Keep bills straight between roommates… and making them pay

by Jen (May 3, 2007)

It can be tough keeping track of bills that you split with roommates, but the last thing you want at the end of the month is to have to pay huge bills yourself and hope your roommate reimburses you.

The first tool you need in your arsenal is something like Bill Monk, which splits the bills for you and sends you reminders via email or SMS. It also gives you a way to track your belongings and who you’ve let borrow your stuff and send money to your friends instantly. [Via MakeUseOf.]

If your roommates are financially responsible people, you’re done now. But if not - if you have roomies who through ignorance or a total lack of character don’t mind sticking you with bills and making your life difficult - there are more steps you’ll need to take:

• Get a new roommate. This is the simplest solution. Even if the person is family and other relatives are demanding you take them in and put up with them… no. It’s your life, it’s your credit rating. Let the relatives take them in themselves. If for whatever reason you can’t replace this roommate or are scared you’ll end up with one even worse…
• Try talking to them. Let them know you’ll “have to find another roommate” even if you have no intention.
• Some people recommend putting some of the utilities in the roommate’s name. I would never do this with a roommate who doesn’t pay because then you risk having services shut off. Also, it gives them control. If the bills are in your name, yes that means it’s your ass on the line to pay them, but it also means that if you do kick the roommate out at some point, there won’t be a struggle for switchovers at that time.
• Document everything. Document what bills aren’t getting paid and when. Document the late payments. Under most leases, the rent must be paid, and “but my roommate didn’t come up with her half” won’t cut it with the landlord.
• If your landlord is at all sympathetic, write him or her letters documenting the problems and what you’ve done to solve them. This is just in case you need to sue at some point - the landlord can back up your side of the story (you wouldn’t believe how someone you thought was your friend can cook up a kettle of lies to cover their ass).
• Get everything in writing. What each of you has agreed to pay, what chores you’re supposed to do, etc. Get them to sign it. Judges love documentation, and scam artists know it. Hopefully you’ll never have to go to court: if the roommate is a serious scammer, documentation should be enough to scare him or her into finding a new place (to mooch).

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