Roommate Agreements in Ontario: A Guide

Sharing a place can cut your housing costs dramatically — but it also creates new ways to fall out with the people you live with. A clear roommate agreement sets expectations on rent, bills and shared space before problems arise. Here's how to put one together in Ontario, and how it fits alongside your lease and your legal rights.

Key takeaways

• A roommate agreement is a private contract between roommates — separate from your lease.
• It should spell out rent splits, bills, deposits, chores, guests and move-out notice.
• Whether roommates are 'co-tenants' or one is a subtenant changes everyone's legal position.
• The Residential Tenancies Act governs the landlord relationship, not roommate-to-roommate disputes.
• Put everything in writing and have every roommate sign it.

What a roommate agreement is (and isn't)

A roommate agreement is a written understanding between the people living together. It is not your lease. Your lease is the contract with your landlord and is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA); a roommate agreement is a private arrangement that covers how you and your roommates share the home and its costs.

Why it matters

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) resolves disputes between landlords and tenants — not arguments between roommates. A written roommate agreement is your best tool for preventing and settling those everyday disagreements.

Co-tenants vs subtenants

Before you write anything, understand your legal relationship to the landlord and to each other — it changes who owes what.

• Co-tenants — everyone is named on the same lease. You're each generally responsible to the landlord for the full rent, not just your share, so one roommate's default can affect everyone.
• Subtenant — one person holds the lease and rents a room to another. The subtenant deals with the head tenant, not directly with the landlord, and subletting usually needs the landlord's consent.
• Occupant — someone living there who isn't on the lease at all, which limits their direct rights against the landlord.

Get landlord consent in writing

If you're adding a roommate or subletting, ask the landlord in writing and keep their reply. It avoids a nasty surprise later and protects everyone's position.

What to put in the agreement

A good roommate agreement is detailed enough to settle the predictable arguments before they happen. Cover at least the following:

Deposits and the law

Be precise about money. In Ontario a landlord may collect a rent deposit equal to one rental period — usually last month's rent — but damage or security deposits are not allowed. If your roommates pooled money for the rent deposit, your agreement should record who paid what and how it's divided when someone leaves.

Remember that your rights against the landlord still come from the lease and the RTA — for example, rent can only increase once every 12 months with 90 days' written notice on Form N1 (the 2026 guideline is 2.1% for most units first occupied on or before November 15, 2018). Your roommate agreement can't override those protections. For the full picture, see our pillar guide to tenant rights in Ontario and our explainer on the Ontario Standard Lease.

When roommates move toward owning

Splitting rent is often a stepping stone toward buying — sometimes even with a roommate or partner. If that's the plan, our guide on renting vs buying in Canada helps you weigh the move.

Buying together? Get cashback with HOMEH

When you and a co-buyer are ready to purchase, eligible HOMEH buyers receive the industry's highest Cashback Rebate — money toward your shared down payment or closing costs. Run the comparison with the rent vs buy calculator.