Roommate Agreement - LawDepot.com

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This software has the flexibility to let you quickly create the roommate agreement you want. It does this by providing many options with appropriate defaults.

One common default is 'Do Not Specify'. This default means that the finished agreement will not have a clause dealing with that topic. The benefit of not specifying is that you get a shorter and simpler document; however, the document will be less precise. Also, in some cases, the issue may not even be applicable. For example, if you do not want to specify whether utilities are included in the rent, then it is appropriate to pick 'Do Not Specify' for the answer to this question.

Dwelling Information

Type of dwelling:

Rental Unit Description:

Apt. #:

Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:

Roommate Information

Number of roommates:

First Roommate's Name:
Second Roommate's Name:
Third Roommate's Name:
Fourth Roommate's Name:
Fifth Roommate's Name:

Is there a written lease agreement with the landlord?

When does the lease agreement end?

Specify:

When did the lease commence? (e.g. July 1, 2003)

Name of Landlord:

Term Information

When will this agreement end?

Specify:

Rent Information

Roommates will pay rent:

Additional Rent Information Details

Total amount of : $ (e.g. 500.00)

Day of the for payment: (e.g. )

Will the roommates share the rent amount equally? Q: How should rent be divided?

A: Roommates may decide to split the rent equally or unequally, depending on their personal wishes. Landlords often insist on receiving one rent check for the entire rent -- they don't want to be bothered with multiple checks from co-tenants. It’s a good idea to designate one roommate as the person to whom other roommates pay rent each month and then he/she signs the full check for the landlord.

proportion:		(e.g. 20%)
proportion:		(e.g. 20%)
proportion:		(e.g. 20%)
proportion:		(e.g. 20%)
proportion:		(e.g. 20%)

Who will be responsible for collecting the rent?

Specify roommate:

Specify details:

Who will be responsible for organizing and keeping records of payment information?

Specify roommate:

Specify details:

Security Deposit Information

Security deposit required?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 300.00)

Will the payment of the security deposit be shared equally amongst the roommates? Q: How should the costs of the security deposit be divided?

A: Generally, roommates split the security deposit when they pay it at the start, and get it back when they move out. But what if one roommate moves out before the lease is up? The landlord is not required to return the security deposit for the apartment until all tenants vacate. One common solution is to have the new roommate pay the departing roommate his or her share of the security deposit. If the departing roommate caused some damage to the apartment, then the new roommate should deduct the cost of that damage from the amount paid.

proportion:		(e.g. 20%)
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Utility Information

Will the costs of all utilities be included in the rent?

Check all services for which the roommates will be responsible:

Gas

How bill is paid: Q: How should utility costs be divided?

A: As with the rent payments, roommates need to agree between themselves how the utilities will be paid each month. Some important questions you and your roommates may want to consider include:

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Gas bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Gas bill?

Specify roommate:

Water

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Water bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Water bill?

Specify roommate:

Internet Access

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Internet bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Internet Access bill?

Specify roommate:

Electricity

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Electricity bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Electricity bill?

Specify roommate:

Telephone

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Telephone bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Telephone bill?

Specify roommate:

Trash Removal

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Trash bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Trash Removal bill?

Specify roommate:

Newspaper

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Newspaper bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Newspaper bill?

Specify roommate:

Cable/Satellite Television

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Cable bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Cable/Satellite Television bill?

Specify roommate:

Yard Maintenance

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Yard bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Yard Maintenance bill?

Specify roommate:

Other:

Whose name will each utility bill will be in?
Who is responsible for the payment to the utility company?
If some roommates have cell phones, will they still have access to a household phone?
If some roommates do not use a certain utility, will they still be responsible for paying for it?

Other bill is paid by:

Proportion paid by :	(e.g. 33.3%)
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :
Proportion paid by :

Specify name of account holder?

Account will be in the name of:

Landlord
Other:

Has a deposit been paid?

