Documents / Real Estate
Roommate Agreement
Set house rules between co-tenants — rent shares, utilities, chores, guests, and what happens when someone moves out.
Time
~8 min
Questions
19
Steps
5
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PDF · Word
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What we will cover
- 01
The Roommates
This agreement is between the roommates themselves — it does not involve or bind the landlord.
- 02
The Home
- 03
Rent, Utilities & Deposit
- 04
House Rules
- 05
Legal Details
- 06
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About this document
A roommate agreement is a contract between the people sharing a home — not with the landlord. It records each person's rent share, how utilities are split, who contributed what to the security deposit, and the practical rules that cause the most friction: chores, quiet hours, overnight guests, and whether food and supplies are shared. Writing it down at move-in is far easier than arguing about it in month seven.
What it cannot do is change your lease. Nearly every lease makes co-tenants jointly and severally liable, meaning the landlord can pursue any one of you for the entire rent if someone stops paying. The roommate agreement does not shift that risk to the landlord; it gives you a documented claim against the roommate who defaulted. Add a clause covering notice before moving out and who finds a replacement — that is the gap most agreements miss.
Common questions
Is a roommate agreement legally binding?+
Yes — it is an ordinary contract between the roommates, and courts will enforce the money terms like rent shares, utility splits, and deposit contributions, usually in small claims court. Lifestyle terms such as a chore rotation are enforceable in principle but nobody sues over dishes; their real value is a written standard everyone agreed to. Have every roommate sign, including anyone who joins later.
What happens if my roommate moves out and stops paying rent?+
The landlord can still hold every tenant named on the lease responsible for the full rent, so covering the shortfall is usually the only way to avoid an eviction filing against all of you. The agreement is what lets you recover that money from the roommate afterward. Include a required notice period before moving out and a rule that the departing roommate keeps paying until a replacement is approved.
Does my landlord need to sign the roommate agreement?+
No. It works between the roommates on its own and does not bind the landlord in any way. Anything that changes the lease itself — adding a new roommate, releasing someone from liability, transferring the deposit — has to go through the landlord in a separate written amendment.
General information, not legal advice — laws vary by state and change over time.
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