One roommate pays the landlord. Who sends them what?
Many landlords take one payment. Whoever sends it is fronting money for everyone, so make the amounts exact and the record shared.
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
Room A pays the landlord. The others send:
housr records amounts only. It never moves money.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room A | 1 | 168 × 1.25 | $400.00 | $855.20 | $1,255.20 |
| Room B | 1 | 120 × 1 | $400.00 | $488.69 | $888.69 |
| Room C | 1 | 112 × 1 | $400.00 | $456.11 | $856.11 |
| Total | 3 | $1,200.00 | $1,800.00 | $3,000.00 |
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 $3,000 with the home page’s sample split (40% shared space, the rest by floor area, Room A’s private bath at 1.25×). The person in Room A pays the landlord the full $3,000 on the 1st. Rooms B and C send Room A their shares.
- Room A pays $1,255.20: private bath, 1.26× average floor area.
- Room B pays $888.69: 0.9× average floor area.
- Room C pays $856.11: 0.84× average floor area.
- Room A pays the landlord $3,000.00; the others send Room A their shares, $888.69 and $856.11.
- Total: $3,000.00, exactly the rent.
Names and amounts are samples. Change any number in the calculator above and the result updates.
Worth agreeing in writing
housr records the amounts only; it never moves money. Payments themselves go through whatever you already use, and you mark them as paid in the household.
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 payer is repaid in exact amounts, to the cent, so they never end up covering a rounding difference.
- Everyone sees the same ledger, so there is no doubt about whether a share was paid.
- The payer shares the landlord’s receipt or bank record each month, so the others know the rent actually went out.
Not so fair when
- If the person paying the landlord is the only name on the lease, the others may have fewer protections. In New York, for example, the Attorney General’s guide explains that a tenant named alone on a lease may share with “one additional occupant”, and that occupant “has no right to continue in occupancy without the landlord’s express consent” if the named tenant moves out. Ask whether everyone can be added.
- Asking roommates to pay a lease-holder more than their fair share and keeping the difference is a common source of disputes; the split should add up to exactly the rent.
- If the payer is late with the landlord, late fees should fall on them, not on everyone.
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
- Office of the Texas Attorney General, Renter’s Rights. Checked 2026-10-05.
- USAGov, How to file a complaint against a landlord. Checked 2026-10-05.
- New York State Attorney General, Residential Tenants’ Rights Guide. Checked 2026-10-05.
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