Should You Create a Roommate Agreement?

A roommate agreement often begins as grand plans uttered over coffee or a beer. Oftentimes, roommates have enjoyed longtime friendships before deciding to rent a place together, which makes for wonderfully casual arrangements. You decide together that you will share the rent, the utilities, the grocery tab, hit up a drum circle, sing "Kumbaya" and sign the lease.

Unless you're Sheldon and Leonard from Big Bang Theory, who took the responsibilities of roommate-dom heart attack-seriously and so created their own roommate agreement.

If you're concerned your longtime friend may turn out to be less responsible than previously believed or plan on bunking with a person (or persons) you don't know well, a roommate agreement is an idea worth considering.

What should it include?

These contracts, made between residents of a rental unit, outline the terms, conditions and responsibilities to which each person agrees. It forces all parties to take co-tenancy seriously.

Busy lives, different lifestyles, unique habits and opposite schedules are all factors that play into the mix. An agreement ahead of time can serve as insurance against living with someone with whom your way of doing things isn't precisely compatible.

Not only are they a great way to really get to know the person you'll be living with right out of the gate, but they're also convenient to have in place when conflict rears its head. Things that need to be ironed out ahead of time include:

Money

Decide how this should be divided. Some roommates do an even split on rent while others make different arrangements based on things such as space or privacy. For instance, if one bedroom has its own bathroom while the other does not, the luckier roommate will pay more rent.

Will you share grocery expenses or shop for yourselves? And if a friend or regular guest comes over, make sure they know whose food they're permitted to eat. How about cooking? Will you take turns making meals or is it every person for themselves?

And finally, what about utilities?

Will you share things like electric and water? What about cable, internet or streaming services?

Guests

Are guests allowed carte blanche? How about throwing parties or barbecues? And what about overnight guests or significant others? Some roommates require notice if someone will be spending the night or if out of town visitors will be crashing in a spare room or on the sofa.

Do any of you smoke? A non-issue if your property is smoke-free, but better to get this out of the way ahead of time. And what if friends who smoke come to visit? Decide where it's allowed and where it's not.

Other necessities

Different schedules may mean different sleeping habits, and you always want to be considerate. Put set quiet hours into the agreement so there's no question about when and where it's okay to blast music or watch the new Marvel movie.

You also need to agree on who can use what. Is your roommate's bike up for grabs if they aren't using it? What about the living room TV, which belongs to your roommate, but sits in a public area? Hash these things out up front.

And maybe the biggest agreement you can make is how to divvy up the chores. Obviously, you'll be responsible for cleaning your own rooms and your own bathroom if you have one. But what about vacuuming, dusting and all the cleaning tasks in the common areas?

These are just the tip of the iceberg. Other things you might want to address include early move-outs (which could leave one person responsible for all of the rent), pets, renter's insurance and bringing in a new roommate when the remaining tenants have already signed a roommate agreement.

Your apartment is your home and should, therefore, be a place where you can relax and enjoy yourself. A roommate agreement may be the tool that helps ease your mind about issues that can get real, real fast, without a contract in place.

 

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