Ideas for Splitting Rent
Living with roommates makes sense, especially when you are starting out and trying to save money. Besides, it’s also nice to have somebody to talk to and spend time with. Typically, you’d think about splitting the rent evenly between all the roommates. However, in certain circumstances, that is not always the best solution, especially if you aren’t well-acquainted with the people you’re sharing the apartment with or one roommate makes a lot more money than the others. Let’s explore some alternate solutions for equitable rent splitting between roommates.
- Splitting the rent evenly. This situation works best when you and your roommates are close friends. It is the simplest solution to have each person pay an equal share of the rent. Just make sure that everybody agrees to this and there is no resentment if somebody has a larger bedroom, their own bathroom, or other amenities.
- Splitting the rent by income. This solution makes sense when there are drastic income inequities between roommates. Each person should determine what percentage of their net income they can afford for rent and have them contribute that amount.
- Splitting the rent by space. If you don’t know your roommates well, this idea works. You determine how much space is allocated to each person, which would be their bedroom and bathroom (private or shared). Leave out common areas. Divide that amount by the total square footage of the apartment to arrive at a percentage.
- Splitting the rent by calculator. Many online calculators will do the number-crunching for you and your roommates. Just follow the prompts to enter information such as income, square space, etc.
- Other rent splitting ideas. If one roommate has the primary suite that’s a larger bedroom with an en suite, should they pay more rent than the others? If the rent and total utilities are roughly the same, could one roommate pay the rent and the other pay the utilities? Maybe one roommate could get a break on their rent if they take responsibility for dealing with the landlord and maintenance. There are endless options.
As you can see, there are many options for sharing the rent in your apartment. Do some research and get creative, especially if you are living with roommates you aren’t particularly close to. On the other hand, if you’re living with your best buds, splitting the rent evenly may be the best way to preserve your friendships. Whatever the scenario, frequent open communication is the key to making these arrangements successful.
Vision Communities loves roommates!
At Vision Communities, roommates are welcome…just as long as they’re on the lease. Our spacious 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom apartment layouts are designed to give you your own space while providing common areas for you to hang out with your roommate(s). Check out our luxurious apartment floorplans in one of our communities to enjoy life at the VC.