One room has no window. How much less should it pay?
Daylight changes how a room feels to live in, and most people would pay more for it. Give it an explicit weight instead of a vague discount.
Kitchen, living room, shared bath. The rest of the rent follows each room.
Closet, light, noise
Closet, light, noise
Closet, light, noise
Weights you agree on
The link holds the whole split. Nothing is stored on our server until you make it a household.
The working, room by room
| Room | People | Weight | Shared part | Room part | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | 1 | 130 × 1 | $360.00 | $587.45 | $947.45 |
| Back | 1 | 125 × 1 | $360.00 | $564.85 | $924.85 |
| Inner | 1 | 115 × 0.9 | $360.00 | $467.70 | $827.70 |
| Total | 3 | $1,080.00 | $1,620.00 | $2,700.00 |
Weight = floor area × the room’s multiplier (private bath and factors). Unrounded parts are shown; the “Pays” column is rounded to cents so it adds up exactly.
The numbers, step by step
Three roommates split $2,700. The inner room (115 sq ft) has only a small window onto a light well, so the household gives it a −10% light factor; the other two rooms are typical. 40% of the rent is shared space.
- Front pays $947.45: 1.05× average floor area.
- Back pays $924.85: 1.01× average floor area.
- Inner pays $827.70: 0.93× average floor area, little or no daylight (−10%).
- Total: $2,700.00, exactly the rent.
Names and amounts are samples. Change any number in the calculator above and the result updates.
A fairness test you can run together
Fair-division research calls a split envy-free when each person feels they got the best piece “in her own estimation”, as Francis Su puts it. Ask: at these prices, would anyone rather swap rooms? If not, nobody envies anyone. Bid mode makes that a guarantee.
Keep it running
Turn this into a household: rent posts at the agreed split each month, bills split by days home, and housr works out who owes whom. Roommates join with a link and a name.
Make it a householdWhen this split is fair, and when it isn’t
Fair when
- The factor is the same for anyone who takes the room, and you agreed it before anyone knew who would get which room.
- A 10% light factor moves a modest amount of money. You can see it in dollars and decide whether it matches how you feel.
- Pair it with the noise and closet factors only when they really differ; three small factors can quietly add up to a lot.
Not so fair when
- Some people want a dark room (night-shift workers, light sleepers). If the person taking it prefers it, bidding is fairer than a fixed discount.
- A room with no window to the outside may not meet local rules for a bedroom. That is a question for the landlord and your local housing code, not something a rent split can settle.
- If the room is also the smallest, the floor-area weight already lowers its share; don’t double-discount without a reason.
This is general information about splitting costs between yourselves, not legal advice. Your lease and your state’s law decide what you owe the landlord.
Sources
- Spliddit, Assign Rooms and Share Rent. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Gal, Mash, Procaccia and Zick, Which Is the Fairest (Rent Division) of Them All? (J. ACM 64(6), 2017). Checked 2026-10-05.
- Francis Su, Harvey Mudd College, Fair Division Calculator (historical page). Checked 2026-10-05.
Related situations
Three unequal bedrooms, one rent
When the biggest room is almost twice the smallest, an equal split means the small room quietly pays for the big one. Weighting by floor area fixes that in a way everyone can check.
Open the example Split rentBid for rooms so nobody wants to swap
Instead of arguing about what a bath or a window is worth, each person puts a price on each room. The result gives every room to someone who values it, at prices nobody envies.
Open the example Split rentOne room is furnished, the others aren’t
Furniture saves the person who gets it real money. Treat it like parking: a monthly value carved out of the rent and charged to that room.
Open the example