New Manchester apartments promise no nightmare housemates

Sam Cheetham says he has a superb match in his new housemates

A property company has launched a new shared living venture promising an end to nightmare housemates.

Developer Vita matches potential housemates using algorithms drawn from data derived from tenants' answers to a questionnaire.

The Manchester development, called Union, is billed as the UK's first co-living rent-by-the-room apartments.

Renters can come as individuals, pairs, threes or fours and take the relevant apartment size.

Questions asked include are you the kind of person who buys balloons for your housemate's birthday, and how well would you look after their plants if they are on holiday?

People can share with their technology-matched housemates or live alone in a studio, and crucially if a flatmate moves out the rent - which includes all bills - stays the same.

The high-rise renters, who are mostly transient 20-somethings, also have a common area workspace.

Dakota Glover says the development ticks every box for her

Those sharing with others are matched for the same interests or values.

Sam Cheetham, who moved in earlier this year from his parents' place in Stockport, said: "I really like the idea of being matched with similar people - they have done it superbly."

Housemates meet to discuss issues such as cleanliness, clutter and social boundaries, and the sofa is the place to socialise.

The Manchester site has more than 800 rooms and every one has their own storage, end-suite bathroom and kitchen.

Sam's housemate Dakota Glover, who has just moved to Manchester from Swansea, said it ticks every box - from helping create her social life to providing a workspace where you can have an "office-style chinwag".

She added: "It has been absolutely amazing I could not wish for two better flatmates."

Russell Hayes from property company Vita said the project aims to have an onsite team ready to "jump in with any repair problems."

He said the reaction of renters has been "super positive" and the company has plans for a second block in Manchester, plus more elsewhere in the UK.

There is shared space for working and socialising