Sharing Accommodation

When they first set out on their own, many young people share an apartment or even a house with one or more friends. That way, they can split the rent and other household expenses. Besides, living with friends can sometimes help soften the shock of leaving home.

You yourself may be contemplating this sort of arrangement in the not-too-distant future; you may even be sharing accommodation in this way already. But do you understand all the legal implications in this kind of set-up?

There are two ways you can go about sharing a place to live with friends:

1. joint tenancy : all the people involved sign the lease

2. only one person signs the lease and everyone else simply lives with that person and contributes money toward the rent

One thing that can cause particular problems among roommates is the matter of security deposits. For instance, if there's a joint tenancy, the deposit is given by all the tenants. That means that when the time comes to get the deposit back at the end of the tenancy, the cheque will have to be made out in the names of all those who paid; and they'll all have to sign it in order to cash it.

There's no problem if all the original roommates are still there, but if one leaves early, difficulties can arise. For instance, that tenant will undoubtedly want his or her share of the deposit back when leaving, but how can this be arranged? And when the tenancy comes to an end, it may not be possible to locate the person who left early so he or she can sign the cheque.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where problems like this can arise, it's always best to think about them ahead of time and agree upon solutions. You should probably discuss with your landlord and arrange a way for the remaining tenants to buy out the security deposit of anyone who might leave. That way, the person leaving will get the money owing right away, and there's no problem for the remaining renters when the tenancy ends.