What is the general consensus?

[momof3heathens]

3 people sharing an apartment for $900. 2 of them are a couple. Is the split 50% for the couple and 50% for the single or a 3 way split of costs at $300 each person.

[DiamondLil]

How many bedrooms, does each one get a room, or did the couple just take the largest room? And how are the utilities/grocery expenses split up?

[alicia]

Need more info, for sure.

[momof3heathens]

2 bedrooms. Utilities haven't been discussed yet but are not anymore than $40 a month. Internet and cable is supplied by the landlord.

[Kelzor]

I would say split into 3. Not fair to the 3rd wheel. Also depends on other bills.

[lecale]

.

[vesper]

By 33%

If 3 people including a couple shared any of the following, they'd equal as individuals.
Diner, movie, renting a car, gas, pot, vet bill for dog they found in distress.

Plus room-mate #3 has to listen to all the fun room-mate #1 and #2 share every night, contributing to stress.

Oh and one mroe think, if room-mate #3 got a girlfriend, and she moved in, then everything would be 25% for sure right?

[Darth Penguin]

When Mr P and I shared a 2 bed apt with a friend, we paid 3/4th of the rent and had the bigger bedrooom and 2;1 for the utilities.

Grocery bills were seperate, though I sometimes cooked for the 3 of us.

[DiamondLil]

I agree with lecale - if the couple is taking the larger of the 2 bedrooms, they should pay more in rent. But in all honesty, it doesnt make sense to rent out a 2 bedroom apartment, take 2 roommates and end up paying $450 in rent per month while your room mates only pay $225 each per month. It hardly seems fair for the single room mate.

[glowworm2k]

I would split it 33-33-33. All 3 use the bathroom, kitchen, living room, etc. and that's likely where they will end up spending a lot of their time.

Also, just my opinion, but just like Vesper said, the third person has to deal with being the "third person".... Sharing with a couple isn't the same as sharing with a few single roommates: earplugs on some nights, having to be party to couple arguments at times, etc. ...you get my drift. Stuff that they wouldn't likely have as big of a problem with if the roommates were all platonic. This deserves some compensation in my books.

[bargain_hunter_lola]

From my friends experiences (DH & I never roomed with anyone, always had our own place), rent was determined by the room. IE, $450 per room and there was a max of 2 people per room. So if the couple is sharing 1 room then they pay for one room.

I get that it sucks for the single person but they do get 1 room to themselves. The couple does not. No place for privacy for them, and yes sometimes even couples want to have their alone time! Besides if the single does have someone move in or if the couple breaks up and one moves out, it doesn't change anything. Still rent would be charged based per room. Simple and easy.

If I were the couple though, I think I'd offer to pay for a few other expenses to make things a bit more fair. Perhaps they could pick up the utilities bill?

If there are any extra costs associated with the 3rd person than obviously they should pay for it themselves (ie, extra parking space, etc).

I think was long as all parties agree the situation is fair then you're good to go!

[Psychojo213]

I would split it 33-33-33. All 3 use the bathroom, kitchen, living room, etc. and that's likely where they will end up spending a lot of their time.

I agree 100%.

When renting, the actual bedroom is only a minor factor in calculating the rent. The couple has made the choice to share a room. Even if they rented the entire space themselves, they would only use one bedroom but they would have to share the entire rent by 2.

[momof3heathens]

I agree 100%.

When renting, the actual bedroom is only a minor factor in calculating the rent. The couple has made the choice to share a room. Even if they rented the entire space themselves, they would only use one bedroom but they would have to share the entire rent by 2.

This is how my son sees it too.

He was renting with a workmate. The workmate had the apartment originally. My son moved into the smaller room and paid 1/2 the rent as a boarder. Now the workmate has to move due to financial issues and my son is allowed to stay on if he can find a roommate. He will stay in the smaller room. He found someone who wants his girlfriend to move in as well.


Right now this might not be a problem as the workmate is hoping EI will speed up and he can afford to pay his rent.

Just thinking for the future.

[FallenPixels]

I would say the couple should pay more but not necessarily the full 2/3 since they are sharing a room and often cooking etc together so using less

Many people moving in would have their BF/GF over all the time, so the couple arguments etc would still be a factor if the couple were not living there

[Chantel]

I'm not sure, but would it be any different if the couple was not a couple and put two beds in that room instead of one? Then the single person in room number 2 might be thought of as needing to pay more, because they have their own room and don't have to share?

I think the most fair way to determine who pays what is by looking at it as if nobody was a couple.