Reviewer Mikelangelo Marinaro, giving the episode a B- (7.5 out of 10), praised the "sound effects used throughout the episode" and called the episode "a stand-alone which doesn't do much for character or plot development, but remains very fun nonetheless." Unlike other reviewers, Marinaro spends time talking about Giles: "Giles almost immediately gets the truth out of Buffy while at the same time illustrating the point that he ''is'' really at loose ends... We'll see even more of this as he begins to hang out with Xander a lot in upcoming episodes."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.criticallytouched.com/buffy/4x02_living_conditions.php |author= Marinaro, Mikelangelo |date= February 10, 2006 |title= Living Conditions [4x02] |publisher= Critically Touched Reviews |accessdate= October 15, 2012}}</ref>
Another reviewer made an interesting point: "Not many episodes of ''Buffy'' have had the kind of focus this story got. The story remained mostly in the surface world (with only the dreams to hint at the supernatural) and explored every facet of the disintegrating roommate relationship."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://thebuffyrewatch.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/robins-review-s4-e02-living-conditions/ |author= Robin |date= March 18, 2012 |title= Robin's Review: S4, E02 – Living Conditions |publisher= The Buffy Rewatch |accessdate= October 15, 2012}}</ref>
A [[BBC]] reviewer praised actress "[[Dagney Kerr]]'s nicely paced performance as Kathy" and added, "it's encouraging to find the regular cast so casually back together again after the worrying indications in the last episode that it would be difficult for the writers to find reasonable excuses for them to continue working as a team. This episode generally dispenses with explanations, and flows better because of it."<ref>{{cite news |title=Living Conditions |work= [[BBC]] |location= London, England |agency= British Broadcasting Corporation |date= |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/indetail/livingconditions/reviews.shtml |accessdate= October 15, 2012}}</ref>
