Martin and Sheila's first home was a cottage. A few years later after getting married, they decided to move out and looked at houses with a local estate agent. They liked a semi-detached house that was affordable and in a beautiful setting. Martin now wants to design a modern home for his family, but Sheila prefers moving to a smaller town. Around two-thirds of American families live in single-family homes, while a quarter live in buildings with 1-3 apartments. Cities have more apartments due to scarce, expensive land. Small towns have mostly single-family homes on cheaper land.

1. HOUSING
C1
Ana Mena

2. Martin and Sheila's first home was a (1) ... , one of a row of houses joined to each other by their side walls. But a few years
later they got married and decided to (2) ... . They went to a local (3) ... to check what houses he could offer. They really
liked a (4) ... (one joined to another house by one wall that they share) which was set in beautiful surroundings and wasn't
very expensive. Martin is an architect by profession and now he wants to design a modern (5) ... for his family but Sheila is
still thinking of moving to a smaller town or village and building a (6) ... . Sheila doesn't really like the city, for her the city is
nothing but huge (7) ... and hundreds of similar, ugly (8) ... with no identity.
Around two-thirds of the families in America live in single family homes. Around a quarter of the families live in buildings
that have one to three (9) ... , or in (10) ... or other commercial buildings that contain apartments. Big cities have more
apartment housing than small (11) ... because (12) ... is scarce and very expensive. Small towns and (13) ... areas, where land
is less expensive than in city centres, have usually single-family homes. Baltimore and other cities have many (14) ... houses.
These are mostly single-family houses, one, two or three (15) ... high, standing wall to wall. A (16) ... is a building divided
into two separate homes, either side by side with a single wall between them, or one above the other.
TYPES OF HOUSING
cottage | stores | terraced house | communities | row | apartments | land | detached house | suburban | move
out | skyscrapers | floors | estate agent | semi-detached house | duplex | blocks of flats

3. a) I was worried that Jane and Paul wouldn’t like each other, but in fact they are getting on like
a .....on fire.
b) He decided it was time to tell her a few ......truths.
c) Make yourself at .....while I go and make a cup of tea.
d) We just have to finish this project, then we’re ....and dry.
e) We have an experienced team of in- .....lawyers who deal with such cases.
f) We’re having a .......-warming party on Friday if you’d like to come.
g) New York felt like a .....from .......for Jim.
Match the idioms to their meanings (1-7):
1. A place where you feel as comfortable as you do in your own home.
2. Unpleasant facts or opinions about you that someone tells you.
3. To have successfully finished something.
4. To become good friends very quickly and have a lot to talk to each other about.
5. To feel relaxed and behave in the same way as you do in your home.
6. A party that you give when you move into a new house.
7. Done, working, or happening inside a company or organization.
IDIOMS: Write home or house
(taken from ESL Brains)

4.  What place can you call a home from home?
 Is it popular to throw house-warming parties in
Spain? Have you ever been to any?
 Have you recently met anybody you get on like a
house on fire? Who?
 Have you ever had to tell anyone home truths? Why?
 Do companies in Spain usually offer in-house training?
 Which project or task aren’t you home and dry yet?
Discuss these questions
(taken from ESL Brains)

5. Buying or Renting?
Match the definitions on the left with the words on the right
1. a person that rents rooms, flats or houses to people
2. a flat, house which is complete with furniture
3. a public service such as gas, water, or electricity
4. a person who shares a flat with someone
5. a room that a person rents and uses for both living and sleeping
in
6. renovated and redecorated, especially a building
7. to start to live in your new home
8. money paid, usually regularly, for the use of a house, shop, land
9. a contract allowing the use of land, renting property, etc., to
another for a certain period in exchange for rent or other
payment
10. to rent all or part of a rented apartment, house, or other building
to someone else
11. a person who pays rent for the use of land or a building
12. to pay to sleep and eat meals in someone's house
13. an amount of money that someone renting a property pays to
the owner of the property, which they get back when they leave
only if they have not caused any damage
A. utilities
B. bedsitter
C. landlord
D. deposit
E. lease
F. refurbished
G. flatmate
H. rent
I. sublet
J. move in
K. board
L. tenant
M. furnished

6. 1. It's a______________, with the bathroom and the kitchen.
2. The ___________ had promised to redecorate the bedrooms before we moved in.
3. I had to sign a one year ________________ for my apartment.
4. Our rental contract states that we are not allowed to __________ the house.
5. The newly ______________ property is across the street from the beach.
6. I’ve found a new apartment, and I’m __________next week.
7. When you rent a house, you often have to pay extra for all the___________________, but when
you rent an apartment, the heating costs are usually included.
8. Many students ___________________ in other people’s homes when they go away to university.
It is cheaper than renting an apartment.
9. When I got home, I discovered that my ____________had fixed dinner for us.
10. That young couple next door don’t own the house; they are ______________.
11. Their house is expensively ________________.
12. When you rent an apartment, you usually have to pay half a month’s rent as a
damage_____________. If the apartment is in good condition when you move out, this money
will be returned to you.
13. Have you paid the __________for this month yet?
Complete the sentences

7. • Is it better to rent or buy property? Why?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of renting rather than
buying?
• What do you need to think about before renting a place / buying a
house to live?
• Would you rather rent somewhere just for yourself or with friends?
• What would you worry about if you rented your house or apartment
to someone?
• What is a good landlord and a bad landlord?
• How do you find rented accommodation in your town?
• Would you rent out a room in your house to a lodger? Why (not)?
Discuss these questions

8.  Could you live in a house or apartment that was only 30 square
meters in size?
 What do you think the pros and cons of living in such small houses
could be?
Watch the video and complete the activities proposed
 What do you think about Julie and Andrew’s idea? Would you ever
choose such an alternative to buying your own house or flat?
VIDEO: LIVING IN A BUS
(taken from ESL Brains)

9.  Is there a problem with housing in your country?
 Are you interested in the state of the housing market?
 Is it easy to find good quality housing in your town?
 How can housing be made affordable for everyone?
 Do you think there’ll be housing shortages in your
town / country in the future?
 Do you think everyone on a low income should get a
housing allowance / housing benefit?
Discuss these questions