Living with another person is never easy, but it may be a necessity. You'll avoid a lot of headaches if you carefully select a roommate. First, you should know what you're looking for in a roommate before you starting interviewing people. Second, have a roommate agreement so that you both know what's expected. Third, quickly resolve any disputes.

Where to Look for Roommates

You might find your roommate in a number of different ways, including:

Choosing Your Roommates

Selecting a compatible roommate will lessen the stress involved in sharing your living space with another person. You'll be sharing your home and splitting household expenses with your roommate, so ask a lot of questions and carefully observe the person during your interview. Behaviors that you notice during the interview can give you insight into the person's character.

Some things to look for:

  • On time for interview
  • Compatible personality
  • Neat appearance
  • Polite behavior

Ask questions about things that are important to you, including:

  • Are you employed and for how long?
  • What's your schedule?
  • How's you health?
  • Will you be having lots of friends over?
  • Do you have any pets?
  • Do you have references (former roommates or landlords)?
  • Will you sign a roommate agreement?

Roommate Agreement

Often the basis of roommate disputes is a lack of good communication or a mismatch of expectations. Most roommate disputes can be avoided by laying out simple guidelines and expectations at the beginning of the living arrangement in a roommate agreement. Your roommate agreement can outline rent and other payment responsibilities, a system of chores, how much notice is to be given before moving out and any other issues you want to include.

The roommate agreement should spell out your rights and obligations to each other, including:

  • Date of agreement
  • Names of roommates
  • Address of property
  • Portion of rent and utilities to be paid by each roommate and due date
  • Total amount of security deposit paid and portion of that deposit paid by each roommate
  • Agreement that each roommate will pay for any damages that they or their guests cause
  • Agreement that each roommate will continue to pay his or her share of the rent for a certain period of time if he or she needs to move out before the end of the lease period unless the landlord allows a replacement roommate
  • Who will find, interview and decide on any new roommates
  • Agreement that each roommate will pay a specific share of the cost of any repairs, improvements or other costs due under the terms of the lease
  • Any house rules regarding pets
  • Whether smoking is allowed and where
  • Rules about drinking and drug use
  • Rules about late hours and noise
  • Whether there will be overnight guests and how often
  • Whether grocery shopping and cooking duties will be shared
  • Cleaning responsibilities and schedules
  • Whether food items in the kitchen are to be shared
  • Whether personal items including dishes, utensils, kitchen appliances and toiletries are to be shared
  • Any other agreements that the roommates think are appropriate
  • Signatures of all roommates

Remember, the roommate agreement is an agreement among the roommates. It's not binding upon the landlord. The lease is the agreement between tenants who signed the lease and the landlord.

Settling Minor Disputes

Even though you have an agreement, disputes may arise. The secret to a quick resolution is communication. Communicate with your roommate if you're upset by something that they did or by something that one of their guests did. Try to explain why you are upset in a calm manner. Be specific and let your roommate know what he or she could do next time to keep the peace.

Dealing with the Landlord

All roommates should sign the rental agreement. That makes each of you individually responsible for paying the entire rent each month. The landlord can take you and your roommate to court if the rent goes unpaid.

If you've already signed a lease and moved in, you'll need your landlord's approval to add a roommate. Your landlord will likely want to check your potential roommate's credit record and get an additional security deposit. Your landlord may also raise the rent to reflect the additional person living in the space. There's a possibility that your landlord will require you to sign an entirely new lease if you're adding a new roommate.

If Your Roommate Violates the Lease

If your roommate doesn't pay the rent, damages your place or makes too much noise, the landlord can hold everyone responsible.

Any tenant who has signed the lease is responsible for the rent for the entire duration of the lease whether he or she lives on the premises or not. If more than one person has signed the lease, each person individually and all persons collectively are responsible for paying the rent in full. If one roommate moves out and doesn't pay his or her share of the rent, the other roommates must pay the rent in full or they'll be subject to eviction for nonpayment of rent. Those roommates can then try to collect rent from the nonpaying roommate

You can't evict your roommate yourself, but you can assist the landlord in making it easier to evict your roommate. If your roommate becomes violent in the eviction process, you should consider filing an anti-harassment or domestic violence order to protect yourself.

Questions for Your Attorney

  • Is it safe to find a roommate over the internet?
  • Can I be sued for discrimination when choosing a roommate?
  • What can I do if my roommate violated the lease and then moved to another state?