How do I split the rent?

May 17, 2006 7:42 AM

2 Bedroom Apt, 3 people, what's the most fair way to split the rent?

If two people are sharing the master bedroom, and one person gets the extra (smaller) bedroom for themselves, what's the usual way to split the rent in that case?

posted by empath to work & money (38 comments total)

The people in the master bedroom pay two-thirds of the rent?
posted by Julnyes at 7:45 AM on May 17, 2006

When I lived in a similar situation, it was split three ways.

(We were living in a beach house during the off-season, and I had one "wing" while the other two, a couple, had the other "wing". Unfortunately, my wing wasn't really heated except for a fireplace so I was sort of getting screwed. That's besides the point though.)
posted by nekton at 7:46 AM on May 17, 2006

if the master bedroom is alot nicer than the smaller bedroom than i would say 60/40 cut.. and then the 60% is divided in half buy the two sharing the room. (they pay slightly less as individuals then the third person but they ARE sharing a room)
posted by trishthedish at 7:47 AM on May 17, 2006

Each person pays one-third of the rent. You're paying for the common areas, not just the bedrooms.
posted by malp at 7:47 AM on May 17, 2006

Unless the master bedroom is twice as big as the other one, I don't think the couple should pay 2/3. Maybe 30/30/40?
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 7:48 AM on May 17, 2006

You figure out the rent for the large bedroom and small bedroom. If the rent is $2000, maybe the small bedroom is $750 and the large is $1250. Then the two in the large split that cost. It's not fair that the two people in one room would pay the exact same as one person with a room all to themselves, regardless of the size. You may need to adjust accordingly if all three share a bathroom, etc. Utilities are divided by 3. It somewhat depends on what else is being used by that third person, but otherwise, it should be by room.

I pay more for a larger bedroom and if someone moved into that bedroom with me, I would be amenable to the two of us slightly paying more due to their use of common areas, etc, but would move out if I had to pay the same, they paid the same as me, and the third person got the deal.
posted by ml98tu at 7:50 AM on May 17, 2006

Are the people sharing the master bedroom a couple, or is it two unromantically linked people splitting the room down the middle?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:56 AM on May 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

unromantically? I'm so sorry.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:56 AM on May 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

Add up the square footage in the bedrooms. Divide the rent by that square footage. Have each person pay for the square footage they will get per bedroom.

Ex. Rent is 1000, the big bedroom is 300sq ft, the small bedroom is 200sq ft. That is two bucks a sq ft. The two people in the big bedroom will each be using 150 sq ft (300 dollars a piece for rent) while the one in the small bedroom will be using 200sq ft (400 bucks).
posted by Loto at 8:08 AM on May 17, 2006

a couple..
posted by empath at 8:08 AM on May 17, 2006

If they're a couple, then it's not much of a hardship to share a bedroom, and they shouldn't get much (if any) discount for it. I think in that case splitting it into thirds is fair, but you may also offer them a nominal discount (like $50 less/person). Remember that they're also going to be using 2/3rds of the utilities and making (probably more than) 2/3rds the noise and mess.
posted by Hildago at 8:15 AM on May 17, 2006

In fact if they're a couple they probably have an incentive to share the master bedroom (SEX), so you shouldn't feel bad about splitting the rent evenly. If they complain, offer to give one of them the small bedroom, and say you'll share the master with the other. That will perhaps illustrate the desirability of the situation you're offering?
posted by Hildago at 8:19 AM on May 17, 2006

When I was in this situation as the single person, we split the rent 3 ways. Common areas see more activity than bedrooms, so unless the couple is willing to just hide in their room all the time, thirds was pretty fair.

If the couple were roomates and not sharing a bed, a discount would be in order.

It's pretty weird and sometimes downright stressful being a third wheel at home. The couple could consider the extra few bucks they may pay as a tax to ensure that the single person never comments on their loud foreplay or tries to move in on the couplemember of the appropriate gender.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:22 AM on May 17, 2006

This is always tough. I'd say split the rent for the bedrooms 50/50, and the rent for the rest of the apartment by 3.

So, if your rent is 1000, and your apt is 1000 sq ft, and your bedrooms are 100 sq ft and 200 sq ft, the rent would be split like so:

Rent for non-bedroom portion = 700/3
Rent for small bedroom = 100
Rent for big bedroom = 200

I would definitely not split it 50/50, as you have less bathroom time available, less room in the fridge, less common space in the cupboards (unless you actually split the cupboard/fridge space 50/50, 50 for the single and 50 for the couple).
posted by antifuse at 8:25 AM on May 17, 2006

I am going to say a resounding "no!" to splitting it three ways. It might cause hard feelings because they really don't have as much space as the third. If there were three bedrooms and they slept in one and used the second as a closet or office, then yes, three ways.

I am going to second something like a 30/30/40 then third the utilities.
posted by stormygrey at 8:26 AM on May 17, 2006

Since there's a lot of people suggesting three-way or 30/30/40 split, I'll just throw in a completely crazy idea: split it by income. Figure out the proportions of the three individuals' incomes to each other and have each pay that percentage of the rent.
posted by mendel at 8:34 AM on May 17, 2006

Add up the square footage in the bedrooms. Divide the rent by that square footage.


I'd do that too. Price the rent according to square footage shares, but share the utilities equally per person(1/3 utilities p/p in this case.)

