TipRentBillFree · no sign-up · your data never leaves your browserFree · no sign-up · nothing ever leaves your browser
A written plan for sharing a home. A roommate agreement sets out who pays what, who does which chores, and what happens when someone moves out. The example numbers below are set by this page so you can see how a split looks — adjust them to your own situation.
Three roommates splitting $2,400.00 rent pay $800.00 each.
A roommate agreement is a written understanding between people who share a home. It is not a lease with the landlord; it is the roommates' own rules. The points below are the ones that cause the most friction when they are left unsaid.
| Clause | What it settles |
|---|---|
| Rent split | Who pays what share, and on what day. |
| Utilities | How electric, water, gas, and internet are divided. |
| Deposits | What each person puts in and gets back. |
| Chores | Who cleans which area and how often. |
| Guests and noise | Overnight guests, quiet hours, and notice. |
| Move-out | Notice period and how the deposit is split. |
These numbers are example values set by this page. The split is three equal shares; change the rent or the shares to match your home.
| Roommate | Monthly share |
|---|---|
| A | $800.00 |
| B | $800.00 |
| C | $800.00 |
| Total | $2,400.00 |
Each share is $2,400.00 ÷ 3 = $800.00. The three shares add back to the rent exactly.
The same division works for the bills. If the monthly utilities run $360, three equal shares are $120.00 each. Deposits follow the same pattern: if the total deposit is $2,400 and three people share equally, each puts in $800.00 and gets $800.00 back when they leave, provided there are no deductions.
A clause that says "utilities are split" settles nothing until it names the bills and the basis. The table below lists what a shared home usually carries and the basis that fits what each bill measures. Any basis works, as long as the agreement names it before the first bill arrives.
| Bill | What it measures | Basis that fits |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | A fixed amount written into the lease | By room size where the rooms differ, equally where they do not |
| Electricity | Kilowatt-hours drawn by the whole unit | Per person, or per occupied room |
| Gas | Therms burned for heat, hot water and cooking | Per person, with the person who sets the thermostat named |
| Water | Gallons through one meter for the unit | Per person |
| Internet | A flat monthly rate that does not move with use | Equally, per person |
| Security deposit | A refundable amount held for the whole unit | The same shares as rent, so each refund matches what went in |
| Shared supplies | Paper goods, cleaning products, small repairs | Equally, topped up monthly instead of tracked receipt by receipt |
Two details decide whether the table survives the first month. Name the day the money is due, not only the amount. And write the shares as fractions that add to one — 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3 — rather than 33.33% three times, because 33.33% × 3 = 99.99%, which leaves $0.24 of a $2,400.00 rent with no owner.
An agreement written in dollars and an agreement written in percentages behave differently the first time the landlord raises the rent. Both cases below start from the same $2,400.00 rent split three ways at $800.00 each, and the same 4% rise, which adds $96.00 a month.
| Rule written in the agreement | Share after a 4% rise | What someone has to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Each roommate pays one third of the rent" | $832.00 each | Nothing. The increase passes through on its own. |
| "Each roommate pays $800.00" | $800.00 each | Find the missing $96.00 and agree who covers it. |
The dollar rule leaves $96.00 unassigned, which is 3.85% of the new rent. Over a year that is $1,152.00, and it is the figure the roommates end up arguing about — not the increase itself. A percentage rule does not remove the increase; it decides where the increase lands before anyone has to negotiate.
Unequal rooms work the same way. Where the agreement sets the shares at 40%, 35% and 25%, the old rent gave $960.00, $840.00 and $600.00. The same 4% rise moves those to $998.40, $873.60 and $624.00, which is an increase of $38.40, $33.60 and $24.00 — together $96.00. Nobody has to reopen the question of who has the bigger room, because the percentages already answered it.
The clause most agreements leave out is the one that matters on the day someone gives notice. Three cases cover almost every departure from the same $2,400.00 rent.
| What happens | Monthly shares | What the agreement has to say |
|---|---|---|
| A replacement takes the room at the same share | $800.00 each, unchanged | The new person's deposit arrives before the leaver's is refunded |
| No replacement, two people carry the rent | $1,200.00 each | Whether the leaver owes anything for the empty room, and for how long |
| The leaver goes mid-month | Leaver $400.00, the other two $1,000.00 each | How days are counted — the leaver pays for the days lived in the unit, not the whole month |
The two-person case is a 50% jump for whoever stays: $800.00 to $1,200.00, or $400.00 more each. That number is worth writing down in advance, because it decides whether the empty room gets filled quickly or the rent gets paid late. The mid-month case assumes a 30-day month and a move-out on the 16th, so the leaver covers 15 days: $800.00 × 15 ÷ 30 = $400.00, and the remaining $2,000.00 falls to the two who stay. The day count is the same one the prorated rent page works through for a move-in or a move-out date.
Two things sit outside the roommates' control and belong in the agreement as a caution. A roommate agreement cannot take a name off the lease — only the landlord can — so check who signed before anyone promises a departure date. And the deposit is usually held once for the whole unit, which is why the order of refunds matters more than the amount: pay the leaver back only after the replacement's money is in hand, or the people who stay have funded a gap they cannot recover from someone who has already moved out.
This page is a checklist and example splits. It is not legal advice, does not create a binding contract, and does not quote any state's rules on roommate agreements.