What to Do When Your Roommate Won't Pay Rent

Pay the full rent on time first, then collect your roommate's share from them. If you all signed one lease, the landlord can usually demand the missing amount from any one of you and can evict everyone if the rent stays unpaid, no matter how you agreed to split it. Once the rent is covered, you can demand repayment in writing and sue in small claims court, but you cannot evict a roommate who is on the lease with you.

Who can the landlord make pay?

That depends on what each of you signed:

• One lease signed by all of you (a joint lease). Michigan Legal Help, a statewide legal self-help site, explains that these leases usually make each roommate "jointly and severally liable," which means each of you is fully responsible for the whole rent. The landlord can ask any one of you for all of it, even if the roommates agreed to pay separate shares, because that agreement binds only the roommates.
• Separate leases for each bedroom. TexasLawHelp.org, a Texas legal aid site, says that with per-bedroom leases each tenant is responsible only for their own lease and is not liable for another occupant's unpaid rent. The landlord pursues the roommate who did not pay.
• You are the only tenant, and the roommate pays you. You still owe the landlord the full rent. California's official tenant guide explains that in a sublease, the original tenant stays responsible to the landlord and acts as the landlord for the subtenant, the person renting from them.

If you are not sure which arrangement you have, compare your lease with our guide to joint leases vs. individual leases.

Cover the shortfall before a pay-or-quit notice

A short payment does not protect you. California's tenant guide says a landlord can refuse a partial rent payment, or take it and still serve a three-day notice to pay or quit, which gives the tenants three court days to pay in full or move out. In New York, a landlord must first give a written 14-day rent demand before going to court for unpaid rent. In California, paying the full amount within the notice period keeps the tenancy going. For deadlines in other states, see pay-or-quit notices explained.

If the rent stays unpaid, an eviction case can affect all of you. Michigan Legal Help warns that all roommates could be evicted even if only one of them violates the lease, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says an eviction case can stay on your tenant screening record for up to seven years. A late fee in your lease can also apply to the missed share; see what happens when rent is paid late.

Example: rent is $2,400, split $800 each among three roommates. In April, one roommate pays nothing. The other two each pay $400 extra ($800 + $400 = $1,200 apiece), so the landlord receives the full $2,400 and has no reason to serve a notice. The roommate who did not pay now owes each of the others $400. If the same thing happens in May and June, each is owed $1,200 ($400 x 3).

If you cannot cover the gap, ask the landlord for more time before the due date. TexasLawHelp suggests asking whether the landlord will lower the rent temporarily while you look for a new roommate. If the landlord agrees to take part of the rent now and the rest later, get it in writing: California's guide recommends a signed agreement stating the amount paid, the date the balance is due, any late fee, and the landlord's promise not to evict if you pay by that date.

Document what your roommate owes

Build the record a judge would need:

1. Send a written demand. List each month, the amount owed, the date you covered it, and a deadline to repay, such as 14 days. Text or email works, as long as you keep a copy.
2. Show the agreed share. Start with a signed roommate agreement that states each person's share, if you have one. Without one, TexasLawHelp says you can use emails, bank statements, canceled checks, or anything else that shows what the roommate was expected to contribute.
3. Show what you paid. Keep rent receipts, portal confirmations, or bank records showing the extra amount came from you.
4. Keep a running total. Update it each month the roommate misses, so the amount you claim matches your records.

Before you file, consider roommate mediation if the roommate disputes the amount but still lives with you.

Sue for the money in small claims court

Michigan Legal Help says that when a roommate refuses to pay you back for their part of the rent, you can usually sue them, and small claims court handles cases below its dollar limit. Limits in California, New York City, and Texas:

In California, the filing fee is $30 to $100. Bring your demand letter, the lease, your agreement or messages showing the agreed share, and your payment records.

Winning does not guarantee repayment. If your roommate does not pay voluntarily, collecting the judgment is a separate process that can cost more and depends on income or assets the law allows you to collect from.

If the landlord files an eviction case first, Michigan lets you file a crossclaim, a claim against your roommate within the landlord's case, though it does not stop the eviction against you.

Can you remove a roommate who won't pay?

Not if they are on the lease. Michigan Legal Help says roommates cannot evict one another, because eviction is available only in a landlord-tenant relationship, and TexasLawHelp says a roommate on the lease has as much right to live there as you do. Your options:

1. Ask the landlord to change the lease. Both the landlord and affected roommate must agree to a negotiated lease change that removes the roommate, with or without a replacement. Forcing an unwilling roommate out requires the landlord to have lawful grounds and follow the eviction process. See removing a roommate from a lease.
2. Negotiate a move-out. The roommate agrees to leave, ideally after paying what they owe, and you find a replacement before the next rent date.
3. Ask about renewing without them. The landlord must agree, and the roommate must consent to end their tenancy or have it lawfully terminated. Lease expiration does not override renewal or eviction protections. Leaving their name off a new lease does not itself remove them.

The answer changes if the roommate is not on the lease and pays rent to you. You are then their landlord, and TexasLawHelp says you need to follow the eviction process: give the required notice and file in court. Only a court can order an eviction, and in Texas only a sheriff or constable can carry it out, so do not change the locks or remove the roommate's belongings yourself. In Texas, you can ask a guest who never paid rent to leave without an eviction, but TexasLawHelp notes a guest can become a tenant by living there continuously, contributing money, or using the address for mail.