Roommates
What should a roommate agreement include?
Updated By the Housing Rocket moderators
Short answer
A roommate agreement should cover who pays what and when, how bills are split, the deposit, chores, guests, quiet hours, shared supplies, pets, and what happens if someone wants to move out early. Put it in writing, have everyone sign it, and keep a copy each.
Write it in the first week, before any problems exist. Use plain language and real numbers. A useful agreement covers:
- Rent: each person's share, the due date, and who pays the landlord
- Bills: which utilities and subscriptions are shared, whose name each is in, and when people pay back
- Security deposit: how much each person put in, and how deductions for damage will be split
- Chores: a rotation or a clear division, plus what "clean" means for the kitchen and bathroom
- Guests: how many nights in a row or per month before it needs a conversation
- Quiet hours, smoking, alcohol, parties
- Shared items: what is communal, what is off limits, and who replaces things
- Moving out: how much notice, who finds a replacement, and who approves them
The agreement does not replace your lease. Your landlord is not bound by it, and anything in it that conflicts with the lease (say, allowing a pet the lease bans) will not protect you.
Review it after a month or two, when you know how the household actually runs, and again whenever someone moves in or out.
Want the whole picture? Read How to Find a Roommate You Can Actually Live With.