Sample Roommate Contract: Fill & Download for Free

If you’re gonna let somebody stay with you rent free you need to have an exit strategy in place or you’re going to get stuck with a dependent instead of a friend. Start by having a very clear end date to your generosity of letting them stay there rent free. Such as today is February 11 you can stay here until April 11th rent free but after that I’m gonna need you to chip in.Mind you this is only if you actually want to have a roommate otherwise you need to make it very clear that they can’t stay past a certain point. My mom used to call me the patron saint of strays, because whether it was animals, people, or causes, I was always coming home with something or somebody who needed help. 99.7% of the time I wound up the bad guy when I finally had to draw the line and tell them that it wasn’t a never ending free-for-all and that I couldn’t support them for the rest of my life did they have any plans to go get a job or get off the street or I don’t know help around the house a little.Here's a template you can cut and paste. I got it offFree Online Legal Form & Document Creator | Legal TemplatesText Template – just copy and paste!This Roommate Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made as of ____/____/_____, by and between the roommates listed below (each a “Roommate” and collectively the “Roommates”). The Roommates are tenants at the premises located at (the “Premises”):Street Address: ______________________________________________________City: ________________________State: _______________________ Zip: _______Term of Lease – From: _____/_____/___________ To: _____/_____/___________Security Deposit: The total security deposit under the Lease is __________. Each Roommate is responsible for his or her share of the security deposit as described above, and will receive his or her share of the security deposit minus any amount applied by the Landlord after the termination of the Lease.Utilities: The rent includes __________________ as part of each payment. The utilities not included in the rent will be shared by the Roommates according to the following arrangement:Parking: The Roommates are entitled to park their vehicles on the Premises per the following instructions:Legal Considerations:Will the Roommates purchase Renters Insurance: No _______ Yes ______Insurance Company: __________________ Signer: ________ Monthly Rate: ______Damages: Each Roommate is responsible for any damage to the Premises caused by him or her including his or her guests. If there is damage that cannot be reasonably traced back to a particular Roommate, the cost of the damage will be shared equally by all the Roommates.Early Termination: A Roommate may terminate this Agreement before the end of the lease term if he or she gives ______ months notice and assists in finding a replacement Roommate.Shared Costs: The Roommates will evenly split all costs for items used by all the Roommates and placed in common areas, unless otherwise agreed upon.Shared Property: All shared property will be paid for evenly, unless otherwise agreed upon. At the end of the lease term or when the Roommates terminate this Agreement, shared property will be split between the Roommates, or a Roommate may purchase shared property from the other Roommates.Behavioral Stipulations:Pets: Can pets be kept at the Premises: No ___________ Yes__________It is the duty of the owner to care and provide for the pet. The owners and pets are as follows:Chores / Household Duties: Chores and duties will be discussed weekly / monthly (circle one), and individual responsibilities will be agreed upon at those times. Each Roommate must complete his or her chores to the full extent in a timely fashion.Cleanliness Expectations: Each Roommate will keep his or her bedroom and bathroom, as well as the Common Area, including the grounds and all appliances, fixtures and furnishings, in clean, sanitary and good condition and repair. Each Roommate will maintain the cleanliness and neatness of the Common Area and share in the responsibility of cleaning the Common Area.Overnight Guests: Guests are allowed: No _____ Yes______ Only if previously discussed ______Noise Level / Quiet Hours: The Roommates are expected to keep noise down to a reasonable level during the day. After ________PM and until _______ AM, noise should be kept to a minimum.Parties / Entertaining: Each Roommate may have up to _____ friends over at a time. Any more than this amount should be discussed with all the Roommates at least _____ day(s) prior. Parties must be agreed upon by all the Roommates and planned at least _____ day(s) prior.Smoking and Alcohol Use: The Roommates are allowed to smoke in the following areas: __________________________________________________________________________. Drinking alcohol is allowed between _____ AM/PM and _____ AM/PM. The Roommates are responsible for maintaining reasonable standards of behavior and level of noise.Additional Terms:Severability: If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the remaining provisions shall not be affected and shall continue to be valid and enforceable as though the invalid or unenforceable parts had not been included in this Agreement.Governing Law:The terms of this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of __________, not including its conflicts of law provisions.Entire Agreement: This Agreement contains the entire understanding between the Roommates and supersedes and cancels all prior agreements of the parties, whether oral or written, with respect to such subject matter.Amendments: This Agreement may be amended or modified only by a written agreement signed by all Roommates.Roommate Agreement PDF SampleThe sample roommate agreement below details an agreement between the two roommates, ‘Donny P Gibbons’ and ‘Robert R Alcorn.’ Donny P Gibbons and Robert R Alcorn agree to abide by the terms and conditions while living on the premises.2. The Basics: What is a Roommate Agreement?It is a legal and binding contract between two or more people who live together in the same space.As an official written document, it clearly outlines responsibilities and expectations. By signing the document, each person understands the agreed upon rules and responsibilities.Unlike a Lease Agreement, this contract is between the Tenants or Roommates, not between the Landlord and Tenants.People do not need to be strangers in order to have a Roommate Agreement. In fact, friends may need a written agreement to make sure everyone is clear about what is expected so if there is a dispute, it doesn’t turn into a fight.LT TipEven if your roommate is family or a close friend, using a contract to establish clear guidelines will make sure relationships remain amicable.As a reference, people call this document by other names:Housemate AgreementRoommate Contract3. How to Write Your OwnSolid roommate contracts contain three main sections: the basic information about the roommates and the property, considerations of a legal or contractual nature, and basic behavioral stipulations.Basic InformationNames of roommatesResidence addressTerm of the leaseRent (and how to divide amongst residents)Security depositUtilities (and how they will be paid)ParkingLegal ConsiderationsWhether rental insurance will be purchasedHow damages will be rectifiedTerms for early terminationRoom assignments or living arrangementShared propertyShared costsBehavioral StipulationsPetsOvernight guestsParties / EntertainingChores and household dutiesCleanliness expectationsNoise level and quiet hoursSmoking and alcohol use4. Why You Need One and How to Bring It UpWhen you sign a Roommate Agreement, the law recognizes that two adults agreed to a certain set of rights and obligations. Unlike a verbal promise, a written agreement carries more weight and can be enforced. While a judge will enforce financial obligations like a roommate’s responsibility to pay rent, you will not likely get the court to agree that they should vacuum the living room.For example, many roommate contracts stipulate terms similar to the following:A roommate’s girlfriend or boyfriend cannot sleep over more than one night per weekEach person will contribute $10 a month for shared toilet paper and cleaning suppliesAsk each other for permission before having more than 3 friends overTurn off the music and ask guests to leave after 10pm on weekdaysA housemate’s little brother cannot sleep on the living room couch for more than a weekMany universities, including Northern Arizona University, Oregon State University, Emory University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst encourage or require students to use Roommate Agreements for on-campus or off-campus housing. Some towns and cities like the City of Boulder even offer suggestions for avoiding roommate disputes.When approaching a roommate about creating one, be sure to note the benefits to communication and clarity that a roommate contract promotes. While some roommates, especially close friends, might be skeptical of putting part of your relationship on paper, remind them it may go a long way in preserving your friendship in the long run.Even the Big Bang Theory team has to negotiate on roommate rulesLT TipEven Sheldon Cooper thought it was a good idea to have this agreement with Leonard on the popular TV show the Big Bang Theory. Unlike Sheldon, you may have a difficult time agreeing to an annual “Roommate Review” where your roommate’s worthiness is properly assessed.Create Your Free Roommate Agreement in minutes.This form also helps people solve little problems before they become big problems. If you were to neglect using a contract with your roommates, you may face a few of the following:Lost moneyOthers pick pay more rent because one person moves out early without noticeSecurity deposit lost because of damage to the common areasLost timeUnexpected search for a replacement housemateHours of discussions about what should or should not have been doneCleaning up after another person’s mess or unwelcome gatheringLost propertyDamaged personal items borrowed without permissionFurniture in public areas broken by others’ guestsOn a final note, I just wanted to add, it's nice of you to help your friend out and I applaud you for that. I truly hope that they recognise how special you are and they are grateful for the help. I am not trying to be cynical I just wanted to let you know what your options are and how you can protect yourself should the worst case scenario occur.If your friend just need a temporary place to stay and they don’t have any other options then help them work out a plan of action and make sure they stick to it. If they’re not willing to follow certain criteria such as looking for another place to stay, looking for a job, helping around the house etc. etc. then you don’t have a responsibility to help them with Jack all.Regardless don’t paint yourself into a corner where you’re stuck with someone living at your house who thinks that they are always going to have you taking care of everything and when you tell them that you can’t then you run the risk that they will get angry and resentful and you wind up doing serious damage to your friendship.

