A Roommate Agreement is a written contract between roommates that outlines their rights and obligations while living together. This agreement includes house rules, maintenance duties, restricted behaviors, and more. For a Roommate Agreement to be useful, everyone sharing the household must agree to it.
How to write a roommate agreement Names of both tenants. The property address. The dates the lease begins and ends. The amount of rent each person pays. Who pays for utilities. Who pays the security deposit. Which bedroom each person occupies. Who buys food, or if you're each buying your own food.
Understanding Roommate Laws in California Co-tenant: If your roommate signed the lease with you, they have equal rights to the property. Evicting them often requires coordination with the landlord.
A roommate arrangement is when multiple adults occupy a single unit together. In most cases, the renters are not related, but siblings and cousins can be roommates as well. With a traditional roommate arrangement, all roommates share a single lease.
A written roommate agreement is a contract created and signed by you and your roommates (no need to get the landlord involved) before or when you move in together. It should establish house rules like quiet hours, division of household duties, a cleaning schedule, how you'll handle overnight guests, and more.
In the United Kingdom, the term "roommate" means a person sharing the same bedroom; in the United States and Canada, "roommate" and "housemate" are used interchangeably regardless of whether a bedroom is shared, although at US universities having a roommate commonly implies sharing a bedroom.
Do Not Use Each Other's Things Without Asking. Not using each other's things without asking is one of the more obvious roommate rules. While some people are more casual about sharing, others are not. You have to learn what kind of person your roommate is and then act ingly.
30-Day or 60-Day Notice: For month-to-month agreements, provide a 30-day notice if they've lived in the property for less than a year, or a 60-day notice if they've stayed longer. Notice to Vacate for Unlisted Occupants: For roommates not on the lease, use a general notice to vacate as the first step.
The law is Civil Code section 1946.5. In general, you first give the lodger written notice. Then, if they don't move out by the end of the notice period, they are considered trespassing. You can ask law enforcement to remove them.
Agreements that are over a year should be in writing to be enforceable in court. Agreements that are a year or less can be verbal or written.