House & Home - The Amicable Apartment: Nine Things to Include in a Roommate Agreement

 Insights from Jonas Bordo, CEO and cofounder of Dwellsy

Viewers of The Big Bang Theory know all about Sheldon Cooper’s roommate agreement. But while the idea is used for comedic effect on the show, a roommate agreement is a real thing (and a good idea). It’s a document that outlines the rules of your rental and the responsibilities of the residents. Importantly, a roommate agreement doesn’t involve your landlord or property manager. It’s only between the renters.           Whether you and your roommate are best friends or have only just met, a roommate agreement can foster good communication, reduce conflicts and misunderstandings, and provide a firm foundation for a happy shared home. The two of you should have a discussion about what life in your rental will look like, then write the agreement together before you move in.           You might start by putting your names and addresses at the top of the document. You’ll also want to note your move-in date, the length of your lease, and your landlord. Then make a list of any rules and expectations you’d like. Here are a few major points to cover: Rent: Who’s paying what portion of the rent? Are you splitting it evenly? Dividing it up proportionally to your incomes? Is the person with the bigger room paying a larger share?   Security deposit: Who’s paying what part of it? What happens to the security deposit if one person moves out and the other stays?   Utilities: You’ll want to get this in writing if utilities aren’t covered in your rent. Will you split utilities evenly? Will one person pay some utilities while the other person covers the rest? Will you switch who pays the utilities each month?   How space will be divided: Who will get what room in the rental? If there’s an office, who gets it, or will you share it? How will closets be divided?   Chores: Write down how you’ll divide up your chores and what you’ll do if someone doesn’t do their share. Keep in mind each other’s schedules and who uses which appliances the most. You can also consider a chore chart.   Pets: If anyone owns pets, write down your plan for keeping them clean and fed. You might also want to consider the following questions: What rooms of the rental will the pet be allowed in? How often will it be groomed? Who will be responsible for cleaning the pet’s messes and feeding it? Who pays for damages caused by the pet? What happens if the neighbors complain?   Guests: Will overnight guests be allowed? How often? Does this have to be discussed beforehand when it happens? What if someone wants to throw a party? How many people can be invited?   Noise level: When, if ever, will loud music be allowed in the apartment? Will you decide to have quiet hours? If so, when will they be? What if someone won’t stop being loud––how will you handle it? These questions are particularly important if anyone in your apartment works from home.   Moving out early: If someone wants to move out early, will they have to sublet to someone else? Will they just pay the remainder of their rent for the rest of the lease? Think through what that might look like, and come to a solution you and your roommate both feel comfortable with. After all, you never know when an issue or an emergency might arise.             Besides these suggestions, you should put anything that’s important to you or your roommate into your roommate agreement. The more information you have, the clearer expectations will be—and the lower the chances of a problem arising later. To make the agreement more “formal,” you can each sign a copy. While there’s no real legal benefit to including your signatures, the action does carry more psychological force.   # # #

About Jonas Bordo: Jonas Bordo is the coauthor, along with Hannah Hildebolt, of the upcoming book Everything You Need to Know About Renting But Didn’t Know to Ask: All the Insider Dirt to Help You Get the Best Deal and Avoid Disaster. He is the CEO and cofounder of Dwellsy, the free residential rental marketplace that makes it easy to find hard-to-find rentals. Prior to cofounding Dwellsy, Jonas was a senior executive at several leading real estate firms including Essex Property Trust and BentallGreenOak, and was with the Boston Consulting Group after graduating with his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.    About the Book: Everything You Need to Know About Renting But Didn’t Know to Ask: All the Insider Dirt to Help You Get the Best Deal and Avoid Disaster (Matt Holt, August 2023, ISBN: 978-1-6377439-2-8, $21.95) is available for pre-order from major online booksellers.   About Dwellsy: Dwellsy is the renter’s marketplace: a comprehensive residential home rentals marketplace based on the radical concept that true, organic search in a free ecosystem creates more value than the pay-to-play model embraced by all of the current rental listing services. Dwellsy has more than 13 million residential rental listings—more than any legacy classifieds site—as well as the most diverse set of listings, including single family rentals, condos, and apartments. Dwellsy’s entirely different approach to residential rental listings focuses on presenting houses and apartments based on features renters need and want, not based on how much landlords pay to show their listings. Dwellsy investors include Frontier Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Blackhorn Ventures, Heroic Ventures, and the University of Chicago. For more information, please visit our newsroom or find your next home at Dwellsy.com.