Setting Shared Space Rules With Roommates

Agree in writing on rules for each shared area (the kitchen, bathroom, living room, and storage), a cleaning schedule that names who does each task and how often, and what happens when someone skips a turn, and attach them to your roommate agreement. The rules also matter under state law: California, Florida, and Washington require each tenant to keep the part of the unit they use clean and sanitary, and a landlord can deduct move-out cleaning from the deposit you all share.

Kitchen rules

Set a standard for each part of the kitchen that anyone can check:

• Dishes: each person washes, dries, and puts away their own dishes the same day, and nothing stays in the sink overnight.
• Counters and stove: whoever cooks wipes the counter and stovetop and cleans the pans before leaving the kitchen.
• Refrigerator: give each person a shelf and a door bin, label shared food, and toss anything spoiled at a weekly cleanout. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises keeping the refrigerator at or below 40 degrees F, not leaving perishable food out more than two hours (one hour above 90 degrees F), and wiping up spills right away.
• Trash and recycling: whoever fills a bag takes it out, and the weekly rotation below covers taking bins to the curb. California, Florida, and Washington each require tenants to get rid of garbage in a clean and sanitary way.
• Shared supplies: list the items you buy together, such as dish soap, sponges, and trash bags, and take turns buying them or split the receipts.

Bathroom rules

Agree on these points:

• Morning schedule: with one bathroom, assign weekday slots, such as 20 minutes each between 6 and 9 a.m.
• Personal items: each person keeps toiletries in a caddy or on an assigned shelf, not on the sink edge.
• Moisture: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises running the bathroom fan or opening the window during showers and drying wet areas within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold. Hang towels to dry and wipe standing water off the floor.
• Leaks: the EPA tells renters to report plumbing leaks and moisture problems to the building owner or manager right away. Decide who reports, or make it whoever spots the problem, in writing the same day.
• Plumbing: flush only toilet paper. California's tenant guide lists flushing large foreign objects as improper use of the plumbing, and Florida requires tenants to keep plumbing fixtures they use clean, sanitary, and in repair. For repairs beyond cleaning, see our guide to tenant repair responsibilities.

Living areas and storage

For the living room and hallways, agree on:

1. Personal items: anything left in a shared room goes back to its owner's space within 24 hours.
2. Quiet hours: for example, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weeknights, with TVs and music off or on headphones.
3. Guests: how long guests can use shared rooms and how much notice an overnight stay needs. See guest policies between roommates.

For storage, divide the closets, kitchen cabinets, freezer, and any garage or storage unit by name, and write the split down. Boxes, bikes, and other large items go in assigned storage, not in hallways or shared rooms. When a roommate moves out and leaves things behind, Michigan Legal Help recommends written notice and a reasonable time to pick them up before you throw anything away.

How to split cleaning duties

Pick one of three systems:

• Weekly rotation: tasks rotate every week, so everyone does every job. Rotation suits units where the shared rooms take similar effort.
• Fixed zones: each person owns one area, such as the bathroom, for a month at a time. Zones mean fewer handoffs and a clear person to ask.
• Trades: a roommate who would rather not clean the bathroom takes on extra kitchen tasks. Write the trade into the schedule.

Here is a weekly rotation for three roommates (A, B, and C). Week 4 starts over at week 1.

Write down what "done" means for each task. For example, the bathroom is done when the toilet, sink, and shower are scrubbed, the mirror is wiped, the floor is mopped, and the trash is emptied.

Decide the consequence before anyone misses a turn. One option: a skipped task is made up within 48 hours, or the person who skipped pays for a cleaner to do it. If no one wants a particular job, hire a cleaner for it and split the cost the way you split rent. Hold a 10-minute check-in each month to adjust the schedule, and if one person keeps skipping, see resolving roommate conflicts.

What state law and your lease require of each tenant

These state laws put a cleaning duty on each tenant for the part of the unit they occupy and use:

• California (Civil Code section 1941.2): keep the part of the unit you occupy and use as clean and sanitary as its condition permits, dispose of garbage in a clean and sanitary way, and use the gas, electrical, and plumbing fixtures properly, unless the landlord agreed in writing to do the cleaning or trash removal. If a tenant's violation substantially causes an unlivable condition, the landlord does not have to repair it, and California's tenant guide says you cannot withhold rent until you fix your own violation.
• Florida (Statutes section 83.52): keep the part of the premises you occupy and use clean and sanitary, remove garbage in a clean and sanitary way, and keep the plumbing fixtures you use clean, sanitary, and in repair.
• Washington (Revised Code of Washington section 59.18.130): keep the part of the unit you occupy and use as clean and sanitary as its condition permits, dispose of garbage in a clean and sanitary way at reasonable and regular intervals, and pay for extermination of any infestation the tenant caused. See who handles pest control.

In a shared rental, the kitchen, bathroom, and living room are part of what each of you occupies and uses. Michigan Legal Help warns that all roommates could be evicted even if only one of them violates the lease. In California, a landlord can serve a three-day notice to fix a correctable lease violation or move out, and fixing the problem within three days (excluding the day the notice was served, weekends, and court holidays) keeps the tenancy.

Move-out cleaning and the shared deposit

At move-out, the landlord can charge the deposit for cleaning. California allows deductions only for the cleaning needed to return the unit to the level of cleanliness it had when the tenancy began (Civil Code section 1950.5). Washington requires tenants to restore the unit to its starting condition except for wear from ordinary use, and a tenant who paid a nonrefundable cleaning fee is not charged for normal cleaning.

On a joint lease, a cleaning charge comes out of the one deposit, so agree now on how to divide it: by each person's share of the deposit, or to the roommate whose room needed the work. Schedule a group deep clean two to three days before the keys go back, and photograph each room when it is finished. Our guide to cleaning deductions from your deposit explains which cleaning charges a landlord can make and how to dispute one.