Amount of deposit: $ (e.g. 350.23)

Deposit has been paid by:

proportion:	(e.g. 20%)
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:
proportion:

Who is responsible for payment of the Other bill?

Specify roommate:

How will other costs and expenses be handled?

Specify details:

House Rules

Check all subjects to be included in the agreement:

Smoking

Will smoking be allowed on the premises? Q: How should roommates address smoking?

A: If smoking will not be allowed in the residence, consider acceptable smoking areas for residents or guests who do smoke (e.g. on the balcony, on the porch, in the backyard).

What if, when smoking outside, the smoke drifts inside and leaves a smell in the residence anyway? What if the smoking area becomes crowded and makes it difficult for people to enter or exit the residence? Consider potential difficulties in advance where possible.

Specify location(s):

Alcohol

Will alcohol be allowed on the premises?

Specify conditions:

A clause prohibiting illegal activities
Parties, gatherings, and celebrations

Do roommates need permission to have a party, gathering, or celebration? Q: How should roommates address parties?

A: Roommates may wish to consider the following:

What is considered a "party" and what is an informal gathering? If a roommate brings a couple of friends over late at night and they drink for a couple of hours, is it considered a party? Should it be allowed?
When are parties allowed (e.g. anytime, weekends only) and what arrangements must be made in advance with other roommates?
Is there an established guest list for the party/gathering?
Who will clean up after the party and when should the cleanup be completed?

Quiet Hours

When are the quiet hours? Q: How should roommates address noise?

A: Decide before you move in when the "quiet hours" will be - at what time will the TV and stereo have to be turned down (e.g. 10 p.m. weeknights; midnight on weekends)? Also, decide on a time for quiet hours to end in the morning (e.g. 8 a.m. weekdays; 10 a.m. weekends).

Specify:

(e.g. 12:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., Monday to Friday)

Guests

Do guests need permission to stay overnight? Q: How should roommates address overnight guests?

A: Roommates may wish to consider the following:

If allowed to stay over, where will guests sleep?

How much notice is needed before a guest stays overnight?

If you only have one living room couch, and two guests on the same night, how do you reserve it?

How many nights of sleepover is too long a stay?

Is there a maximum number of days a guest may stay?

Specify:

Can a guest's right to stay be revoked? Q: How should roommates address unwanted guests?

If a roommate has a friend or other individual visiting regularly, and this person is unpleasant, rude or abusive to the other roommates, should they have the right to request that the host roommate only see this person outside of the premises, thereby minimizing unwanted exposure of the other roommates to this individual? If so, should they do it by a vote or a face to face meeting with the host roommate?

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Personal Property

What property will be considered personal in nature? Q: How should roommates address personal property?

A: Roommates may wish to consider the following:

Can personal items such as stereos, TV's, kitchen equipment, bikes, and motor vehicles be shared?
Can roommates borrow each other's clothes, books, CD's, etc? Must they get permission each time?

Specify details of personal property:

Other

How many other house rules do you want?

House rule #1:

House rule #2:

House rule #3:

House rule #4:

House rule #5:

House rule #6:

House rule #7:

Household Duties and Restrictions

Check all subjects to be included in the agreement:

Cleaning

How will household chores be divided? Q: How should roommates address cleaning/maintenance?

A: Roommates may wish to consider the following:

How clean will you keep the apartment?
Who is responsible for which household chores?
When should those chores be done?

Specify the exceptions:

Pets

Will pets be allowed? Q: Should you get your landlord's permission to have a pet?

A: Your lease may specify whether pets are permitted on the property. If the lease is silent on pets, it is best to first seek your landlord's permission before getting a pet. Where pets are allowed, you should agree in writing to compensate the landlord for any damage caused including cleaning, insect/flea and/or odor removal on leaving.

Specify pets:

LawDepot's Roommate Agreement:

Dwelling Information

Rental Unit Description:

Roommate Information

Term Information

Rent Information

Additional Rent Information Details

Security Deposit Information

Utility Information

House Rules

Household Duties and Restrictions