Renting With Roommates

Renting a home is a major commitment. You and your roommate will be agreeing to sign a lease for at least twelve months — possibly longer.

Most landlords will require that everyone who plans to occupy the rental property complete the application and sign the lease. Failure to do this could allow your landlord to terminate your lease later and sue you for damages.

And most lease agreements will make you and your roommate "jointly and severally" liable. This means that if you default on the lease, your landlord can go after both of you in court — or just  one of you. So if you have better credit or make more money than your roommate, you could end up paying a bigger share of the rent, or even the entire rent, in order to protect your credit.

Also, if your roommate has a pet, you are just as liable for any damage caused to the property by that pet.