How to Get Along With Your Roommate

Living with a roommate can be an intense experience. Establish some ground rules up front and learn to confront problems in a diplomatic manner if you want your household to be a peaceful one.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Approach your roommate about your concerns and gripes in a calm, tactful manner; don't let tensions build to the point of boiling tempers.
2. Respect your roommate's privacy and opinions. Try to compromise on sensitive issues.
3. Work together to determine shared responsibilities such as housecleaning and cooking, and establish a set of household rules.
4. Establish and adhere to financial arrangements for sharing the costs of rent, utilities, food, repairs and furnishings.
5. Ask your roommate to work with you on creating a roommate agreement that outlines your shared responsibilities and spells out methods of resolving disagreements.
6. Put your roommate agreement in writing. Sign and date the agreement.
7. Refrain from complaining about your roommate to the landlord in order to maintain good landlord-tenant relations.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask an impartial third party, such as a mutual acquaintance, to serve as a mediator on major disagreements between you and your roommate.
• Re-evaluate compatibility with your roommate if recurring disputes cannot be settled to your satisfaction.