Happy Monday! Today I’m sharing the first of a series of college/ResLife related posts. While many of the resources in this series will cater to either college freshmen or Resident Assistants (RAs), I think a lot of tidbits can be useful for almost anyone in college or even beyond.

Today’s post is on roommate agreements. I know many schools actually require students to fill out roommate agreement contracts, and since my school doesn’t I will be providing my residents with a psuedo-contract to fill out if they would like to. This list is adapted from personal experience and from several lists I found online. It may not work for everyone or every situation, but hopefully it can give you at least an idea of where to start from.

Download as a PDF: Two L Allison’s Roommate Guidelines Worksheet

If I’m being 100% honest, I’ve never actually used a roommate agreement myself or even thoroughly discussed the details of how we should cohabitate, but I’ve regretted not doing so every semester. The beginning of the year with a roommate is always a little bit awkward and usually conflicts don’t even arise until several weeks into the semester or even second semester which makes this a difficult topic to approach. I’m hoping to eliminate the awkwardness of these conversations by rewarding my residents for participating and so that no one is alone in approaching the topic. I think everyone has a conflict with their roommate of some sort at some point in the year and establishing guidelines from the get go can mitigate things early on.

While the details of using your roommate’s property and sleep hours are really important, my favorite part of this agreement is the last section regarding conflict resolution. It’s difficult to understand how others are used to communicating re: conflict, and I am hoping this section will help mesh communication styles early on.

Let me know if you think I should add anything for my residents! I would love to hear if anyone has ever used a roommate agreement before and if you feel like it was beneficial at all. Until next time!