Roommates: Rights and Liabilities

Taking the time to learn about the legal rights and responsibilities of roommates can make sharing a place a lot easier.

Choosing Your Roommates

Just because you enjoy partying with a friend occasionally doesn't mean you'll enjoy living together.

Consider your potential roommate's:

• Personality
• Health habits and lifestyle
• Budget
• Friends
• Pets

Make an Agreement and Put It In Writing

It's a good idea to have a written agreement with roommates as to:

• How you'll split and pay rent, utilities and security deposits
• Any house rules regarding pets and pet security deposits
• Whether smoking is allowed and where
• Partying hours and drug use (or lack thereof)
• Late hours and noise
• Whether there will be overnight guests, and how often
• Whether food and cooking duties will be shared
• Cleaning schedules and how you'll share responsibilities

Although no one can force a roommate to wash dishes or be quiet while other roommates are sleeping, a small claims court judge can enforce agreements as to how rent and utilities are paid.

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.

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 added security and pet deposit.

Your landlord may also raise the rent to reflect the additional person living in the space.

If you're adding a new roommate to the rental agreement, your landlord may require you to sign an entirely new lease.

When 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.

If your roommate doesn't pay rent on time, it's best to immediately do whatever's necessary to encourage your roommate to move out, and start looking for another roommate.

If your roommate has damaged property, a talk with your landlord as to exactly what happened may clear you from responsibility in the landlord's eyes. But don't count on it. It's important to cooperate with your landlord to repair the damage, and otherwise be the perfect tenant. Many landlords realize that all tenants shouldn't be punished for one tenant's misbehavior.

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. You can get more information from your local courthouse or domestic violence shelter or network.

Landlord & Tenant Message Board for more help