Home and property · British Columbia
Roommate agreement, with a lawyer behind it.
A roommate agreement is a private contract among people who share a rented home. It sets out rent shares, bills, house rules and what happens when someone moves out.
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What a roommate agreement is
A roommate agreement is a written deal among the people who live together in a rented home in British Columbia. It covers each person's room, their share of the rent, shared bills and supplies, house rules, guests, moving out and settling up.
It works only among the roommates. It does not bind the landlord, and it does not change the tenancy agreement or the Residential Tenancy Act. It can cover two kinds of roommate. A co-tenant is on the tenancy agreement with the landlord. An occupant lives there with a tenant but is not on the agreement.
Why you'd need one
Landlords deal with the tenancy agreement, not with how roommates split things. Co-tenants stay responsible to the landlord as the tenancy agreement says, whatever they agree among themselves. One tenant's notice can end the tenancy for everyone. Putting the house rules and money shares in writing gives everyone the same record of what they agreed.
The Residential Tenancy Branch does not decide disputes between roommates. Those go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal or the courts, where a written agreement helps show what was agreed.
When to see a lawyer instead
This is not the right document where the owner lives in the home and shares the kitchen or bathroom. The Residential Tenancy Act may not apply to that arrangement. It also does not cover a sublease, which is itself a tenancy and needs the landlord's written consent. A contract with someone under 19 may not bind them.
Talk to a lawyer if a dispute or claim has already started, or if you need to change the tenancy agreement itself.