# What roommates owe each other when one moves out early

Canonical URL: https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/what-roommates-owe-when-one-moves-out-early
Updated: 2026-10-06

Settle seven money items in order: the notice date, rent for the empty room until a replacement signs, the last month prorated by days present, the deposit share, shared-item buyouts, the internet account and one final settle-up. Agree each rule in writing. Read the lease for what it requires; this covers only the money between roommates.

Key points:
- Prorate by days: with $900 rent in a 30-day month, a roommate who leaves after 9 days owes 9 × $30 = $270 for those days.
- Pick a rule for the empty room before it happens, such as paying until a replacement moves in, for at most 14 days.
- Prorate each utility share the same way. A $45 share for 9 of 30 days is $13.50.
- Put everything into one final number and pay it before the keys are returned. In the example, the roommate who leaves is owed $400.50.

## What is the money timeline when a roommate moves out early?

Seven money questions come up, and each one should end with a date or a number written down:

1. **The notice date.** The day the roommate tells everyone, in a message you can find later.
2. **Rent for the empty room.** Who pays for it until someone replaces them, and for how long.
3. **The last month, prorated.** Rent and utilities by days present.
4. **The deposit share.** Who holds it and who pays it back.
5. **Shared items.** Which ones stay, and what each keeper pays.
6. **The internet account.** Whose name it is in and from what date.
7. **A final settle-up.** One total, with what is already known paid before the keys come back.

Read the lease for what it requires of the household. This page covers only the money between roommates, using three made-up roommates, Noor, Sam and Lee, who pay $2,700 a month in rent, which is $900 each.

## How long does the roommate who leaves keep paying rent?

For as long as the household agreed, and the useful agreements are specific: a fixed number of weeks, until a replacement moves in, or whichever comes first.

Say Noor tells the others on Oct 10 and hands back the keys on Nov 9, which is 30 days later. November has 30 days, so Noor's $900 share is $30 a day. The household agrees that Noor covers the empty room until someone moves in, for 14 days at most. A replacement moves in on Nov 20.

- **Days present, Nov 1 to 9:** 9 × $30 = $270.
- **Empty days, Nov 10 to 19:** 10 × $30 = $300, which is under the 14-day cap of $420.
- **The replacement's days, Nov 20 to 30:** 11 × $30 = $330.

The three parts add back to $900. Noor paid the full $900 on Nov 1, so the replacement's $330 goes to Noor, who already paid for those days.

## How do you prorate utilities and internet?

Prorate the share, not the whole bill. Noor's share of a $135 electric and gas bill for November is $45, and 9 of 30 days is 9/30 × $45 = $13.50. The replacement's 11 days is $16.50. The 10 empty days come to $15.00, and because the rule above covers rent only, Sam and Lee split it at $7.50 each. The parts add up: $13.50 + $16.50 + $15.00 = $45.00.

Internet at $60 a month is a $20 share, so 9 of 30 days is $6.00. The same method works for any bill, and [the prorated rent calculator](https://www.evenoutapp.com/tools/prorated-rent-calculator) does the day count for you. If a bill is not in yet, use last month's bill as the estimate. [What prorated rent means](https://www.evenoutapp.com/glossary/prorated-rent) explains the method in general.

## What happens to the deposit, shared items and internet account?

- **Deposit.** On a $2,700 deposit, Noor's share is $900. One arrangement is that the replacement pays Noor $900 at move-in and takes over that share. How and when the landlord returns the deposit is a lease matter, and [how to handle a roommate's deposit share](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/roommate-moving-out-security-deposit) goes into the roommate side.
- **Shared items.** A $540 sofa bought together is $180 each. If Sam and Lee keep it and agree to pay Noor half of Noor's share, that is $90, or $45 each. [Splitting furniture when a roommate leaves](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/how-to-split-furniture-when-a-roommate-moves-out) covers other ways to price an item.
- **Internet.** The account holder gets the bill and the equipment. If Noor holds it, pick the date the account moves to Sam or Lee, and settle Noor's share up to that date.

## What does the final settle-up look like?

Add every line to one number, and pay what is already known before the keys change hands. Here is Noor's:

| Line | Math | Noor owes | Noor gets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent paid Nov 1 | In advance | | $900.00 |
| Rent, days present | 9 × $30 | $270.00 | |
| Rent, empty room | 10 × $30 | $300.00 | |
| Electric and gas | 9/30 × $45 | $13.50 | |
| Internet | 9/30 × $20 | $6.00 | |
| Sofa buyout | 50% × $180 | | $90.00 |
| Total | | $589.50 | $990.00 |

Noor gets $990.00 minus $589.50, which is $400.50. It comes from three places: the replacement's $330 for Nov 20 to 30, and $45 each from Sam and Lee for the sofa, less the $19.50 Noor owes for utilities and internet. The $330 can only arrive once the replacement moves in on Nov 20. So on Nov 8 the household settles the sofa, utilities and internet, which nets Noor $70.50, and the replacement's $330 follows on Nov 20.

## What can you send the other roommates?

Send this before the move, with your own dates and numbers. It is 10 lines, and each one is a decision someone can agree to or change:

> Hi Sam and Lee, here is the money plan for my move-out.
>
> I told you on Oct 10, so you have 30 days of notice, and my last day is Nov 9.
>
> I paid November rent on Nov 1, and I will keep covering my room until someone moves in, for 14 days at most.
>
> At $30 a day that is $270 for the days I am here and $300 for the empty days if the room fills on Nov 20.
>
> Whoever takes the room pays me back for their days, Nov 20 to 30.
>
> Electric and gas: I owe $13.50 for 9 days, and you split the empty days at $7.50 each.
>
> Internet: I owe $6.00 for 9 days. Sam, please move the account to your name from Nov 10.
>
> You keep the sofa, so I suggest half of my $180 share, $45 from each of you.
>
> My $900 deposit share comes from the new roommate when they move in.
>
> Let's total what we know on Nov 8 and settle it before I return the keys.

## What should you do next?

Write the empty-room rule and the final-settle-up date into the group chat today, then work through [the roommate move-out checklist](https://www.evenoutapp.com/templates/roommate-move-out-checklist) line by line.

If the household already tracks costs in EvenOut, the last month's bills go in as expenses, and the group page lists your balance with each person under "Balances". "Settle up" records each payment. EvenOut does not move money, so the payments themselves go through whatever the roommates use.

## Frequently asked questions

### What if no replacement moves in before the cap runs out?

The rule decides it, which is why it should be written down. In the example the leaving roommate covers 14 days at $30, so $420, and the other two carry the room after that. Each of them then owes $15 a day, so one week is $105 each.

### What if the utility bill is not in when they leave?

Use last month's bill as an estimate, settle on it, and agree to true it up when the real bill arrives. If the November bill turns out to be $150 instead of $135, the share becomes $50 and 9 of 30 days is $15.00 instead of $13.50, so the leaving roommate owes $1.50 more.

### Should the roommate who leaves pay for the days after they move out?

That is for the household to agree, and the lease may say more. Three rules to pick from: pay for days present only, pay until a replacement moves in, or pay a fixed number of weeks. Write the rule down at the notice date, because the same move-out has a different total under each one.