Whether you’re moving in with good friends or complete strangers, making a roommate agreement is always a good idea. We repeat: always.
At its core, a roommate agreement is meant to keep the peace. In writing, it makes sure you’re on the same page on things like guest policies, cleaning responsibilities, and how the monthly bills are getting paid. Here are some of the most important things to consider when making a roommate agreement.
Bills
Utility bills, rent payments, and internet bills are all going to come every month, and you should have a system in place for making sure everything gets paid on time. Are you going to be in charge of all the bills? If so, agree on how everyone will pay you their portion of the bill and when that payment needs to happen every month. There’s nothing worse than coming home and realizing your power’s been shut off because you forgot to pay the electricity bill.
Choose a date of the month on which everyone will pay their share of the bill to whoever is ultimately in charge of getting the payment processed. This way, the money can be collected ahead of time and one person can then pay the bills.
Guests and Parties
We all like to have friends over for dinner, drinks, movie nights, and the occasional party. Make sure your roommates have agreed that it’s okay to have parties and friends over before you spring it on them last minute. Likewise, if you’d prefer that your roommates didn’t have ragers until 3am, let them know upfront and write it into your roommate agreement. It’s worth speaking about this stuff initially so that everyone has the same expectations.
Cleaning
Are you a clean freak or more of a messy roommate? If you know living in a clean apartment is your ideal situation, figure out how you will divide up the cleaning responsibilities. Think about each room in the apartment and what needs to be cleaned in it. Does the kitchen floor need to be swept weekly? Does the shower need a good scrubbing every month? Who will take the trash out? Decide what your roommates and you want cleaned and who will do which cleaning jobs; you don’t want to be stuck doing all the work and neither do they!
The Agreement
Whenever there are any misunderstandings, this piece of paper is extremely valuable for solving disputes and putting an end to needless arguments. The trick is to anticipate all possible problems that may arise, so ask your roommates what they think should be included. Can’t stand dirty dishes piling up in the sink? Write it down. Don’t want rowdy parties on weekdays? Put it in there. Worried about guests sleeping over too often? Create a guest policy. Because oral agreements are too often forgotten or misinterpreted, putting your understanding on a piece of paper will ensure everyone accurately remembers the same agreement. Check out this great template for creating a good roommate agreement.
While most of the things included in a roommate agreement aren’t legally binding (for example, you can’t enforce kitchen cleaning duty), the signed document may make everyone feel more comfortable after they’ve voiced their roommate preferences.
If you’re looking for a new place with friends or new roommates, be sure to look at our apartments for rent. Then, get that pen and paper (or Google doc) ready and start writing out your roommate agreement.
This article was updated on 4/19/18.
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