Roommate Agreement printable pdf download

ROOMMATE AGREEMENT

This information is provided as a public service courtesy of:

Summit Point Apartments

504 N. E. Chipman Road, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063

816-525-5255

The following is a sample Roommate Agreement that can be used by anyone who wishes to share an

apartment, or any type of residential property, as roommates. It is recommended that anyone who is

contemplating a roommate arrangement or is currently in such an arrangement, have a written roommate

agreement. It is a protection for all parties and will help to prevent disputes which might arise from the

expectations, responsibilities, and obligations of roommates to each other. For example, in the event of a

dispute over an issue that cannot be resolved, the Agreement can be used in mediation or in small claims

court if it is a financial dispute. Once signed by each roommate, the Agreement becomes a legally binding

document. Each signatory to the agreement should have their signature witnessed by someone other than

their roommate(s). A roommate agreement is a contract between the roommates themselves and does not

involve the Landlord. Roommates’ obligations and responsibilities to the Landlord, for the premises they are

renting, are contained in the Lease Agreement or Rental Agreement that is entered into with the Landlord.

All parties should make sure they read and understand what is contained in the Landlord’s lease before they

sign it and before entering into any type of roommate agreement. The Lease contains various tenant

obligations and responsibilities. The parties should determine whether there is a joint and several liability

clause in the Lease Agreement, pet policies, whether or not guests are allowed and other terms and

conditions that affect occupancy. For example: a “joint and several liability” clause makes every signor

of the Lease or Rental Agreement responsible for the entire amounts due and owing. What this means is

that each tenant is individually responsible for all of the rent, other charges, and for all of any damages that

occur regardless of the means that the tenants (roommates) use to divide the rent among themselves and

regardless of which tenant (roommate) actually causes the damage. If one person does not pay the rent, the

other roommates are liable to the Landlord for payment of that person’s share or they are all subject to

eviction for non-payment of rent. It is up to the other tenant (roommate), not the landlord, to collect from the

non-paying tenant (roommate). This means that if a roommate deserts the premises, or damage the premises

beyond repair, the Landlord can sue all roommates, or just the remaining roommate, and just the remaining

roommate would liable for the entire amounts due and owed. If one or more roommates have a Lease

Guarantor or Co-Signor, they are also liable.

Roommates should have a written roommate agreement in effect immediately after or concurrently with the

signing of a Lease. It is best not to have verbal agreements. Verbal agreements are hard to prove and may not

be legally defensible or enforceable.

A note regarding security deposits: Security deposits can be a special problem in shared housing. Landlords

are seldom willing to inspect the premises whenever one person leaves a shared premises. They often hold

the total security deposit(s) until all original signers have vacated. Therefore roommates need to reach their

own agreement about how they will handle the return of individual shares of the deposit(s). The same applies

to utility deposits.

The Sample Roommate Agreement that follows is not intended to be all encompassing. Potential roommates

who are contemplating such an agreement can modify, add, or delete clauses to meet their particular needs.

Anyone wishing to use the format below may modify, copy, or print the document. If a format is used where

blank spaces are left to write in, all parties to the agreement, who hand write or print information in the

spaces should initial by each place something is handwritten. This is to protect against anyone writing in

something that was not agreed later to by all the parties who sign the agreement. All signors should have a

final copy for their file.

Roommate Agreement

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