Setting up House Rules between Roommates

Similar to a marriage, roommates need to agree upon certain set house rules.  Without these clearly defined rules, the roommate situation can become a real disaster, with a potential breakup and hard feelings (not to mention a possible financial loss) as well.  In order to be successful, these house rules should be established even before you decide to move in together.  To be more effective, these rules should also be written down and signed off by all parties involved.  It may not be a legal document, but it stills increases the impact of the agreement if everything is documented.  Listed below are several house rules that you can use for your next roommate agreement.

Monthly rental payment

Money issues can really break up a relationship.  The same holds true with anything financially related with the apartment, especially the monthly rent payment.  It should be stated on the contract that each party will need to pay their share of rent by the rental contract due date; otherwise, they´ll have the option of finding a new roommate after a couple months of nonpayment.  That might seem a bit harsh, but would you rather be stuck with your roommate´s bill?  If your new roommate refuses to sign off on this point, then don´t agree to rent the apartment together.  That holds true even if you´re good friends, as friendship should be kept separate from financial matters.

Other financial matters

Besides the rent, other financially related apartment expenses should be divided equally.  Again, make sure you both understand and agree to this point.  For example, bills for water, gas, air conditioning, etc. should be equally divided and paid for by the due date.  If however, one of you goes on vacation for a month, then that person should not be held responsible for the air conditioning or heating bill.  Similarly, each roommate should pay for his own long distance calls, which can easily be done since the phone bills enumerate the calls line by line.  If your roommate doesn´t pay his portion of the bills for two consecutive months, you should have the option to look for a new roommate (should be stipulated in the house rules).

Parties and other social happenings

Living with a roommate can be tough, especially if the apartment is small.  To make the best of a possibly crowded situation, each roommate should respect the privacy of the other roommate.  That means that roommates should notify one another before having parties or social happenings in the apartment.  That doesn´t mean, however, that a roommate should take advantage of the other person and have parties around the clock, every day of the week.  If one of you goes to bed early during the workweek (either due to school or work), then it also wouldn´t be wise to have parties past a certain hour in the apartment.  You can even go so far as stipulating the time that you want weekday parties to end.   Weekend parties can probably last longer than weekday events, but they should also be limited to a certain hour.

Upkeep of the apartment

Cleaning duties should be equally divided.  If one roommate likes to clean the kitchen, while the other prefers bathrooms and vacuuming, then divide the job duties accordingly.  Just make sure that one roommate doesn´t get stuck with cleaning the apartment week after week, unless of course you agree upon the division of labor.  Perhaps one of you likes to do all the cooking, while the other enjoys cleaning.

Division of space

Fights revolving around space can cause many roommate arguments.  Before you agree to move in to a specific apartment, make sure rooms and bathrooms are assigned.  That also goes for refrigerator shelves and storage areas and closets.  It might seem like petty stuff, but it´s best that these seemingly small particulars are ironed out before the big move-in.  

Written by HomeList24.com.   Providing up-to-date property listings for homes for rent, apartments for sale, and vacation rentals.

Linda Zimmerman, GRI, e-PRO, SRES Prudential California Realty 4061 Laurel Canyon Blvd. , Studio City, CA 91604 Mobile:  310.880.9262  Direct:  818.487.4456 Fax:  818.985.1690 E-mail: Linda@LindaZimmerman.com