Choosing the Right Roommates
Obviously, picking a roommate for living off-campus has similar steps to selecting a roommate for on-campus living. You should be looking for someone compatible, flexible, and fun that you can picture yourself living with for extended periods of time in closed quarters. An added facet, however, is that of responsibility: now that the relationship will have legal terms, it is vital to find someone who will uphold their end of the tenancy. Listed below is a comprehensive list of things to look for in a roomie, criteria to stick to, and advice for making sure relationships stay smooth and succesful, all provided by Temple University's article, "Choosing A Roommate". A PDF version of this article can be found at http://www.temple.edu/housing/offcampus/resource_documents/choosing_a_roommate.pdf
Choosing A Roommate
Living off-campus together with other students is an important
part of your college experience, a good way to save money and, often,
lots of fun, too. If things go wrong, however, life can become very
unpleasant and you may also stand to lose financially.
Here are some things you should know regarding your lease and your
obligations as a
roommate:
• The roommates who sign a lease together are jointly and
severally responsible, which
means that one roommate is not only responsible for his/her own
share of the rent but
for the total rent, in case another roommate cannot pay or moves
out. It also means that
you are held responsible for complying with all the terms of the
lease individually and
collectively.
• When large groups of students look for a house to rent,
very often only one, two or three
of them sign the lease. The rest make just verbal commitments. Remember
that only the
people who have signed the lease are responsible for it. The roommates
who changed
their minds may be morally responsible but legally they are not.
Try to get everybody to
sign the lease from the very beginning, so the responsibility will
be shared.
• The landlord may accept rental payment with separate checks
but may also ask you to
pay with one check. Although this is not a frequent occurrence,
it may happen and it is
not illegal. Make sure you know from the very beginning of your
lease how the rent is to
be paid.
• When trying to recover your security deposit after leaving
the premises, you should know
that your deposit can be used to cover damage done by another roommate.
The landlord
does not have to establish who is responsible for the damage and
will expect you to settle
the matter.
• When the security deposit is returned, the landlord may
choose to return the money with
a check written out to all the roommates. That can be quite a hassle
for you as all the
signatures may be needed for the check to be cashed. You may want
to designate one
person for the return of the deposit and let the landlord know in
writing who that person
is. That roommate will receive the returned security deposit, break
down the amount and
distribute it among the former roommates. The landlord does not
have to write out a
check for each of the roommates.
Making the roommate relationship work for everyone in the house
requires planning,
commitment, involvement and, sometimes, hard work, both before you
decide to room together and after. Rooming with a friend may work
out very well but many friendships have been broken as a result
of sharing houses or apartments. Even if you decide to rent a place
with a friend or several friends it is good for all of you to discuss
some basic facts of life style, study habits and the like. You may
find you are more compatible with other people than with very close
friends, who you may want to keep. When you discuss habits and preferences,
define your terms. Do not be vague. "Clean," "quiet,"
and "occasional" can mean different things to different
people. Find common definitions. Set standards, develop a list of
simple rules, put them in writing and have all roommates sign the
form. Your mutual agreement at the beginning can avoid future problems.
A written agreement, signed by all roommates, is always better than
a verbal one. This will help ensure the agreement is clear and acceptable
to everyone and that all the roommates are committed to its terms.
Should disagreements arise during your tenancy, you will not have
to rely on memory when deciding
what went wrong and how you can fix the problem. Finally, if necessary,
a written agreement
can serve as a basis for legal enforcement.
Here are some suggestions for things roommates should consider
and discuss before they
decide to share a place:
• Study Time. What time of day do you prefer to study? How
much noise can you tolerate
when studying?
• Sharing of space and personal items. How will you divide
refrigerator space? Which
items are you willing to share? Do you want to be asked for permission
before an item is
borrowed? What can be shared, borrowed or is off limits?
• Household chores and apartment condition. Who is responsible
for cleaning the areas
that you share and how often? How should you divide up the work?
Remember, under
Pennsylvania Law, roommates are jointly and severally responsible
for damage to the
premises and condition of apartment/house.
• Handling payment of bills.
Rent. How will rent be paid - one check or separate? What if someone
is late?
Can the roommate afford the rent? If your roommate doesn't pay the
rent, you are
legally responsible for their portion of the rent.
Utilities and telephone bill. How are utility accounts set up? Who
is responsible
for the payment to the utility company? How do you divide expenses?
Will you
have separate telephone lines or one line to be used by all? If
so, telephone
companies can assign special codes to roommates to keep track of
phone calls and
bill separately.
• Smoking, Drinking. If you are a non-smoker, make sure you
find out if your roommates
smoke. If you and your roommates are over 21 years of age, how do
you feel about
drinking alcohol in the apartment?
• Quiet Time. What time do you go to bed? How many hours of
sleep do you need? How
loud do you want your music playing?
• Mail/Telephone. When is it too late to receive a phone call?
How do you want your
messages taken?
• Guests. How do you feel about overnight guests, boyfriend's,
girlfriend's long-term
visits? How about parties? How often are you planning to party?
Who will clean up? At
what point does a "guest" become an additional roommate?
You cannot bring in a friend
to live with you if your other roommates do not approve of it, to
say nothing of the fact
that this may be a violation of your lease.
• Privacy. What are your needs for privacy and what are the
other roommates' needs?
• Security. Locking doors, windows when you are at home and
when you are away. Will
you keep an extra key? Should anyone beside the roommates have a
key? Your lease says
"no".
• Pets. Are pets allowed by your lease? Are you allergic to
cats, for example? How many
pets are you willing to have in the apartment?
• Moving Out. Who will clean the apartment at move out time?
Will all roommates be
there at the end of the lease? The responsibility for cleaning belongs
to all roommates.
During your tenancy, communicate with each other. Talk honestly
and openly to your
roommates. People get on each other's nerves and sometimes become
upset. Roommates are no
exception. If you are upset or if your roommate is upset, give each
other room and time to calm
down and reconsider. Work at your relationship with your roommates.
Don't let anger or
discontent pile up and explode. Most roommate conflicts are manageable
if communication is
kept open, financial responsibilities are met and the established
house rules are used as a guide.
