarity with rules and support system

We believe that having a point of contact that you can call anytime you have a problem in your daily life will give you a sense of security. At Social Apartment, we have a 24-hour call center, where you can consult with us in case of any problems.

We also have a super application for residents, "Neighborland," with message and bulletin board functions for residents. By providing an environment where residents can easily communicate with each other, we have created a system that makes it easy to resolve any minor issues that might cause trouble through communication.

Related article】 Social Apartment provides a super-app for tenants

Conclusion

How was it?

It is possible to reduce the number of troubles by designing a system to prevent troubles from all directions, not only from the hardware side but also from the software side.

Of course, since there are people involved, it is impossible to eliminate problems, but the system can definitely reduce the number of problems.

If you have had trouble in a share house and have a negative impression of shared living, you may be able to make a new discovery by living in a social apartment.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Social Apartment: https://www.social-apartment.com/