How to write a roommate agreement

There’s a growing trend across the country of roommate demand. Having roommates can help with your living expenses and in some areas, it is necessary to have roommates to be able to afford an apartment or house for rent. While roommates can be a source of fun and happy times, there can also be disputes and strife between roommates from time to time.

With an increase of roommate living situations growing by seven percent over a decade, living with others is becoming more commonplace. Sharing a home with a friend or relative can allow for better budgeting and access to more options. However, rooming together can also put strain on a relationship when not planned properly.

This is why a roommate agreement is very important to have before you commit to living with other people. Writing good roommate agreements can be the difference between having a happy home to live in and dealing with daily strife and stress. 

If you want to learn the right way to create a good roommate agreement, read on for more information.

Create a written roommate agreement

The roommate agreement that you agree to should always be in writing and everyone should have a copy. Even things like house rules should be built into the contract that you draw up for everyone to agree to. Items like the security deposit and who should have the lease in their name should be called out in the agreement.

Making sure that everyone signs a written roommate agreement helps prevent disagreements that are caused by your word against someone else’s. Especially where money is concerned, you will want to have a clear roommate to refer back to in the future.

Create house rules

House rules should include all the basic rules for your rental unit as well as your personal preferences. It’s not a bad idea to make these rules a part of your roommate agreement. Things like who takes out the garbage and who is in charge of vacuuming and mopping and dusting on which days of the week should be called out in the house rules.

House rules can cover household duties as well as rent payments and discussion about overnight guests. There are many templates online that can guide your creation of these rules and you will want all the roommates to sign this part of the roommate agreement to state that they intend to follow these rules.

Discuss the lease agreement in your roommate contract

One of the other major factors that need to be discussed is whose name will be on the lease. Many apartments and landlords will not allow you to have more than one person listed on the lease. This means that only one roommate will be connected with the financial obligations of paying for the rent.

There can be no trust in any living space or among any set of roommates if there is no understanding about whose name is on the lease. Seeking legal advice for a roommate who does not pay rent can be expensive and you want to be sure that everyone is on the same page before you move in together.

How to write a roommate agreement

There are many templates online that can get the ball rolling on your roommate agreement creation process. You should look at all the roommate agreement template styles that you find and make sure that you pick the right one to govern the shared living space needs of you and your roommates.

You can also write your roommate agreement from scratch, but the templates were made with legal advice from experts and will be much more likely to hold up if there are significant issues between you and your roommates in the future. You want the best roommate agreement template for your own needs to be sure that you do not run into issues in the future.

After you have picked a template, you will need to move on to creating the personal details that you and your roommates agree upon.

1. Your roommate agreement should define rent payments and how they are made

Be sure that your roommate agreement outlines how much the monthly rent is and how it should be given to the rental property manager or the person whose name is on the lease. This is the primary reason that you need a roommate agreement and you need to be sure that this is outlined properly in your document.

2. Include information about the security deposit

The security deposit is usually paid for everyone when a group of people move into an apartment. If you paid the security deposit alone and then sought roommates, then this may not be an issue. Make sure that this part of the cost of renting the apartment is made clear in the roommate agreement.

3. Discuss utility bills as part of the roommate agreement

This is another issue that can lead to strife with other roommates and you should be sure that your legally binding document discusses what percentage of the utilities are paid by each roommate. You might split these costs each month or maybe each roommate is going to pay a single bill on their own. Make sure that this is clear in your roommate agreement.

4. Discuss termination of lease

Always make sure that you have a section that states how much notice must be given before a roommate moves out and explains how much they will owe to you for their part of the security deposit and other charges that might be owed to you if they leave early.

5. Outline who lives where in your roommate agreement

Believe it or not, roommate relationships are often much more pleasant if everyone is clear about where they are living in the apartment. If you have one bedroom that you expect to live in, you should state this clearly just like you should state which rooms belong to other roommates. Make sure that you use your roommate agreement to detail how common spaces should be managed as well.

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6. Guests and dating rules

This may not matter to you and your roommates, but you might want to include a discussion about how guests of roommates and dating behaviors are handled in your apartment. If you want to be sure that you won’t have a roommate who hosts huge parties or you want to avoid discomfort with dating that brings people into your home that you do not know, this part of your roommate agreement will matter.

7. Your room agreement should cover late payments

Make sure that you outline how late payments of rent and other fees are handled. You might charge interest on these missed payments or maybe you need to set out how many of these missed payments are allowed before you can ask someone to move out. This can help with the legally binding part of the contract and keep strife at a minimum. It is expensive to hire a law firm to sort out issues like this and you want to avoid this kind of situation at all costs.

Roommate agreements help eliminate issues

If you are going to live with one or more roommates, you will need to make sure to have a good agreement in place that all of you sign. Having a roommate agreement that is on paper and that can be referred to by all of you in the future will make sure that everyone follows the rules even if there are disagreements down the road.

Whether you are living in a college dorm or an apartment, you need to be sure that you will not have issues with your new roommates. No matter how much rent needs to be paid or what the lease term is at your home or apartment, a roommate agreement can be sure that everyone agrees on the rules before you move in together.

Once you have the perfect roommate chosen, it’s time to find the perfect housing to share! Check out properties to rent and work together to find the best option for your new adventure!