How much to charge a roommate for rent
Quick answer
Charge your roommate their room's share of the rent, plus their share of the bills, plus the cost of any extras you provide. On a $2,100 two-bedroom where you keep the larger room, a 120 square foot room against your 160 is 120 ÷ 280 of the rent, which is $900. Add $90 utilities, $30 internet, $75 parking and $10 furniture and the quote is $1,105.
Key points
- The quote is the room's share of the rent, plus a share of the bills, plus the cost of any extras you provide such as internet, parking or furniture.
- On a $2,100 two-bedroom with rooms of 160 and 120 square feet, the smaller room's share is 3/7 of the rent, which is $900.
- Furniture can be passed through at cost. A $600 set spread over 60 months is $10 a month, and a $25 charge repays the whole $600 in 24 months.
- A rent increase is shared by the same fraction. A $150 increase adds $64.29 to the smaller room, not $75.
- Write down the due date, how late payment is handled and how the quote is recalculated when the lease renews.
On this page
How do you work out what to charge a roommate?
Add up three things: their room’s share of the rent, their share of the bills and the cost of any extras you provide. As a formula, the quote is (rent × the room’s share) + utilities share + extras.
This page is for the person whose name is on the lease and who is renting out a spare room. It covers arithmetic and etiquette only. What your lease allows you to charge a roommate is a question for your lease.
What does the quote look like for a $2,100 two-bedroom?
Say the rent is $2,100 and you keep the larger bedroom, at 160 square feet. Your roommate takes the 120 square foot one. Step by step:
- Rent share. The bedrooms total 160 + 120 = 280 square feet. Their room is 120 ÷ 280 = 3/7 of the total, so 3/7 × $2,100 = $900. You pay the other $1,200.
- Utilities. Electric is $85, gas is $40 and water and trash are $55, which is $180. Split two ways, that is $90 each.
- Internet. The account is in your name at $60 a month, so their half is $30.
- Parking. The building has a second space at $75 a month that only your roommate uses, so they pay all $75.
- Furniture. You supply a bed frame, mattress and desk that cost $600. Passing that through over 60 months is $10 a month.
Put together, the box you can paste into a message looks like this.
| Line | How it is worked out | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | 120 ÷ 280 × $2,100 | $900 |
| Utilities | $180 ÷ 2 | $90 |
| Internet | $60 ÷ 2 | $30 |
| Parking | The full space | $75 |
| Furniture | $600 ÷ 60 months | $10 |
| Total | $1,105 |
By square footage your roommate pays $150 a month less in rent than an even split of $1,050 would ask. If you want to take shared rooms out of the rent first, how to split rent by room size shows that step.
Should you charge more for a furnished room?
You can charge for the furniture at cost or above cost, and the difference is worth saying out loud. At cost, the roommate covers what you paid, spread over the life of the furniture. Above cost, you are charging for the convenience of a furnished room.
Using the $600 set: at $10 a month, it takes 60 months to cover the price. At $25 a month, your roommate has paid the full $600 after 24 months, and you still own the furniture. Neither is wrong. What makes it fair is that the roommate can see the number and say yes or no before they move in. A roommate who does not want the furniture should be able to take it out of the quote.
What should you put in writing?
Put three things in the quote message, and ask your roommate to reply “agreed”:
- The due date. Pick a date a few days before your own rent is due, so you never cover their share while waiting.
- Late payment. Say what happens after the due date, such as a grace period of 3 days, and name any late fee as a dollar amount if there is one.
- The renewal. Say that the quote is recalculated with the same formula if the lease renews at a new rent, and who tells whom by when.
What to include in a roommate agreement covers the rest, and the arithmetic for utilities is in how to split utilities between roommates.
What changes when the rent goes up?
The increase is shared by the same fraction. If the lease renews at $2,250, the rent rises by $150. Your roommate’s 3/7 of that is $64.29, so their rent goes from $900 to $964.29. An even split would have added $75.
Their other lines move only if the bills or the extras do. The quote stays the same shape from one lease to the next, so the renewal is a matter of changing one number.
How do you track it in EvenOut?
Create a Household group (“Rent and bills”) and add your roommate. Add the rent as one expense, paid by you, and choose “Exact amounts”, then type $900 for them and $1,200 for you. Under “Photo, repeat, pending or note”, set “Repeat” to “Monthly” and EvenOut adds each later month for you. Utilities and internet use “Split equally”.
When your roommate pays you, tap “Settle up” and “Record payment”. EvenOut records who paid and who owes. It does not move the money.
What should you do next?
Fill in the quote box with your own rent and room sizes, send it before your roommate agrees to move in, and keep their reply. How to split rent fairly compares the other methods if square footage does not suit your apartment.
Frequently asked questions
Should I charge my roommate half if I get the bigger room?
Half is fair when the rooms are close in size and quality. If you keep the larger room, half asks your roommate to pay for space you use. On the $2,100 example, half is $1,050 against $900 by square footage, a $150 difference each month.
Should the roommate pay anything toward the security deposit?
That is for the two of you to agree. Two common ways are in proportion to their share of the rent or as an equal amount, and the agreement should say how and when it comes back to them. The guide on splitting a security deposit between roommates has the arithmetic.
When should my roommate pay me, if I pay the landlord?
Set their due date a few days before yours. If the landlord is paid on the 1st, ask for the roommate's payment by the 28th, so you are never covering their share from your own account while waiting.
Can I charge my roommate a different rent for the first month?
You can, if you both agree. A common case is a partial first month, where the rent is prorated by days. Write the first month's amount and date in the quote so the second month starts from a clean figure.
Keep reading
- Guide How to split rent by room size (formula and example) Split rent by room size with rent times bedroom area over total bedroom area, after taking out a shared-space share. Worked on $2,700, with EvenOut steps.
- Guide How to split rent fairly: 4 methods with real numbers Four ways to split rent fairly, run on one $2,700 apartment: equal, square footage, income and feature points, with a rule for choosing and EvenOut steps.
- Guide How to split utilities between roommates One $240 month run through four rules: equal, by people, by days present and with a heavy user extra charge. Plus who holds accounts and when to repay.
- Guide What to include in a roommate agreement Twelve money clauses for a roommate agreement, each with fill-in wording: rent shares, utilities, guest costs, late payment, notice and move-out money.
- Guide How to split a security deposit between roommates Equal or by rent share? On a $2,400 deposit with rents of $1,000, $800 and $600, see both splits, who fronts it and how to log it.