This question will be answered by the specific renter’s policy language.Insurance is a contract. Therefore, your renter’s policy will spell out exactly who is covered and for what.Most renters policies use a standard Insurance Services Office (ISO) HO-4 policy form. You can see a sample of that form here.The ISO HO-4 insurance policy/form (and many others) will have similar wording that will define the most basic terms in the contract such as “You” and an “Insured”.But don’t let that specificity fool you. They're not hard to understand.The bottom line… roommates are not considered a “Insured”.What does that mean? It means that “roommates” are not afforded the same consideration as the named insureds on a renters policy.Yet… Based on the ISO HO-4 wording, “You” may extend coverage for others under “Section 1″ “Personal Property” if their stuff is “on the part of the ‘residence premises’ occupied by an ‘insured’”.In other words, an “insured” may be able to extend coverage for roommates stuff damaged by a covered loss at the “residence premises”.But, considering the low cost of renters insurance, why stretch coverage in such a manner?Important note…. though a roommates stuff (personal property) may be extended coverage, unnamed roommates are not afforded coverage under “Section II” or personal liability coverages.Therefore, though a policy not naming your roommates may extend coverage for their personal belongings, the typical HO-4 policy will not extend liability coverage. The privilege of coverage for liability lawsuits is reserved for the named insured(s).Best Practice:It is in the the best interest of each tenant to insure their stuff and liability exposures on their own renters insurance policy.

I also found myself asking this question and hope I can provide some input based on my experience. I am a PhD candidate in materials science. I started a PhD in the US, at Boston University. After two years, I moved to Germany to begin a new PhD program, also in materials science. Let’s begin with the caveat that it depends very much on your research field, and on the country in which you are pursuing the PhD.In my American research university, materials science was very badly funded. Funding was not guaranteed for the full duration of the program, with the exception of students who had won fellowships. On the other hand, biomedical engineering was very well funded and most PhD students knew they had funding for the duration of their program. In Germany, there are different types of PhD positions. The one I have is considered a scientific employee, hired essentially as support staff to a project for which a professor has funding. Because labor rights are very much in favor of the employee in Germany, I am treated very well. I have a fixed contract which guarantees my funding for the duration of my contract. I have a salary which is comparable to the starting salary of an engineer in industry with a Bachelors or Masters degree, with which I can afford my own apartment and regular travel back to the U.S.In the U.S, the monthly stipend for PhD students, no matter the department, is not high enough to live like an adult. That can be fun if you like living with roommates in a big city, but can also reduce your quality of life. Worse than the low salary, however, is the fact that at the end of every semester I lived under constant stress as to whether funding would be available. I applied for many grants, which in materials science are not as common as other fields, and was rejected. In Germany, PhD students do not apply for their own funding, it is considered the responsibility of the professor. However, as I said, there are other types of PhD positions in Germany. A very common one that foreigners have is called a DAAD fellowship, where the German government funds your PhD directly for 3 years. You are not an employee, but rather enrolled as a student at the university. There are some perks to this program, including German lessons for one month before the program begins, greater flexibility in work hours and more academic freedom in terms of defining your own project. However, there are some negatives. Because you are not an employee, your montly stipend is much lower (half that of a standard employee contract). You are not guaranteed vacation time, and once your stipend is over, you have to be finished with your PhD. It is very difficult to extend.My experience is very specific to materials science, which is an area of interest for industry in Germany and therefore well funded. Basic science like chemistry, physics and biology has a very different set of conditions. This includes a salary that’s much lower per month (1/4 that of scientific employees). In computer science, I think people have an even better deal. There are a lot of foreigners in computer science PhD programs in Germany, because the undergraduate curriculum for CS here is not really academic. They are also paid very well, and on top of that, are eligible to apply for a “Blue card”, essentially a permanent resident permit in Germany, within one year of arriving here.Teaching responsibilities have also been significantly different in