How to choose a good roommate

Sharing an apartment with one or more roommates is a good option to cut down the costs, but it’s important to have good roommates that fit with you to have the best experience possible and avoiding conflicts. 

How do you choose a roommate? 

Be honest about yourself and your expectations and ask your roommates to do the same with you, ask as many questions as needed before choosing a roommate. 

Whether it’s an old-time friend or someone you found on our classifieds or another website, you should make sure that this person can regularly pay their share of rent and common expenses. 

You should also make sure that your personalities match: if you’re a super social person who loves party you may want to search for roommates with a similar lifestyle and schedule. 

Don’t underestimate cleaning habits: look for a roommate that has compatible cleaning routines, some people need to have their living space always clean and tidy, others don’t mind having a bit of dust around. In any case, many roommates’ conflicts are about this issue. 

Communication is key for a successful roommates’ experience: you and your roommates will be responsible for the same apartment and for the rent, the best way to avoid conflicts between you is to be open to talk issues over and reaching a common ground.  

Even if you’re not looking for your next best friend, having a roommate who shares interests and activities can be fun! If you’re able to find someone that will not simply share the unit and the costs, ask questions to your potential roommates about their passions! 

You may want to get all the important aspects in writing, you can sign a joint tenancy agreement with your roommate(s) defining clearly how costs are divided, and the rules the roommates agreed upon. 

Email us at hojo@csu.qc.ca for further information about the joint tenancy.