What Is a Roommate Agreement in College

During your studies, you will probably live with roommates. It reduces rental costs and allows you to learn together to live independently. Living with a roommate can be a wonderful or terrible experience. To avoid a bad experience with roommates, it`s a good idea to write a roommate agreement. At least some of your time as a student should be spent studying and taking care of yourself, but it can be difficult if your roommates are on the phone with friends for all hours or throwing crazy parties in the yard. This is something that is not covered by many college housing boards, but it should. And you never realize how important cleaning is until it`s neglected or everything falls on one person. Things to think/talk about: Who cleans what? When do we clean (how often)? Who is responsible for purchasing cleaning products? How clean and tidy do you like to be overall? They`re learning to share since kindergarten – but there will always be people who won`t be good when they get to college. In some dorms, especially for first-year students, you may not have to worry as much. You could do a « This is my side, this is your side » thing in your dorm and nothing more. On the other hand, you can have a shared mini-fridge or microwave, or maybe you`re cool to share your clothes and want your roommate to know. Or maybe you really don`t agree with someone who touches your affairs; That`s fine too, but you want to make these things public as soon as possible. An agreement will help you understand how to live together, settle differences and stay friends.

Ask yourself if you have or will have a pet in the apartment. Who is responsible for paying the pet deposit? Who takes care of the animal? When responsibilities are shared among roommates, note who needs to do what and when. Should your roommate notify you if they have a guest who is staying overnight? It can be amazing to wake up one morning and see a stranger or someone you weren`t expecting at home. It`s a good idea to let your roommate know if you have someone who spends the night as a courtesy. If this is your first time moving in with your roommate (in an apartment or dorms), you may want or need to make a roommate agreement or roommate agreement. While they`re not usually legally binding, roommate agreements are a great way to make sure you and your college roommate are on the same page about the day-to-day details of life with someone else. And while it may seem tedious to put them together, colocation agreements are a smart idea. If you`re lucky, you`ll probably have your own room in the apartment. You must specify in your roommate agreement which rooms belong to whom. These should be considered as private areas into which only the assigned person can enter unless others have permission. College housing tips tend to cover this pretty well, as dorm security often requires you to connect guests in and out. But it`s always worth talking about, especially if you and your roommate have very different ideas about what it means to have people.

Determine how you and your roommate feel about the holidays. Are you interested in throwing them away? If so, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. One of them is when parties are allowed. There are people who like to party during the week, which is good, but you need to make sure everyone in the house is on board. As you get to know your roommate, you`ll learn about some of their habits. One of these habits may be to stay up late at night. If you are someone who likes to go to bed early, set quiet times. This can be, for example, from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. Chances are you and your roommate have other friends who want to stop and maybe even spend the night if they`re coming from out of town.

One thing to keep in mind is how many guests are allowed in your home at the same time? If it`s a small apartment, you may only feel comfortable if a few people are there at the same time. Not all leases allow for subletting, but it is common for students to have to find someone to take over all or part of their lease. You should have rules, e.B. that anyone can meet and approve a new sublet to ensure that the sublet does not cause any problems in the future. No one likes to live in a dirty house, but it takes a little work to keep it clean. This can be the problem of numbers between roommates. No one likes to clean, but it`s something that needs to be done. Instead of being passively aggressive or annoyed by your roommate, set certain tasks and what « clean » means to you in your roommate agreement. College roommate agreements are a great idea to keep roommate situations fair and friendly. Creating a lease at the beginning, including ways to change the agreement and update things from time to time, is a great way to make sure your college experience starts off on the right foot. Every agreement is different.

The short answer is that you should provide all the information about how the house should be kept, as well as other details that will help you focus on your studies. Some of the most common details include: Most roommates share at least some expenses, such as the cost of paper towels and other amenities. If you don`t want to keep all your expenses completely separate, it`s important to determine exactly what`s shared and what`s not. This way, you end up not spending more than you can afford and you expect to be reimbursed or asked to pay for things you never wanted or needed. When you`re moving in with people you don`t know very well, a strong deal is even more important. This way, you know exactly what the expectations are and can avoid bigger problems or fights. It`s the university. You and/or your roommate might very well date someone – and want to spend time alone with him or her. What is it like to have time alone in space? How much is correct? How much notice do you need to give a roommate? Are there times when things aren`t going well (like the last week)? How are you going to let yourself know when not to enter? It`s time to draft your roommate agreement. .