Splitting an apartment, without the drama.
Combined income, rent-split math, and what a roommate agreement should cover.
New York's Roommate Law gives a leaseholder the right to share their apartment with an additional occupant in many cases. See the Roommates guide in the Field Manual for the specific rule and its limits.
Your household
Each roommate's annual income
Combined qualifying income
$0/yr combined
Using the common 40× convention, a combined income like this would typically qualify for rent up to $0/mo. This is a market convention, not a legal requirement — some landlords also want each roommate to individually qualify.
How to split the rent
Enter a monthly rent to see split options.
What to put in a roommate agreement
A roommate agreement is between you and your roommates — it doesn't replace your lease with the landlord. Put it in writing and have everyone sign, even if you're friends.
- Each person's share of rent and the split method (even, by income, or by room size)
- Security deposit: who paid what, and how it's returned when someone moves out
- How utilities, internet, and shared supplies are split and paid
- What happens if someone wants to leave before the lease ends
- How a replacement roommate is found and approved
- Guest policy and quiet hours
- How shared spaces and chores are handled
- What happens if someone stops paying their share
Not a legal template
Questions
Does my roommate need to be on the lease?
Not necessarily — New York's Roommate Law generally lets a leaseholder share their unit with an additional occupant and that occupant's dependent children, subject to occupancy limits, without adding them to the lease.
Who is responsible for the rent if a roommate doesn't pay?
Usually whoever is named on the lease — often all leaseholders are jointly and individually responsible for the full rent (“joint and several liability”), regardless of any private roommate agreement. That's exactly why the split and what-if-someone-leaves terms matter.