Roommate Rules Agreement with a
Roommate Cleaning Schedule and Chore Chart

A roommate rules agreement is a legal but less formal document which helps to create a mutual understanding between roommates, with a view to creating harmonious shared accommodation.

Alternatively referred to as a roommate lease agreement, it aims to identify as far as possible the rights, liabilities, responsibilities and duties of the roommates in order to avoid or resolve disputes at a later time.

This template can be used, for example, when you need a college roommate agreement or when a number of people are sharing a property. The original lease with the landlord will cover a lot of terms and provisions which you do not need to repeat e.g. late payment fees, maintenance clauses etc.

two cats on mats



Make reference to the lease and give each roommate a copy thereof as well as copies of any other conduct rules or agreements which are pertinent to the occupancy of the premises.

Roommate Cleaning Schedule

Take a look at our separate sample Roommate Chore Chart further down on this page, which is an easy way to schedule chores on a rotating basis.

Copyright Notice



Roommate Rules Agreement

The parties to this Roommate Rules Agreement are identified as:

The Roommates:
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________

The Premises: The rooms and communal areas referred to herein are situated at:
_________________________________________________

It is specifically noted that the Rental, Security Deposit and payment of utilities and other expenses shall be as per agreement with the Landlord / Principal Tenant.

The Roommates further agree to be liable for the financial commitments and abide by the house rules and chores as specified below.

1. Additional Amounts Payable: Utilities or subscriptions not covered by the rental amounts shall be shared equally by the Roommates, with the following exceptions or additions:
__________________ Paid as follows: ____________________
__________________ Paid as follows: ____________________

2. Household Expenses: An amount of ____________ shall be paid by the Roommates monthly in advance to provide for day-to-day communal and shared supplies. Purchases and the related invoices shall be recorded and any remaining balance shall be divided equally amongst the Roommates at the end of the roommate rental. The amount may be adjusted from time to time as mutually agreed.

3. Personal Supplies: Roommates shall provide their own toiletries as well as food and laundry supplies and shall not use or borrow another person’s supplies without their explicit prior consent.

4. Personal property: Roommates shall be responsible for the safekeeping and insurance of their own valuables.

The following items have been provided by the Roommates respectively and may be used or borrowed without permission. ____________________________________________.
All other items not listed above may not be borrowed or used without prior permission and if used by permission, shall be returned in the same condition to the owner thereof, or the borrower shall be held liable for any damage thereto.

5. House Rules: The following are not permitted or permitted as specified herein:

Smoking ________________________
Pets _______________________________________________
Alcohol and Legal Drugs ____________________________
Visitors ___________________________________________
Overnight Guests ___________________________________
Parties and Social Gatherings ______________________
Parking ____________________________________________
Use of Laundry / Communal Appliances _______________
Temperature Settings _______________________________
Quiet Times Weekdays _______________________________
Quiet Times Weekends _______________________________
Exam Quiet Times ___________________________________
Other ______________________________________________

6. Maintenance and Care of the Premises: The Roommates shall share the responsibility of the cleaning and upkeep of communal areas as follows:
Daily cleaning on a rotational basis:
(_) Trash removal
(_) Dishes and kitchen wipe down if used communally
(_) Toilet / Bathroom
(_) Sweeping of floors

Weekly cleaning on a rotational basis:
(_) Mopping of floors
(_) Vacuuming of carpets
(_) Dusting and wiping down surfaces
(_) Degreasing the oven and cooking surfaces

Monthly cleaning on a rotational basis:
(_) Defrosting the freezer and cleaning the fridge
(_) Other: ________________________________

Each Roommate shall clean an area if used individually within ________ hours after use. In the kitchen and scullery this will mean cleaning and clearing dishes, utensils and all equipment used such as the stove, microwave, oven and wiping down all surfaces. Each Roommate shall be responsible for personal laundry.

8. Breach and Mediation: Contentious issues between Roommates shall be resolved by majority vote of all occupants or consultation with and binding mediation by _______________________.

9. Amendments: The Roommates agree that the above Roommate Rules Agreement may be amended from time to time by mutual consent or by majority vote if there are more than two occupants in the house. Amendments shall be effective when done in writing and signed by all Roommates. By signing below the Roommates agree to abide by the terms and conditions as stipulated above.

Signed: _____________________ Date: __________________
Names: __________________________

Signed: _____________________ Date: __________________
Names: __________________________

Signed: _____________________ Date: __________________
Names: __________________________

Signed: _____________________ Date: __________________
Names: __________________________



The above printable roommate rules agreement can be used as is, or follow the links below to download it as a fillable PDF or Word Doc.

PDF Download Text Document Download

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Notes to the above Roommate Rules Agreement

Although a roommate agreement is legally binding, enforcing these duties is not that easy. You would not want to issue warnings or threaten eviction because someone does not do his part.

Breach of some of the rules in the roommate lease agreement will not have consequences in law except, for example, the financial obligations to the landlord.

Take note not to make rules that may not be legally enforceable either e.g. not allowing a roommate to receive visitors.

Landlords are not interested in sorting out domestic squabbles between roommates or enforcing any of the house rules, unless it involves breach of any of the terms and conditions of the Room Rental Agreement between the Landlord and Tenants.

Roommates could have a system in place for fining people when they neglect to do their duties. Make the fine substantial so it is of benefit to the other occupants of the house and a deterrent to a delinquent roommate.

jar with money for dereliction of duties

When it comes to financial obligations i.e. payment of rent and utilities and repairing damages, that is a totally different story and roommates will have recourse to have it legally enforced.

Note to a subtenant roommate: If you will be subletting a room from a primary tenant, you must ask for a copy of the original signed lease agreement and you must also phone the landlord / agency to confirm that it's all above board.

You also need to physically inspect the property - do not simply trust images sent to you.

There are many scamsters who will post images of some or other rental property and then ask for upfront payments to secure the rental.

College roommate agreement: It is especially important to have additional quiet times during exam and test periods and to stipulate that in your agreement.

Quite often one roommate has concluded his exams earlier than the other and it is at these times that roommates need to be mindful and considerate of the other's need for silence. This will include the noise caused by appliances, visitors, cooking and cleaning etc.





Roommate Cleaning Schedule / Chore Chart

The biggest contention most often is the cleaning of the kitchen and communal bathroom on a regular basis. Having a roster in place can be of great help. Schedule a list of duties and the frequency (daily, weekly or monthly) e.g.

  • Cleaning of the stove and oven;
  • Doing the dishes;
  • Cleaning the fridge;
  • Cleaning the shower, bath and toilet.

roommate chore chart

In our roommate chore chart we used a simple system by assigning a color/symbol to each roommate (4 in this instance), which makes it easy to see at a glance how the system works.

Amend the form if you need to make provision for items not listed e.g. lawn or garden care, or snow clearing etc.

Here are additional free room rental templates which you may be of help to you:

Room Rental Agreement - A one-to-one agreement between a landlord and tenant when letting a portion of a property to a person.

Room Rental Lease Agreement - When there are multiple tenants sharing accommodation and as co-tenants they enter into one joint lease agreement with a landlord.

Room Rental Addendum - When you substitute one tenant for another, you can record a change in co-tenants with this simple agreement.

A roommate rules agreement is most effective when everyone respect other's rights, pay their monies due on time and also do their share of chores timeously. Doing roommate screening prior to moving in together also goes a long way to ensure compatibility and harmonious sharing of premises.





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