Roommate agreement checklist for shared apartments

A roommate agreement is a short written deal between the people who share an apartment: who pays what, by when, and what happens when someone leaves. It does not bind your landlord, but it settles the money and house-rule questions that cause most roommate fights, and it gives you something to point to (or take to small claims court) if a roommate stops paying.

Before you write one, find out where each person stands with the landlord. That legal status decides who can be sued for unpaid rent, who can renew, and who can be asked to leave.

Co-tenant or occupant? Settle this first

New York's roommate law, Real Property Law § 235-f, defines a tenant as someone who is a party to the lease, and an occupant as a person other than a tenant or the tenant's immediate family who lives in the apartment with the tenant's consent. The difference matters every day you live together.

Under § 235-f, a lease in one person's name lets that tenant live with their immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant's dependent children, as long as the tenant or the tenant's spouse uses the apartment as a primary residence. With two or more tenants on the lease, the total of tenants plus occupants (not counting occupants' dependent children) can't exceed the number of tenants named on the lease. The tenant must tell the landlord an occupant's name within 30 days after the occupant moves in, or within 30 days of the landlord asking. Any lease clause that tries to waive these rules is void.

The flip side: an occupant gets no right to stay if the tenant leaves, and no other tenancy rights, unless the landlord gives express written permission. The NYC Rent Guidelines Board notes that roommates who aren't family members may be evicted when the tenant on the lease moves out. If you are the occupant, your roommate agreement is your main protection.

What to put in the agreement

Keep it to one or two pages. Every roommate signs and dates it and keeps a copy. Cover these areas, in this order, because money disputes are the hardest to fix later.

1. Rent and how it reaches the landlord

Write each person's dollar share, not just "split fairly." If rooms differ in size, private bathroom or closet space, agree on the split before anyone moves in. Our roommate rent split calculator gives you a defensible starting point. Then say who sends the payment to the landlord, the date each person pays that person (a few days before rent is due), and what happens if someone is late. If one person pays the whole rent and gets reimbursed, they carry the risk, so put the reimbursement deadline in writing.

2. Security deposit

In New York the deposit is capped at one month's rent, and for apartments that aren't rent regulated the landlord must return it within 14 days after you move out, according to the state Attorney General. The landlord returns it to the tenant(s) on the lease, not to each roommate. Record how much each person put in, and how deductions for damage are shared (equally for common areas, by person for their own room). Say what happens to a departing roommate's share: the incoming roommate buys it out, or it waits until the whole lease ends.

3. Utilities and shared bills

List each account (electricity, gas, internet, streaming, cleaning supplies), whose name it is in, and the split. Put accounts in different names so no one person carries all the credit risk. If someone works from home or runs a window AC all summer, an unequal split may be fair; our utility bill split calculator helps.

4. Guests, partners and quiet hours

Set a limit on overnight guests per week and how much notice to give. A partner who sleeps over most nights is effectively another occupant, which can put you over the limit under § 235-f and should mean a share of the bills. Agree on quiet hours and on smoking, pets and parties. Check the lease first: if it bans pets or smoking, your agreement can't change that.

5. Cleaning and shared items

A rotating chore list beats "everyone cleans up after themselves." Say who buys shared supplies, how furniture bought together is split when someone leaves, and who owns what.

6. Moving out and replacing a roommate

This is where most agreements fail. Decide how much notice a departing roommate gives (30 or 60 days is common), whether they must find a replacement, whether the others can veto that person, and whether the departing roommate keeps paying until the room is filled. If the leaver is a co-tenant on the lease, the landlord may still be able to hold them liable for rent until the lease ends or they are formally released, whatever your agreement says.

Your roommate agreement checklist

Tick off each term as you agree on it. Your progress is saved in this browser only.

Common situations and what usually works

How to make it stick

1. 1

   Read the lease together

   Note the rent due date, guest or occupancy clauses, pet and smoking rules, and whether all of you are named.
2. 2

   Agree on numbers before move-in

   Run the rent and utility split calculators and agree on dollar amounts, not percentages that drift.
3. 3

   Write it plainly and sign it

   One or two pages, each person signs and dates, everyone keeps a copy (a shared PDF works).
4. 4

   Tell the landlord what the law requires

   If someone is an occupant, give the landlord their name within 30 days of move-in or of being asked.
5. 5

   Take dated move-in photos

   Every room, before furniture goes in. They protect everyone’s share of the deposit.
6. 6

   Revisit when anything changes

   New roommate, rent increase or renewal: update the shares and re-sign.