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Roommate Contracts

Roommate Contracts

As a part of the first-year experience, residential students are required to complete roommate contracts. These agreements serve as a tool to help guide residents through having important, and sometimes awkward, conversations regarding their living environment. The agreement is a living document and is not intended to create a binding obligation between any individuals or the university. Students will have the opportunity to set agreed-upon expectations of cleanliness, guests, and how they will communicate regarding their shared living space. Thinking through how roommates want to share a space is the best practice for enhancing a residential experience.

Process

The typical roommate agreement process follows these key steps. 

Step One

Take the time to reflect on your own individual living environment needs.

Step Two

Get to know your roommate’s personality, academic, and social styles to determine how you can work with them to create a positive residential experience.

Step Three

Within your first week living together, find a time to sit with your roommate and complete the Roommate Agreement form provided to you by the Resident Assistants (RA). Discuss the questions and find the best possible agreement. Compromise may be an essential component of this step.

Step Four

Submit the agreement to your RA. If necessary, request the assistance of your RA to help facilitate the conversation and completion of the roommate agreement.

Step Five

RAs will review roommate agreements to ensure they were completed appropriately.

Step Six

Residents can revisit their agreement to make updates as needed. If conflicts arise residents can reach out to their RA or their building supervisor.

Roommate Contract Ideas

Some examples of items found on a Roommate Contract:

  • Our door will be kept… always locked, unlocked when someone is home, etc.
  • When one of us is sleeping in the room, we are okay with… complete quiet, lights on/off, normal volume, low noise-music/TV/calls, etc.
  • We agree the following times are considered too early and too late, respectively for noise on weekdays… before 8 a.m. and after 1 a.m.
  • We agree our best method of communication, including regarding issues is… in-person, text, call, or email.
  • Guests in our room will be allowed to… sit on each other’s bed, eat each other’s food, use TV, etc.
  • In maintaining a clean and neat space we agree to take out trash/recycling and vacuum/dust… every other day, once a week, as needed.
  • We agree to share the following personal belongings… TV/fridge/microwave/snacks/clothes, etc.

Roommate Support & Mediation

Residence Life & Housing understands that conflicts in the living space can and do arise and encourages students to rely on Residence Life staff to provide support. Residence Life does not remove students from rooms as a result of complaints about their roommates. Outside of extreme circumstances, the only option offered to students for an untenable living situation is an offer for the complainant to move out of the room. Personal information of roommates cannot be shared with students or family members of students.  

We encourage all parents and students to lean into mediation before seeking room changes. Room changes are not a guaranteed solution to a problem, as Residence Life cannot guarantee a new roommate will be a better fit for an individual. Sharing space is an important developmental opportunity that is key to the residential experience. 

Residence Life staff are available to support facilitated conversations between roommates and to address disagreements and conflicts. An RA is available on-call after 8 p.m. daily, and for more immediate concerns, professional staff are available 24/7.

Important note: Outside of the open room change period, room changes are only granted at the discretion of Residence Life when applicable and after appropriate intervention strategies have been explored.