Roommate Agreements - Sample Form

Sep 1, 2026

Roommate agreements set out shared responsibilities and rules for living together, helping prevent misunderstandings that can escalate into disputes involving landlords. Key topics include rent and utilities division, shared or individual food costs, cleaning schedules, overnight-guest rules, party and gathering ground rules, quiet hours, noise expectations, parking use, and the lease withdrawal process. Courts may enforce monetary provisions, making written terms especially important for deposit, rent, and utility accountability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatDOCX

Pages3

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Roommate Agreement Checklist

Core Topics to Include

Writing and Sample Agreement

Mediation Clause and Document Importance

Sample Roommate Agreement

Parties and Rental Terms

Lease, Rent, and Security Deposit

Roommate Agreements You can avoid potential problems that may balloon into larger disputes that consume your time, sap your emotional energy, and get you into trouble with your landlord by creating a roommate agreement. The agreement talks about issues important to you in a shared housing situation and issues which are most likely to cause problems between roommates. Roommate agreements should be put in writing because oral agreements are easily forgotten (particularly over the long term), misinterpreted, or not afforded much weight by all roommates. .A few key issues which should always be included are: division of rent; utilities (who pays for utilities and how they are divided in terms of cost); food (will food costs be shared or everyone is responsible for their own?); schedule and responsibilities related to cleaning (dishes, vacuuming, pets, etc.); rules for overnight guests; ground rules for parties or gatherings; designated quiet times; noise issues generally; allotment and/or schedule for use of parking space; and the process for withdrawing from the lease. While a court will likely ignore most clauses in a roommate agreement, a court will enforce agreements regarding monetary issues, such as rent, utilities, and security deposits. Written documents tend to be taken more seriously by the parties who sign them, so if you want to assure to the best of your ability that your agreement is adhered to, get your roommate agreement in writing. Writing Your Own Agreement. Sample roommate agreements abound on the internet, and for college students, most universities offer standard forms through their university housing departments. Many of these forms contain a mediation clause, which requires roommates to seek some form of third-party mediation before taking any action. It's a good idea to include such a clause because at the end of the day, the roommate's action affects you, and vice versa, and an agreement to mediate gives you more control over the dispute. Following is a sample agreement that exemplifies the basic contents of a roommate agreement. Like any sample form, you should modify it to reflect your needs, desires, and differences in state and local law. SAMPLE ROOMMATE AGREEMENT We the undersigned have signed a rental agreement for 777 State Street, Anytown, VA, on January 1, 20__, lease term effective through December 31, 20__, for a rent price of $____ per month. The purpose of this agreement is to assign the responsibilities of renting so they are shared equally by all roommates. 1. Roommates The roommates of the above address and lease are: John Doe Jonathan Q. Public James Smith 2. Terms of Lease Each roommate is responsible for upholding the terms of the lease through the end of the lease period. A roommate may leave if a substitute roommate is found and is acceptable to the remaining roommates and landlord. Remaining roommates agree not to withhold approval of a new roommate unreasonably. Each departing roommate will be responsible for finding his/her own replacement tenant. The landlord must be informed of any roommate change and the departing roommate will be responsible for their portion of rent through the end of the rental period unless other arrangements are made with the other roommates and landlord, in writing. 3. Rent Each roommate will pay $___. Rent will be submitted by the other roommates to ______ (name) no later than the 1st of each month. ______ (name) will be responsible for writing a single check, incorporating the rents of the other roommates, to the landlord no later than the 4th of each month. 4. Security Deposit The roommates have paid a total deposit of $____, split equally between them. Each roommate will be responsible for damage he/she or his/her guests cause. If the person who caused the damage cannot be determined, the cost will be shared equally by the roommates. 5. Pets Each roommate will be responsible for any damage associated with their pet. This includes damage to furnit

FAQs

Why should a roommate agreement be put in writing?

Written agreements reduce the risk of misunderstandings, forgotten terms over time, and disputes that involve landlords. They also tend to be taken more seriously by the signing parties.

What key issues should be included in a roommate agreement?

The agreement should cover rent division, utilities (who pays and how costs are split), food sharing rules, cleaning schedules and responsibilities, overnight guest rules, party or gathering ground rules, quiet times, noise expectations, parking use, and how a roommate withdraws from the lease.

Which parts are most likely to be enforced in court?

Courts are likely to enforce monetary-related clauses such as rent, utilities, and security deposits, while many other clauses may be ignored.

Sep 1, 2026

Upload by Alex Sinclair