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Roommate Agreement
A roommate agreement settles the arguments before they happen: who pays what, who is on the lease, what notice someone gives before leaving, and what happens to the deposit when they do. It is not a lease and it cannot override tenancy law or your landlord's rules, but it gives a shared household a written understanding — and in a dispute between roommates, written beats remembered.
What this template is for
A draft built around the details you need
Use this for shared rentals, student housing, newcomer housing, or informal household arrangements.
This is not a lease replacement and does not override tenancy law, landlord rules, or a signed rental agreement.
How to use it
- List all roommates, who is named on the lease, and the shared address.
- Agree on rent, utilities, deposits, chores, guest rules, and quiet hours.
- Set the notice one roommate gives the others before moving out.
- Review together and keep a signed copy each.
Make your own
Fill in your details, then download a PDF or an editable Word file.
Common questions
Is a roommate agreement legally binding?
It can be treated as a contract between the roommates, but it does not bind the landlord and does not override tenancy law. Its real value is evidence: it shows what everyone agreed to before the disagreement started.
Does it matter who is on the lease?
More than anything else in the document. Whoever signed the lease owes the landlord the full rent regardless of what the roommates agreed between themselves. If you are not on the lease you may also have no protection under tenancy law against the roommate who is.
What happens to the deposit when one roommate leaves?
Whatever your agreement says, because the landlord usually returns the deposit only at the end of the whole tenancy. Write down whether the departing roommate is repaid by the incoming one or waits until the tenancy ends.
How much notice should a roommate give before moving out?
Match it to the notice the lease requires, so the remaining roommates have time to find a replacement before rent is due. Thirty days in writing is a common floor; 60 days is safer where the lease requires 60 days of notice to the landlord.
How this template is maintained
- Last reviewed
- Reviewed by
- Thomas TremblayFounder and editor, Canooq
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