I was fortunate to move in with experienced people who had signed apartment leases before. They had also learned a lot over the years about navigating financial agreements and such between roommates. The most important thing is to put everything in writing, even if you love and trust each other. You want it all written down as a reference for everyone to have.
Here are some pointers:
Lease
- How long is it for? Are you committing to a full year (standard leases are from around May to May because people move in the summer) or paying monthly? How far in advance will you have to let your landlord know if you are renewing the lease? Our lease says sixty days before the lease is up, in writing.
- Who is responsible for paying gas, electricity, water, and oil (if applicable)? Who is responsible for lawn care (usually the landlord) and shoveling snow? Our landlord is responsible for the sidewalk and front walkway, and we are responsible for the driveway.
- Who pays for home repairs? If you need anything fixed by the landlord before moving in, make sure to put it in writing.
- By what day of each month is your rent due?
- How much is the security deposit?
Internal agreement between roommates
- What happens if someone gets married or needs to move for an emergency? How many months’ rent is that person responsible for, and how will the other roommates divide the rent afterwards? It’s perfectly reasonable to have everyone sign that they are responsible for the full rent for the duration of the lease unless they find a replacement. Or that they are responsible for at least, say, six months’ rent.
- How will you choose new roommates if someone leaves? In our apartment, we’ve agreed that everyone needs to be comfortable with the new roommate and if someone isn’t we’ll just have to keep looking.
- How will you split utilities, WiFi and any other shared expenses?
- Which rav do you all agree to follow in the event of a monetary disagreement?
Please share additional suggestions or anything I might have missed!