Germany and the U.S. In the U.S I was a teaching assistant for a lab course with a total of 50 students, which I had to supervise for 9 hours a week, attend trainings for 2 hours a week, and correct 100 lab reports every week, which required about 15 hours per week. As you can see, this adds up to more than half of a normal work week on teaching assignments unrelated to research. In addition to that, I still spent at least 40 hours per week on lab work. This was rather burdensome, and many of my colleagues felt the same way. In Germany, as a teaching assistant for a lab course, my responsiblities were split with another PhD student, and I taught a maximum of 10 students for 10 hours a week, with about 2 hours per week needed for grading lab reports. In both countries, I supervised bachelors projects, and in Germany I supervised Masters projects as well. That work, in both countries, was less burdensome and quite enjoyable.Another big difference between German and American research in general that I find quite striking is the availability of resources. Even in a well-funded department, the equipment availability in U.S research institutions is much lower than in Germany. There are far more shared facilities, perhaps with newer equipment, but what that means is that they are constantly booked and the only way you can use them is by working until 5 am on a Sunday. In Germany, every research lab I have worked in has its own dedicated equipment, which means you can keep more regular hours.Other commenters have already talked about the duration of the PhD, but I’d like to confirm that from my own experience. In Germany, a 4 year PhD is considered too long, whereas in the US some of the smartest people I knew took 9 years. I agree with other commenters that this has significant implications for the level of work with which a doctorate is finalized. I only really began to understand my field in the third year, and my doctorate is already coming to an end. The depth with which I can explore scientific questions is therefore quite limited. This may be because it feels like a doctorate in Germany is more an exercise in research management than in depth scientific research. This point is substantiated by the fact that none of my German colleagues in the doctoral program continue in academia, with every one of them going into industry, either as engineers or R&D managers. This has some implications on the work culture as well. I like to work late, I like learning new techniques, and I like exploring the unknown. With limited time, that kind of attitude is not going to make life easier as a PhD student in Germany. In some labs, there is also a rather strict work schedule, of arrival by 9 am and no access to labs after 7pm. This would be unheard of in the U.S, at least in Boston, where I slept under my desk many times to keep working into the night. On the one hand, it means you sleep more and get to enjoy great German beer and visit other cities on weekends. On the other hand, it sometimes feels to me like people aren’t as passionte about their work or as interested in pushing the boundaries of knowledge. This may also be because I’m in a rather conservative field of physical sciences, and I can’t say whether that’s the case in computer science.Another key difference in bench science research between the US and Europe is the amount of nonscientific staff that support research. This has positives and negatives. There are a lot of technicians that help with sample preparation and equipment. That means you don’t have to spend hours in the lab doing rote work that doesn’t help you understand the science any better after the 100th hour. What that also means, however, is that in some research groups ONLY technicians are allowed to use essential pieces of equipment like microscopes, and you don’t have the opportunity to develop those fundamental techniques that can get you a postdoc.As far as future opportunities are concerned, I don’t think your choice of continent will ever limit you. I knew many postdocs in Boston at excellent research labs who had done their PhDs in smaller European universities and went on to get very good faculty positions in the U.S. Whether you do your PhD in the US or Europe, if you want to continue in academia you will most likely have to do a postdoc. The ability to get a postdoc out of your research group depends a lot on what skills you have in the lab, your publications, your group’s network, your own ability to talk to new people at conferences etc…That being said, a well funded lab will provide you with many more opportunities to develop technical skills and attend conferences, and sometimes even stay for a few weeks or months with a collaborator in another country. The last point is a very fun part of the PhD, and something that’s much more common in German doctoral programs than in American ones. I know of other people who had opportunities to do that from other European universities as well.I’ve really enjoyed reflecting on these differences, and thank you for posing this question. I hope my answer is useful for you, and would be happy to tell you more if you have followup questions.