Off-Campus Housing
Student & Administrative Services Center, Rm. 1033 · (570) 320-8023 or (800) 367-9222
Sample Roommate Agreement Form
Beth Bates, Courtney Andrews and Kimberly Jones are co-tenants at Apartment A, 210 Park Avenue, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, under a year-long lease that expires on February 1, 200_. They have all signed a lease with the landlord, John Smith, and have each paid $300 towards the security deposit of $900. Beth, Courtney and Kimberly all agree as follows:
- Rent. The rent of $900 per month will be shared equally, at $300 per person. Beth will write a check for the total month's rent and take it to the manager's office on the first of each month (or the next day, if the first falls on a holiday). Courtney and Kimberly will pay their share to Beth on or before the due date.
- Bedrooms. Beth and Courtney will share the large bedroom with the adjacent deck; Kimberly will have the small bedroom.
- Food. Each co-tenant is responsible for her own food purchases.
- Cleaning. Kimberly will clean her own room; Beth and Courtney will
clean theirs weekly. The household chores for the rest of the apartment —
living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom — will rotate, with each
co-tenant responsible for vacuuming, dusting, mopping and bathroom maintenance
on a weekly basis.
Each co-tenant will promptly clean up after herself in the kitchen. No one will leave dishes in the sink for more than 24 hours, and everyone will promptly clean up when asked. - Utilities. Everyone will pay an equal share of the electricity and gas bills. Courtney will arrange for service and will pay the bill. Within three days of receiving the bill, Beth and Kimberly will each pay Courtney one-third of the total.
- Phone. Kimberly will arrange for phone service and will pay the monthly bill. Within three days of receiving the bill, Beth, Courtney and Kimberly will identify their own long-distance charges and Beth and Courtney will each pay Kimberly their long-distance totals, plus one-third of the fixed charges.
- Guests. Because of the apartment's small size, each tenant agrees to have no more than one overnight guest at a time and to inform the others in advance, if possible. Each co-tenant agrees to no more than four guests overnight in a month.
- Exam Periods. During mid-term and final exam periods, no co-tenant will have overnight guests or parties.
- Violations of the Agreement. The co-tenants agree that repeated and serious violations of one or more of these understandings will be grounds for any two co-tenants to ask the other to leave. If a co-tenant is asked to leave, she will do so within two weeks, and will forfeit any outstanding pre-paid rent.
- Leaving Before the Lease Ends. If a co-tenant wants to leave before the lease expires on February 1, 200_, she will give as much notice as possible (and not less than one month) and diligently try to find a replacement tenant who is acceptable to the remaining co-tenants and the landlord.
- Security Deposits. The co-tenant who leaves early (voluntarily or involuntarily) will get her share of the security deposit returned, minus costs of rent, repairs, replacement and cleaning attributable to the departing tenant, when and if an acceptable co-tenant signs the lease and contributes her share to the security deposit. If an acceptable co-tenant cannot be found, the departing tenant will not receive any portion of his share of the security deposit until the tenancy of the remaining co-tenants is over and the security deposit is refunded (or not) by the landlord.
- Dispute Resolution. If a dispute arises concerning this agreement or any aspect of the shared living situation, the co-tenants will ask the Off-Campus Housing Office for assistance before they terminate the co-tenancy or initiate a lawsuit. This will involve all three tenants sitting down with a mediator in good faith to try to resolve the problems.
| Beth Bates | Date |
| Courtney Andrews | Date |
| Kimberly Jones | Date |