Roommates and Cohabitation
Select your roommates carefully. There are legal,
financial, and personal implications to consider which will affect
your living agreement. The following are some issues that may
cause conflict:
• Responsibilities (for housekeeping, cooking, etc.)
• Study and Leisure Habits (noise levels, music,
entertainment, alcohol and
drug
issues, cohabitation, etc.)
• Payment (of rent, utilities, groceries, etc.)
• Standard of Living (cleanliness vs. messiness)
Living Together Successfully
To have a successful group tenancy, it is important that
everyone gets together and discusses every aspect of living
together, especially where there might be differences of
opinion. Before signing a lease, have an honest discussion on
your expected living arrangement. Withholding your needs and
expectations from housemates will only cause problems later
on. Be sure to discuss such things as:
- Division of
Rent: who is assigned to which room, and how much
each person owes.
- Purchase of Food: for individual and communal
consumption; discuss how food will be purchased, how often it is
purchased, and prepared if this will be a group activity.
- Purchase of household supplies and furniture:
draw up a list of household needs and the amount each will have to
pay. There should be a provision made in advance for
reimbursement and distribution if someone moves out of the
occupancy ends.
- Respect for personal property: agree on the
usage or non-usage of individual property even “trivial” items such
as shampoo and hairspray.
- Damage to personal property: agree on remedies
when individual property is missing or damaged and the responsible
party cannot be determined.
- Guests: discuss the ground rules for overnight
guest. As a courtesy to your housemates and neighbors be sure
to set rules for your guests – especially when alcohol will be
consumed. Discuss appropriate behavior and acceptable noise
levels with your housemates and their guests. Also be aware
that local ordinances prohibit high levels of noise, underage
drinking and disorderly conduct. Tenants can face hefty fines
and even jail time for violations of such laws.
- Tenant leaving: even if you discussed your
desires and expectations before you moved in housemates may still
decide to move out. Everyone should talk about this possibility
before moving in. Discuss who will be responsible for finding
a new tenant. Remaining housemates may feel they should have
the right of filling the vacancy since they will be living with the
new tenant. On the other hand, they may feel that the person
moving out should bear the responsibility of finding a new
tenant. Tenants should also keep in mind their lease
agreement, since some landlords forbid subletting.
You may think that these precautions are unnecessary, but you
should never assume anything about a person with whom you share a
rental. Co-tenants may think nothing of using your soap
without asking your permission or playing loud music at 2:00
am. Having an open and honest conversation regarding
everyone’s standards and expectations before moving in will help to
insure a pleasant living situation. Clearly defining your roommate
expectations should offer a better chance in finding housemates
that more fully suit your living needs and preferences.