Roommate Agreement

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What is a roommate agreement

A roommate agreement is a written legal document outlining the expectations and responsibilities of people sharing a living space. It covers topics such as rent, utilities, cleaning, and guests, and can help avoid conflicts and misunderstandings. All roommates should review and sign it to prevent conflicts and misunderstandings and update it, if needed.

If you are the primary leaseholder or property owner, be sure to inform any prospective roommate (including close friends, and family) about your expectations and any house rules before they move in to avoid any surprises and misunderstandings. And if you are entering into a standard residential lease with a roommate or group of roommates, we highly recommend discussing house rules and creating a roommate contract before signing your lease.

What should a roommate contract include?

A roommate agreement should include the following:

1. Names of all the roommates
2. Address of the living space and indication of which parts of the house are common areas and which rooms are private to one or more tenants.
3. Rent amount and how it will be split
4. Utility bills and how they will be split
5. Cleaning responsibilities and/or cooking responsibilities
6. House rules including argument-starters like house temperature, shower times, and eating in public and private areas.
7. Guest policy
8. Pet policy
9. Quiet hours
10. Parking arrangements
11. Personal property policy including sharing and borrowing rules
12. Maintenance responsibilities
13. Move-in and move-out procedures including
14. Conflict resolution process
15. Lease agreement terms and conditions (if applicable)
16. Signatures of all the roommates.

Where to find free roommate agreement forms?

Our “go to” easy and quick online resource for free and detailed information about roommate agreements is Legal Templates. Legal templates allows you to download download free PDF/DOC forms so each house member can fill in their information. Alternatively, use Legal Templates easy roommate agreement document builder to get step-by-step assistance in creating your roommate agreement.

Alternatively, we just found quite a few attorney drafted and/or lawyer approved printable roommate agreements on Etsy.

Example of a very simple roomate agreement

Roommate Agreement

This agreement is made on [date] between [roommate 1 name] and [roommate 2 name] for the living space located at [address].

Rent: The monthly rent for the living space is [rent amount]. Each roommate will pay [split of rent amount] on [due date of rent payment].

Utilities: The roommates will split the utility bills equally and pay their respective share on the due date of utility bill payment. Each roommate will pay [split of utility bills] on [due date of utility bill payment].

Cleaning: Each roommate is responsible for cleaning their own room and shared living spaces such as the kitchen and bathroom.

Guests: Guests are allowed with prior consent from the other roommate. Overnight guests are limited to [number of nights] per week.

Quiet hours: Quiet hours are from [quiet hours start time] to [quiet hours end time] on weekdays and from [quiet hours start time] to [quiet hours end time] on weekends.

Parking: [Parking arrangements, if applicable]

Personal Property: Each roommate is responsible for their own personal property.

Maintenance: Each roommate is responsible for reporting any maintenance issues to the landlord and handling minor repairs.

Move-in and Move-out: [Move-in and move-out procedures]

Conflict Resolution: The roommates should address any conflicts respectfully and involve a neutral third party if necessary.

Lease: Both roommates have reviewed the lease agreement and agree to abide by the terms and conditions.

Signatures: [Roommate 1 name] [Roommate 2 name]