In short
- Agree before you move in: what’s shared, how it’s split and who pays the landlord.
- Rent can be split evenly, by room size or by income.
- Utilities and shared groceries are almost always split evenly; personal things, everyone pays their own.
- Log everything in one place and close out each month: see who pays whom, then start from zero.
What’s shared and what’s not
First, agree on which costs belong to the household. Usually you share:
- Rent and any building fees.
- Utilities: water, electricity, gas and internet.
- Shared groceries: what everyone uses, like cooking oil, coffee, toilet paper or cleaning supplies.
And what’s not shared: the food each person buys for themselves, their subscriptions, their food delivery. If something is bought for the household but only one person uses it, it’s theirs.
Three ways to split the rent
Evenly
If the rooms are similar, this is the simplest: the rent divided by the number of people.
By room size
If one room is bigger or has its own bathroom, it’s fair for that person to pay more. A common way is to split part of the rent equally (for the common areas everyone uses) and the rest by the size of each room.
An example: $2,400 split three ways
Half, $1,200, is split equally: $400 each. The other half is split by square feet: Ana’s room is 160 sq ft with a private bathroom; Luis’s and Diana’s are 120 sq ft each. That’s 400 sq ft in total, so each square foot is worth $3.
| Who | Equal share | By size | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ana (160 sq ft) | $400 | $480 | $880 |
| Luis (120 sq ft) | $400 | $360 | $760 |
| Diana (120 sq ft) | $400 | $360 | $760 |
| Total | $1,200 | $1,200 | $2,400 |
By income
Couples and families often split by what each person earns: if one person earns 60% of the household income, they pay 60% of the costs. It’s less common between roommates who aren’t a couple, but it works too if everyone agrees.
Utilities and groceries
Utilities are usually split evenly. If someone works from home all day or spends a lot more time there, you can agree that they put in a bit more for electricity or internet. What matters is deciding it once and not arguing about it every month.
For shared groceries, it helps to keep a list of what belongs to everyone. Whoever buys something logs it with what they paid, and at the end of the month it’s split. Each person’s own things stay out of it.
A simple agreement, in writing
It doesn’t need to be a contract. A message in the group chat is enough, saying:
- Which costs belong to the household and which don’t.
- How each one is split: rent, utilities and groceries.
- Who pays the landlord and who pays each utility bill, and on what date.
- When you close the month and how you pay each other back.
Closing the month
The most practical way is for each person to pay for something (one the rent, another the internet, another the groceries) and, at the end of the month, add it all up: how much each person paid, what their share was and the difference. That shows who pays whom, in just a few transfers, and the next month starts from zero. If someone can’t pay it all that month, what’s still owed carries to the next one, but it’s written down.
Do it in Divall
In Divall, a Family and roommates account keeps track of the household month: you choose the agreement (Equal parts or By percentages), rent and utilities add themselves every month, you can set a budget for each category and, when you close the month, you choose whether everything is paid or what’s owed carries to next month. It’s part of Divall Pro, and you can also see it in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Should the roommate with a private bathroom pay more?
Usually, yes, because they have a space nobody else uses. One way is to split part of the rent equally and the rest by the size of each room, counting the bathroom.
How do you split utilities with roommates?
Almost always evenly. If someone uses them a lot more, for example because they work from home, you can agree that they put in a bit more.
What if a roommate doesn’t pay on time?
Write down what’s still owed and carry it to the next month. Having it in writing avoids arguments about how much was owed and since when.