Collocations for Housing & Home Life

Collocations for Housing & Home Life in English (with Examples)

There are few things more personal than the place where we live. Some people live in a tiny flat in the city centre. Others in a quiet house with a garden. Some move often. Others stay in the same place for decades. Whatever our situation, home is one of the most common topics in everyday English — and in Cambridge exams.

And this is where collocations make a huge difference.

You can say:

“I have a house.”

Or you can say:

“I bought my first home.”

“I moved into a small flat.”

“I rent a furnished apartment.”

Same idea. Much better English.

In this lesson, you’ll learn natural, high-frequency collocations related to:

• buying and renting
• living in a place
• describing homes
• daily home life
• feelings and life plans

Perfect for B2 First, C1 Advanced, writing, and speaking.

Buying, renting & moving

buy a house / buy a flat / buy a home

→ They’re planning to buy a house next year.

rent a flat / rent a place

→ She rents a small flat near the centre.

move house (BrE)

→ We’re moving house in September.

move into a flat / house

→ They moved into their new home last week.

move out of a flat / house

→ He’s moving out of his parents’ house.

find a place to live

→ It’s hard to find a place to live in this city.

look for a flat / house

→ She’s looking for a flat near her office.

sign a contract

→ We signed the contract yesterday.

pay the rent

→ I have to pay the rent by Friday.

pay the bills

→ They struggle to pay the bills in winter.

buy your first home

→ He finally bought his first home at 35.

live on your own

→ She prefers to live on her own.

Describing the home

spacious living room

→ The flat has a spacious living room.

small but cosy

→ It’s small but cosy and very comfortable.

fully furnished flat

→ The apartment is fully furnished.

modern apartment

→ They live in a modern apartment.

old-fashioned house

→ He bought an old-fashioned house.

well-kept house

→ It’s a well-kept house with a nice garden.

in good condition

→ The flat is in good condition.

in bad condition

→ The house is in bad condition and needs repairs.

quiet neighbourhood

→ They live in a quiet neighbourhood.

friendly neighbours

→ We have friendly neighbours.

noisy neighbours

→ The noisy neighbours keep us awake.

close to the city centre

→ The flat is close to the city centre.

far from work / school

→ It’s far from work, but cheaper.

Everyday home life

feel at home

→ It took her a while to feel at home.

make yourself at home

→ Please make yourself at home.

do the housework

→ I spent Saturday doing the housework.

tidy up

→ I need to tidy up the kitchen.

clean up

→ Let’s clean up after dinner.

do the washing

→ She’s doing the washing.

cook a meal

→ He cooked a meal for his family.

stay in / stay at home

→ I’m too tired to go out. I’ll stay in.

have guests over

→ We’re having guests over tonight.

spend time at home

→ I like to spend time at home at weekends.

Problems & responsibilities

have something repaired

→ We’re having the roof repaired.

fix a problem

→ The plumber fixed the problem.

leaky roof

→ The house has a leaky roof.

broken heating

→ We had broken heating all winter.

faulty wiring

→ The electrician found faulty wiring.

high rent

→ The rent is too high for us.

expensive bills

→ The bills are really expensive in winter.

deal with a problem

→ The landlord promised to deal with the problem.

call a plumber / electrician

→ We had to call a plumber.

take care of the house

→ They take good care of the house.

Feelings & life plans

a place of your own

→ She dreams of having a place  her own.

dream home

→ This is my dream home.

settle down

→ They want to settle down and start a family.

feel comfortable

→ I feel comfortable in this flat.

feel safe

→ It’s a quiet area, and we feel safe here.

These collocations are not difficult words, but they are natural word partners — and using them will immediately make your English sound more fluent, more confident, and more real.