splitting the rent-should a roommate pay less or equal to what i pay?

I need to get a roommate in august when i renew my lease so that i don't have to pay the entire rent... i love my apartment, and don't want to lose it, and really only need a roommate for the 6months until my fiance moves back in with me.... i assumed the roommate would pay what i pay in rent, but my fiance said today that whoever it is should pay less because i have the master bedroom and bathroom with a linen closet. since i have more space i should pay more money. however, the other person would have an already furnished apartment (minus their bedroom stuff) with kitchen appliances, etc, and the guest bathroom which is directly across the hall from the bedroom. not to mention the apartment is large with a balcony and definitely reasonably priced. i also am going to be working and going to school so they will probably have the run of the place for the most part.

anyway, have any of you had differing rent living with a roommate, where one pays more, or have you known of ppl who do this? i live in a college town and have known ppl to split the rent evenly, but my fiance says all the friends he knows of split their rent according to who has the master bedroom. i don't want to be unfair to the other person, but i also don't want to be paying more for somebody else having the apartment to themselves all the time, and of course using the stuff i put in there.... am i being unreasonable? the only other time i've had a roommate was my freshman year and we split a dorm room, so we paid separate bills.

i need some advice from ppl who've been there.

 

My old roomie and I split rent half and half... i got the bigger room, but she got the parking space that came with the apartment. Worked out well... we both got what we needed (as I had more shit and needed the extra room, and she had a bigger car that needed the parking space)

 

From the Houston area to College Station
it has been usual/ customary to split the expenses* 50/50
in situations as you've described.


*excluding phone LD/ pay for view flicks/ similar individual discretionary items
Food/ drinks are usually a bitch...

 

I usually charge my roommates more than I pay. At my last place it was $500 a month, and the roomy had to pay $285 a month. I also in form them that the place is still mine and let them know what house rules I have in place. Like no smoking in my house etc. I'm a dick though.


To be continued, gotta run.

 

I think 50/50 is fine and I wouldn't trip on it. I mean they have their own bathroom too and like you said it is all your shit and your on the lease so they don't have to do a credit app ect.

 

depends. if you want to keep a roommate for a long time, you might have to bend over backwards.........

if they realize they are getting jipped, by getting a smaller room, and they have to pay as much as you do, theyd probably leave.

 

Everyone I ever heard of was a 50/50 split on everything right down the middle. The quote owner or senior renter got the biggest room since they found the place and was there first.

 

Charge them what you see fit. Your not forcing them to live there. If they don't like the arrangement then theres 100 more waiting to take their place.

 

50/50. Per what other posters said...

 

well they would have to be on the lease.... our apartment community is pretty quiet and our maintenace guy is a tattletale... hehe, he saw us with our puppy and told on us when we got her so we would have to pay the $500 that day. would that make a huge difference? anyway, i was looking at the floor plan and i didn't mention that the second bedroom has a HUGE closet that takes up the length of one of the 10ft walls. so that's at least equivalent to the linen closet and the master closet. blah. i think i will go with the 50/50 because it makes things easier and there aren't any other things to negotiate really.... parking is not a problem here, and the balcony now has a sunflower growing and a tomato plant and morning glory seedlings and two chairs. (free tomatoes soon, yay) i may or may not have my puppy here the whole time too. hmmm....

here's the floorplan if that makes a difference. it's 1080 sqft, walking distance to the mall and home depot and other places, blah blah blah... really great place, i don't want to leave, i like my neighbors, etc etc.

 

hmmm okay, thanks people... there definitely are plenty of other places to live and plenty of ppl to get as a roomie in this college town, i guess going 50/50 is the best bet and it's only for 6 mos so they're not obligated to stay for very long.

 

Don't be silly Tigerlily.. charge them at least 60%... their invading your privacy.

 

Exactly, and when you come home and they're in the living room watching tv, you either have to be rude and pull the "it's mine" card, or go sit in your bedroom and deal with it.

I will never get a roommate again, hopefully, but if I do there's no way I'm splitting it 50/50

 

Not only should your roomate splint the rent but they should also service you if need be.

 

I agree and you should no longer go get pedicures with your mom-you should have your roomate do them for the both of you. You should also put a hot pink post-it note on everything that is yours as a reminder that they are not allowed to touch it and if they still cannot refrain from touching things you must put a shock collar on them.

 

I wouldnt pay equal if I were your new roomie. If the bedrooms were equal, I would charge em more since all utilities are in my name, but having the master bedroom, you should pay more.

 

I've had roomates in the past who labeled things in the fridge. One of my employees in Vermont actually had a roomate who would keep HIS roll of toilet paper in his room. Some people are weird

 

I admit, I have had to keep my shampoo in my room before...but I was paying 35 bucks a bottle for it, and the same for the conditioner, and it seemed they never used the bottle they paid for....

 

labelling your things in the fridge........... I never did that, because Id be afraid some roommies would end up doing things to either my drinks or foods......

 

$35 shampoo? did it give you a buzz? that's pricey