- 1). Interview a potential roommate and ask what she can afford to pay. Whether you are living in an existing unit or wanting someone to share a new suite, find out up front what your roommate is willing to contribute to rent and utility costs. If her expectations are much lower than yours, it may not be the best match.
- 2). Determine how to pay deposits. This can apply in particular if one roommate leaves and is replaced by another. In this situation, determine if the remaining roommate will receive the deposit from the new roommate and reimburse the roommate who is moving out, or if the newcomer will pay the departing roommate directly. Each roommate should know what will happen when she starts her tenancy, and a record should be kept of the deposit paid.
- 3). Establish a system for paying household bills, such as cable, Internet, heat and electricity. You can split each bill evenly among the residents, or one roommate can handle one bill. In either case, one roommate will have to have her name on the bill, and she will be responsible for ensuring it's paid. Discuss whether one roommate should be excluded from paying a utility if she doesn't use it; if one roommate never watches television, she may wish to be excluded from paying cable.
- 4). Exercise caution when choosing to split costs on large items, such as furniture, televisions or refrigerators. If one roommate leaves, it will be unclear who owns the jointly purchased property. Decide who will buy each item, with the understanding that the person who bought the piece ultimately owns it.
- 5). Decide on the expense split of household-cleaning supplies. You might split the cost of each purchase between all roommates, or establish a rotation where one roommate incurs the cost of all cleaning supplies for a month. The following month, the cost will fall to the next roommate on the list. Decide at the beginning of the tenancy arrangement how emergency expenses, such as a spill that results in a carpet-cleaning cost, will be handled.
- 6). Decide whether you will cook meals together. This can be an effective arrangement, where cooking and grocery bills are shared equally among roommates. Alternatively, roommates can each purchase their own food and cook separately. As with purchasing furniture, it's a good idea for each roommate to purchase her own dishes and cutlery separately, and take them with her when the living arrangement ends.
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