Dividing the rent
An even split is fair only when the rooms are equal. When they are not, treat part of the rent as payment for shared space and the remainder as payment for bedrooms. Take a $2,400 apartment with bedrooms of 150, 120 and 90 square feet. Assign 40 percent, or $960, to the common areas and split it three ways at $320 each. Divide the other $1,440 by the 360 square feet of bedroom, which gives $4 a foot, or $600, $480 and $360. The three rents come to $920, $800 and $680. Add a premium of $50 to $100 for a private bathroom, a parking space or the only balcony. A couple sharing one room usually pays more than one share and less than two.
What the lease makes you
Put every occupant on the lease. Most leases make roommates jointly liable, which means the landlord may collect the full rent from any one of you, so a roommate who stops paying becomes everyone's problem. Record who paid which part of the security deposit, because the landlord will return it as a single check.
Running the bills
A utility account sits in one person's name, and that person's credit absorbs any late payment. Spread the risk by putting electricity under one roommate and internet under another. Then run the household on a simple system.
- Every shared bill goes into one spreadsheet or expense-splitting app on the day it arrives.
- Balances are settled once a month by a fixed date, such as the fifth.
- Payments travel by electronic transfer, which leaves a record, and never by cash.
- A kitty of about $20 a month each covers toilet paper, dish soap and trash bags.
The roommate agreement
Put one page in writing and have everyone sign it. It should state each rent share, the bill split, the due dates and the deposit shares. It should set a notice period for leaving, commonly 60 days, and make the departing roommate responsible for finding a replacement the others and the landlord accept. It should also cover cleaning, quiet hours and overnight guests, and a common rule holds that a partner who stays more than three nights a week contributes to utilities. The landlord is not bound by this page, but a small claims court will enforce it between the people who signed.
Tip Have the hard conversation about money while everyone still likes each other. The agreement is easiest to write in the week before move-in and nearly impossible in the week after a fight.
