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REACH · The Survival Kit

Housing help.A safe place to sleep is part of finishing.

Live well with a roommate, know what you're signing, find help fast if your housing is at risk, and spot a fake listing before it costs you.

Roommate agreement

Most roommate fights are about things nobody said out loud: noise, guests, dishes and money. Sit down together in the first week, fill this in, print it and both sign. We’ve filled in starting points; change every line to fit you.

Split the bills

Type each bill’s monthly amount. It splits evenly unless you type a percent for someone (for example, the bigger room pays 60%).

$0.00Roommate 1 pays each month
$0.00Roommate 2 pays each month

Agree on who pays each bill to the company and when the others pay them back. Keep receipts. Only the person whose name is on the account is responsible to the company, so think before putting a bill in just one name.

Our roommate agreement

Roommate 1, Roommate 2

Quiet hours
Weeknights 11 PM to 7 AM, weekends midnight to 9 AM. Headphones after that.
Guests
Text before bringing someone over. Guests leave common areas tidy.
Overnight guests
No more than two nights in a row without asking, and never during finals week.
Cleaning
We take turns weekly: kitchen and trash one week, bathroom and floors the next.
Groceries and shared basics
We each buy our own food. Shared basics (dish soap, paper towels, toilet paper) are split evenly.
Using each other's things
Ask before using something that isn't yours.
Borrowing
Return it clean and in the same shape, or replace it.
Heat and air
We agree on the thermostat together.
When we disagree
If something bothers us, we say it within a few days, calmly and in person, not in a group chat or on social media. If we can't work it out, we ask our RA or housing office to help us talk.

We can change this agreement any time we all agree. This is an agreement between us; it does not change our lease or our school’s housing rules.

Roommate 1 · signature and date
Roommate 2 · signature and date

Kept only in this browser so you can come back to it. Nothing is sent to EFF. Erase removes it.

General information, not legal advice. Renters’ rights are set by your state and city, so check your state’s page on LawHelp.org.