What to Do if Your Roommate Can’t Pay Rent

There are lots of different troubles that can arise when you’re living with a roommate. And while many of them simply require a bit of good-ol’ communication (some tips on how to do that here), not all of them are so easily solved. Case in point: if your roommate can’t pay rent and you’re finding yourself on the line for more than you signed up for—and possibly more than you can afford.

Many people choose to live with a roommate to save money. So if your roommate can’t pay rent, that puts you in a tricky situation, and one that requires some fast action. Whether this happens a couple months or a couple years into living together, being on the hook for a full rent payment is obviously not an ideal situation to be in, and can mean a huge stress on your own finances.

So what do you do? Here’s what you need to know about next steps when your roommate can’t pay rent, including what your next steps should be.

Roommate Can’t Pay Rent? Start by Looking at Your Lease

A lease is a legally binding contract, and among the things that you agree to in it are that you will pay your rent in entirety on or by a set date every month. This gets complicated when your roommate can’t pay rent however, and what you do next may depend on the specifics of the document.

If only your name is on the lease, that means that, regardless of what you and your roommate agreed to amongst yourselves, you are the one who is legally liable for ensuring that your rent gets paid in full. In this situation, you’re essentially your roommate’s landlord, collecting their rent payment every month and then passing it on to your landlord. This gives you some power to either evict your roommate and replace them with someone who can pay or take them to small claims court. Of course, depending on why your roommate can’t pay rent, you may not want to take either of these courses of action.

If both of your names are on the lease, you’re still just as liable for the rent payment, but it’s your landlord who ultimately has control over what happens next if full rent isn’t paid. This means that your landlord may choose to evict you and your roommate or take you both to court for the missing payment.

If your roommate is on the lease and you aren’t, then the rent payment is their full responsibility, legally speaking. So whether or not you cover their portion of the rent, it is your roommate who will be at risk of legal consequences, though this of course affects you too.

In order to avoid legal complications, it’s your job as the other roommate to work with your roommate who can’t pay rent to find a solution. Otherwise, both of you are, unfortunately, at risk of losing your rental.

Next Steps

Legalities aside, your first course of action should always be finding a way to cover the portion of rent that your roommate is unable to pay. How you do it will depend on your relationship with your roommate, as well as what resources are available. Here’s where to start.

Talk to your landlord

Look into rental assistance

Work out your own agreement

Having a roommate who is unable to pay their portion of the rent is never a good situation to be in, but it’s not always possible to avoid. Finances change, jobs change, and costly life situations pop up; what’s important is that you recognize your own responsibility and take action. While it might be tempting to say that it’s totally your roommate’s problem, if your roommate can’t pay rent it’s a problem for both of you—and one that you’ll have to work together to solve.