What to Include in a Roommate Agreement

Rent and utilities: spell out the exact split

State the total monthly rent and each person's share in exact dollar amounts, not percentages. If the split isn't equal, document the reason (larger room, private bathroom, parking spot).

For utilities, list each one and specify who's responsible for paying it each month. If the plan is for one person to pay and the other to reimburse, set a specific deadline. "Within 5 days of the bill arriving" is enforceable. "Whenever" is not. Do the same for shared subscriptions like streaming services or internet.

Include what happens to deposits: who pays which portion, and how they're returned when someone moves out.

House rules that prevent most disputes

Identify the rules that matter to you before move-in, not after a conflict surfaces. Common ones worth writing down: kitchen cleanup expectations (dishes within a set number of hours, no food left in the sink), who buys shared household items like dish soap and toilet paper, and how common areas stay clean (rotating chore schedule or each person maintains their own section).

Temperature is worth including if either of you has strong preferences. It's directly tied to utility bills and comes up more often than you'd expect.

The more specific the rule, the more useful it is. "Keep common areas clean" is not a rule. "Vacuum common areas on Sundays, or before guests arrive" is.

Guests and overnight visitors

This is the clause most roommates skip, and it's the one that causes the most friction. Define what counts as a guest versus a long-term visitor. Something like: "No guest may stay more than four consecutive nights, or more than eight nights in any calendar month, without mutual written agreement."

The real concern is a partner who starts staying over five nights a week and is effectively a third roommate contributing nothing to rent, utilities, or chores. Being explicit about this before move-in is far less awkward than raising it after it's already become a pattern.

Move-out terms and notice period

Specify the required notice period before moving out. Thirty days is standard; sixty days is more protective. If everyone is on the primary lease, state who is responsible for finding a replacement if someone leaves before the lease ends. Make it clear that finding a replacement doesn't release the departing roommate from rent liability until a replacement is approved by the landlord and takes over the lease.

If you have a month-to-month arrangement, also note the process for ending the whole arrangement, not just one person leaving.

What happens if someone can't pay

A roommate agreement doesn't override your primary lease. If you're all on the lease together, you're all liable to the landlord for the full rent regardless of individual splits. What the agreement can do is establish what happens between roommates when someone doesn't hold up their end.

A simple clause: if a roommate fails to pay their share within a set number of days of the due date, the remaining roommates have the right to request they vacate within the notice period specified above. This doesn't prevent the landlord from holding everyone responsible, but it gives the remaining roommates standing to act and documents that the non-paying party was in breach.