Room Rental Agreement Template and How to Draft One (2026)

What is a room rental agreement? A room rental agreement is a contract for renting one room in a property while sharing the common areas (kitchen, bathroom, living room) with others. It is used by landlords who let rooms individually, by a lead tenant taking in a roommate, and by friends sharing a flat who want the arrangement in writing. A linked term, "roommate agreement," is a related document between people who share a home and want to set the house rules, even where one of them is the main tenant. Because people share space, the house rules matter as much as the rent. The template below covers both. Rules on deposits, notice and registration vary by jurisdiction, so adapt it to where you live. ## A room rental agreement template you can use ```

ROOM RENTAL AGREEMENT This Agreement is made on [date] BETWEEN [Full name of landlord or lead tenant], of [address] ("Owner/Lead Tenant") AND [Full name of room renter], of [address] ("Tenant"). 1. ROOM AND SHARED AREAS The Tenant rents the room described as [room location, e.g. the rear bedroom on the first floor] at [full property address] (the "Room"), together with shared use of the [kitchen, bathroom(s), living room, garden, parking] (the "Shared Areas"). 2. TERM The Agreement runs from [start date] [for a fixed term ending [end date] / on a month-to-month basis], and continues until ended under clause 10. 3. RENT The Tenant shall pay rent of [amount] per month, due on the [nth] day of each month, paid by [method] to [details]. 4. DEPOSIT The Tenant shall pay a deposit of [amount] on signing, held against unpaid rent and damage, and returned within [number] days of moving out, less any lawful and itemised deductions. 5. WHAT THE RENT INCLUDES The rent includes: [electricity, water, gas, internet, cleaning of shared areas, etc.]. The Tenant separately pays: [list, or "a [fraction] share of [bill]"]. 6. HOUSE RULES a. Quiet hours: [e.g. 10pm to 7am]. b. Guests: overnight guests allowed up to [number] nights per month; no guest may stay longer than [number] nights without the Owner's consent. c. Cleaning: shared areas to be kept clean; [rota / each person cleans up after themselves]. d. Smoking: [not permitted indoors / permitted only in ...]. e. Pets: [not permitted / permitted: ...]. f. Shared costs: household items such as [cleaning supplies] shared [equally / by rota]. 7. USE OF THE ROOM The Room is for the Tenant's private residential use only. No business use, no illegal activity, no sub-letting of the Room without written consent. 8. CONDITION The Room and Shared Areas are accepted in their current condition, recorded in the move-in notes and photos attached. The Tenant is responsible for damage they or their guests cause, beyond normal wear and tear. 9. ACCESS The Owner may enter the Room on [24 / 48] hours' notice at reasonable times, and without notice in a genuine emergency. The Tenant has quiet enjoyment of the Room. 10. ENDING THE AGREEMENT Either party may end this Agreement by giving [number] days' written notice. On leaving, the Tenant shall remove their belongings, return keys, and leave the Room clean. 11. HEAD LEASE (where the Owner is a lead tenant) This arrangement must not breach the lead tenant's own lease with the landlord, [landlord name]. Where that lease requires the landlord's consent to take in a room renter, that consent [is attached / is being obtained]. 12. GOVERNING LAW This Agreement is governed by the law of [place]. SIGNED Owner/Lead Tenant: ____________________ Date: __________ Tenant: ____________________ Date: __________

- **Rent and what it includes:** many room rents are "all in" (bills included). If yours is not, say exactly which bills are shared and in what proportion.
- **Deposit:** state the amount, what it covers and the return window. Keep it reasonable and within any local limit.
- **House rules:** this is the heart of a room rental. Quiet hours, guests, cleaning, smoking and pets cause more friction than rent. Write them down even if you are renting to a friend.
- **Head lease clause:** if you are a lead tenant taking in a room renter, check your own lease first. Taking in an occupant may need the landlord's consent, and this varies by jurisdiction. ## Lead tenant or landlord? It changes things If you own the property, this is a simple letting of a room. If you are a tenant taking in a roommate, you are effectively creating a sub-arrangement, and your own lease decides whether you are allowed to. Read your lease before you sign anyone up, and get the landlord's written consent where it is required. ## Common mistakes to avoid - Leaving the house rules out and hoping goodwill will cover it.
- Not writing down what the rent includes.
- Taking in a room renter when your own lease forbids it.
- No move-in condition notes or photos, which makes the deposit hard to settle fairly at the end.
- Vague notice terms, so neither side knows how to end the arrangement cleanly. ## Where a contract workspace helps Everything above you can do by hand: read the clauses one by one, flag the risky ones, note the dates that matter, keep the signed copy somewhere you can find it later. It works. It also takes time, and the details are easy to lose once the agreement is signed and filed away. The same work can live in one place. A modern AI contract workspace lets you draft from a template that already fits how you deal, see each clause marked favourable, neutral or unfavourable to you, edit a clause in plain English, keep a live history of every change, and get an alert before a renewal or deadline arrives, instead of tracking it in your head or a spreadsheet. That is the idea behind [Adira](https://adiralaw.com): draft, understand, edit, track and govern every contract in one workspace, tuned to how your company contracts and built on frontier AI. You do not need software to use the checklist on this page. But if you handle more than a handful of agreements, the value of having the drafting, the review and the dates in a single system, rather than scattered across email, folders and memory, adds up quickly. *This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country and by state, and your situation may need a qualified lawyer.*