# What to include in a roommate agreement Canonical URL: https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/what-to-include-in-a-roommate-agreement Updated: 2026-10-06 The money part of a roommate agreement fits in twelve clauses: rent shares and due date, who holds each utility account, groceries and supplies, a spending threshold, guest costs, deposit shares, notice period, late payment, settle-up day, how disagreements get decided, move-out money and a review date. Each takes one or two sentences with the numbers filled in. Key points: - Put the money first: rent shares, utility accounts, deposit shares, late payment and move-out money each fit in one or two sentences. - Write real numbers into every clause, such as a $40 limit on shared purchases or a settle-up day, so nobody has to guess. - Keep quiet hours, cleaning and guest rules short. They matter, but they need a line each, not a page. - An agreement is a written record of what people agreed. This page says nothing about whether one can be enforced. ## What should the money part of a roommate agreement say? It should say who pays what, to whom and by when, and what happens when something changes. A roommate agreement is a written record of what everyone agreed. This page says nothing about whether any agreement can be enforced. The twelve clauses below each come with wording you can copy. Square brackets mark the blanks. Where an example number appears, it is only an example, so change it to what your household decides. For the house rules as a printable one-pager, with blanks to circle, use the [roommate agreement template](https://www.evenoutapp.com/templates/roommate-agreement-template). ## Which clauses cover rent and bills? Two clauses cover the largest payments, and a third covers the money held at the start. ### 1. Rent shares and due date Write each person's share in dollars, not just "equal", and name who the rent is paid to. Say three people rent a home for $3,150, and the biggest room carries more. > Rent is $3,150 a month, due on the [1st]. [Priya] pays $1,150 and [Dan] and [Lee] each pay $1,000. Each person pays their share to [name] by [day] so the full rent goes out on time. ### 2. Who holds which utility account List each bill, the account holder and how shares are collected. The account holder pays the provider, and the others pay them back. > [Dan] holds the electric account, [Lee] holds internet and [Priya] holds gas. Each bill is split [equally]. Shares are due to the account holder within [5] days of the bill. For ways to divide the bills themselves, see [how to split utilities between roommates](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/how-to-split-utilities-between-roommates). ### 3. Deposit shares Write how the deposit was paid in, so the same shares come back out. > The deposit is $3,150. It was paid in the same shares as rent: $1,150, $1,000 and $1,000. Anything the landlord deducts is split [by who caused it, or equally if that is unclear]. ## Which clauses cover shared purchases and guests? These three prevent the small, constant arguments. ### 4. Groceries and household supplies Decide what is shared and what is personal. Staples such as dish soap and toilet paper are usually shared, and personal food is not. > Shared: [dish soap, toilet paper, cleaning supplies]. Whoever notices something is out buys it, posts the receipt in the group chat and is paid back [equally]. Personal food is paid for by the person who eats it. ### 5. Spending threshold for shared purchases Set a dollar limit above which people ask first. It stops the surprise purchase without making every sponge a vote. > Any shared purchase over $[40] needs a yes from everyone in the group chat before it is bought. Under that, buy it and post the receipt. ### 6. Overnight guest costs Name the number of nights and what it costs the household. Guest rules about comfort are a separate matter, covered at the end. > A guest staying more than [3] nights in a week adds $[5] a night toward utilities, paid by the roommate who invited them. ## Which clauses cover timing, disagreements and moving out? These clauses answer what happens when someone is late, disagrees or leaves. ### 7. Notice period State how much notice a person gives before moving out. Look at the notice your lease requires, and set yours at least that long. > Anyone moving out gives [60] days' notice in a written message to the group. ### 8. Late payment Choose a due date and a consequence. A fee is optional, and a flat amount is easier to check than a percentage. > Shares are due on the [1st]. After [5] days, [Dan] messages the person once. A flat fee of $[10] applies after [10] days. [or: No fee applies, and the group talks after 10 days.] When it happens anyway, [what to do when a roommate is not paying bills](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/roommate-not-paying-bills) has the steps. ### 9. Settle-up day Pick one day a month when everyone squares up, so debts do not drift. > We settle shared costs on the [last Sunday] of each month. Balances under $[5] roll to the next month. ### 10. How disagreements get decided Agree the process before the disagreement exists. > A disagreement about money is raised within [7] days and talked through at the next settle-up. With three or more roommates, a majority decides. With two, the person who proposed a purchase pays for it alone. ### 11. Move-out money Write what a leaving roommate still pays. The page on [what roommates owe each other when one moves out early](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/what-roommates-owe-when-one-moves-out-early) has the arithmetic. > A roommate who leaves pays their rent share through the end of their notice period and their share of the final utility bills for the days they lived here. ### 12. Review at renewal Put a date on the next read-through. > We reread this and update the numbers [60] days before the lease ends and whenever someone moves in or out. Each change gets a date and each person replies "agreed". ## What about quiet hours, cleaning and guests? Give each one line, not a clause. Quiet hours: a start and an end time on weeknights. Cleaning: a rota by week, or a cleaner paid in equal shares. Guests: how many nights without asking, and who to tell. Shared spaces: who may use the living room for gatherings and with how much notice. These rules shape daily life, but they rarely involve money, so the twelve clauses above come first. Which costs to share at all is covered in [what expenses roommates should split](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/what-expenses-should-roommates-split). ## How can EvenOut hold the numbers once you agree? Once the numbers are agreed, a Household group in EvenOut can carry them. Enter the unequal rent with Exact amounts or Percent, set rent and fixed bills to repeat monthly so each month's expense is added on its own, and, as the group owner, set "Who can edit" to "Only their own" so people only change what they added or paid for. When someone owes you, "Send a reminder" is in the group menu. ## What to do next Fill in the twelve clauses with the people who will sign, in one sitting, and send the finished text to the group chat. Each person replies "agreed". Then put the settle-up day in everyone's calendar, since that single habit does more than any clause. The [roommate agreement template](https://www.evenoutapp.com/templates/roommate-agreement-template) covers the house rules on a printable page, and its money block can point to the page that holds these twelve clauses. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long should a roommate agreement be? One page covers the money part. Twelve clauses at one or two sentences each fit on a single printed page, and a short document is easier to reread when something changes. ### When should you write it? Before the first rent payment is due. If you already live together, do it at the next settle-up, when the numbers are on the table and nobody is in the middle of a dispute. ### How do you change it after everyone has agreed? Write the change with a date under the old wording and have each person reply that they agree. Keep the old version so you can see what applied before. ### What happens to the agreement when a new roommate moves in? Redo the rent shares and the deposit line for the new household size, and add the new person's agreement. The other clauses can stay as they are.