Frequently Asked Questions
...and their answers
- Do I have to join to use Christian Flatshare?
Anyone can search and view accommodation adverts.
You must join to reply to adverts by email, post adverts and to receive automatic email notifications about new adverts (Flat-Match and Pal-Up). Joining is free, simple, and is used to authenticate a member’s email address.
Once joinged CFS members are able use all Christian Flatshare features ( including advert posting, seeing advert statistics, receiving automatic “Flat-Match” and “Pal-Up” emails).
Once the registration form has been completed a email with a verification link is sent to the new member. Once the link has been clicked on the member can login using the password they registered with.
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Is it free to post accommodation adverts?
At the moment Christian Flatshare is free of charge.
If our members support us, from late 2008 we will introduce a small charge for posting offered accommodation adverts (all other website features will remain free).
The purpose of these charges is to help cover our costs as a church ministry, and to maintain the integrity of adverts placed by requiring a small commitment on the part of the advertiser.Christian Flatshare gives any profits to charity (see "where does the money go?")
Accommodation Wanted Adverts:
(Including automatic Flat-Match and Pal-Up emails)House / Flat Share Free Family Share Free Whole Place Free Accommodation Offered Adverts: House / Flat Share £2 Family Share £2 Whole Place £10 House / Flat Share and Family Share will remain free for those who are unable to pay.
Christian Flatshare will display a charity number, once the application process has been successfully completed, before introducing any such charges.
- How long can an advert appear on Christian Flatshare for?
Adverts expire automatically two weeks after their "Available from" (accommodation offered) or "Requested from" (accommodation wanted) dates. This occurs to prevent ads which are not longer needed and which have not been removed.
Advert can be un-expired by changing the "Available from" or "Wanted from" date to within two weeks of the current date, the suggestion would be to move it to the current date. Go to "Your ads" (top right) to change your advert's available from or wanted from dates.
This can be repeated as often as necessary.
NB. The age of an advert, (displayed as e.g. "25 days old"), does not change once an advert has been posted, and is show to help those looking for new adverts. - What is automatic “Flat-Match”?
Flat-Match is an automatic process of matching the accommodation offered to the accommodation wanted adverts, based on criteria given in both ads. If a person has posted an accommodation wanted advert and has chosen to use automatic Flat-Match (by ticking the Flat-Match tick box on their advert) they will receive a notification email when any new accommodation offered advert suitable for them is posted on CFS. Automatic Flat-Match emails can be stopped at anytime by using "edit my adverts" and un-ticking the automatic Flat-Match option in the wanted advert.
- What is "Pal-Up"?
"Pal-Up" is a feature that you can enable on a wanted advert. It is a facility to introduce two members who are both looking for accommodation in same location and with similar criteria, and who have both chosen to receive Pal-Up messages.
Similar to Flat-Match, members posting accommodation wanted adverts can choose to pal-up by ticking the Pal-Up tick box in their advert. CFS will then send the member details of other accommodation wanted adverts posted subsequently on CFS, and which have similar criteria (price, location, and preferred household). The older of two adverts is the one which will receive the Pal-Up messages.
Pal-Up emails can be stopped at anytime by using "edit my adverts" and un-ticking the Pal-Up option in the wanted advert. - Can I change the email address I use for my account?
If you wish to use a different email account to the one you registered with, please register with your new email address, remove any unwanted adverts on your old account and create any new advets as needed. In some cases we can do this for you.
- Can I amend or remove my advert at any time?
Yes you can. Once logged in a member can amend or remove an advert by going to "edit my adverts".
- Can I see how many people have viewed my advert?
Yes. Once logged in, a member can view their advert viewing statistics by going to "view my ads". This shows the total number of visitors who have clicked on the advert in results summary to see the detailed view.
- Do you have to be a Christian to let a "whole place" on CFS?
No. Any property owner letting a whole place, that is an unoccupied flat or house, and would prefer to let to Christians can do so using CFS.
- Why are accommodation prices only on a monthly basis?
CFS expresses rents in calendar months to offer an easy basis for comparison. Those letting accommodation and preferring to express the arrangement in weekly terms should use PCM as an expression of the average month, based on 4.33 weeks, and include details of the weekly payment in the accommodation description.
- Do you keep all my personal information private?
Yes. We will never disclose your personal information to a third party (unless required to do so by law). Information contained in adverts posted by CFS members will only contain the information that the member has chosen to provide.
The email address that a member provides during registration is not disclosed on the CFS website (although a member may include it in the advert's text if they wish to); those responding to accommodation adverts do so through an email form in which will not disclose the adverts owner's email address.
For more information on our data controls please see our "Privacy Policy". - Will you send me lots of emails when I’m not using CFS?
During registration members may choose to tick the box "May we send you CFS news?"
A fun update with news about our ministry is sent every six months or so to those choosing to receive CFS news. We will not send members unsolicited emails. Members may change their email preference at any time by logging in and changing their account details.
If you are receiving emails from us and don't expect to be, then please let us know enquiries@ChristianFlatShare.org. - I’ve registered but haven't been sent an Email Verification email?
During registration a member is sent an Email Verification email, which contains a link that must be clicked on to confirm that the email address belongs to the member.
If you find that you have not received an email verification email after a short time, it may be that your email verification email has been treated as "junk mail" - Hotmail users especially do check your junk mail folder if your password notification email is missing. - How do I report inaccurate or problem adverts?
If you encounter an inaccurate or problem advert then please report it to us by clicking on the "Report ad to CFS admin" link on the advert.
We are keen to maintain the standard of accommodation adverts on CFS and would wish to remove any inappropriate content as promptly as possible.
Read further on:
Looking for Accommodation?
Accommodation to Offer?
Being Safe Online