The extra person may get his/her own room, but being a third wheel isn't the most comfortable situation, so that about evens out IMO.
posted by MD06 at 8:35 AM on May 17, 2006

i think it all has to do with a couple or not a couple in master bedroom.

if a couple by all means 1/3.

If 3 friends that divided up a place and one lucky bloke got the single room more like 30/30/40 and 1/3 the utilities.
posted by beccaj at 8:36 AM on May 17, 2006

In this situation, we've always split it evenly, because you're sharing the entire apartment, not just the bedroom.
posted by tastybrains at 8:52 AM on May 17, 2006

Reading this thread makes me realise that I kinda got fucked over by my flatmates.
posted by slimepuppy at 8:53 AM on May 17, 2006

Divide it by room size. Be willing to take the master bedroom by yourself and pay more. They'll take the master and split the cost. Dividing it equally is bull.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:55 AM on May 17, 2006

Definitely split three ways. I was once in the situation where a girl in my house tried to move her boyfriend into her room (which was large - the two other bedrooms were small) and expected to pay the same rent. The other housemates protested at this, as we felt that we had less use of common areas and they were paying half the amount of rent each that we were for essentially the same amount of house.

It's not a hardship for them to share a room, after all.
posted by altolinguistic at 9:07 AM on May 17, 2006

Divide it by room size. Be willing to take the master bedroom by yourself and pay more. They'll take the master and split the cost. Dividing it equally is bull.

Imagine an extreme case where they start letting two of their friends also live in the master bedroom. That's 5 people living in the apartment. Would you still be okay with paying almost half the rent?
posted by malp at 9:24 AM on May 17, 2006

I've always split rent by the number of people, no matter the bedroom situation.
posted by nadawi at 9:47 AM on May 17, 2006

For fairness, you need to follow these three rules:

1) You should be paying less than what you would pay if you were only sharing the place with one other person. Make sense? Figure out what you would pay if only one person was in the master bedroom. You should be paying less than that.

2) You should be paying more than either of the the other two persons. Why? You have your own bedroom. They do not.

3) You should be paying less than both of them combined. This sort of follows from 1) actually.

Within those guidelines, I think anything is fair and negotiable. As an example:

Rent=1200
Fair split between two people= 650/550
New person moves in. Following the above rules:

You should be paying more than $400 (by rule 2) but less than $550 (by rule 1). Anything within these bounds is "fair". If you negotiate, say $450 then then 3-way split is:

You: $450
them: $375 each, $750 total
posted by vacapinta at 9:58 AM on May 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

I shared a huge apartment with 4 other guys one time. Everybody argued over how to split up the rent. Here's the way I came up with that eventually stopped all the arguments. It's a bit of a pain, but it's mathematically fair. And yes, some people were paying odd amounts like $302.67, but it's not like writing a check for that is more difficult than $300.00...

Figure out the square footage of EACH AND EVERY room in the house. This includes bedrooms, kitchen, living area, bathrooms and closets.

Next, add up how much space, in terms of square footage, each person is using. (Pretend you're in a terrible fight, and imagine all of the places each person could and could not go.) For the solo person, that would include their bedroom, their closet, their bathroom, and their own private hallway if they have one. It also includes the shared spaces such as the living room, kitchen, main hallways, half bath, entryway, and so on.

For ONE of the people splitting the room, add up the total space THEY ARE SHARING (probably a bedroom, closet, and bathroom) and divide it by two. Then add the FULL AMOUNT of the common areas.

Then, add up the square footage values for all of the residents. It should equal the sum of the areas of the beds/baths/closets PLUS (number of residents * area of the shared space). Divide each person's own area by the total area and you will get numbers that should add up to 1. Multiply each number by the total rent, and there's your payment.


If you're sharing with a couple, who as mentioned above probably want to share a room for sex, then this method is probably unnecessary. However, if you want a mathematically unbiased way to determine rent amongst roommates and compensate for sharing or differently-sized rooms, this is a good way to do it. I've done it ever since I concocted it 4 years ago.
posted by cebailey at 10:00 AM on May 17, 2006

If it was 2 people, how would you split the bedrooms cost?

Figure that out, take the large bedroom and consider it as two renters in the space, splitting equally.

Usually, it's 60% big to 40% smaller (and the two people in the large bedroom would share the cost.)

This is assuming you're doing this for cost savings of the whole place, not because it's a couple in the room. If it's a couple, the third person is instantly outvoted.

Since all three are agreeing to sharing the common rooms, all three equally share the responsibility thereof (cleaning, etc.) It's in your rent.

The only negative is when you overload this...
If you have 3 or 4 people in the large bedroom...then the 'smaller' bedroom person is paying for privacy as much as the loss of the common space.

So, we'll just assume that everyone is trying to get along in the common space - merely that one (or more) of the three of you feel that the split isn't equitable.
posted by filmgeek at 10:20 AM on May 17, 2006

I think the best way to determine it is an auction. If these are three individuals, bid on the amount for the private room. If it was split evenly, everyone would presumably pick the private room. Let the highest bidder get the private room and the other two split the remainder.

Alternatively, switch room every third of the way during the lease term.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:42 AM on May 17, 2006

If these are three individuals, bid on the amount for the private room.

It's a couple.
posted by mendel at 11:19 AM on May 17, 2006

I think cebailey's solution is the most rationally fair (if somewhat burdensome to calculate). It's effectively dividing the rent by how much of the apartment each person is using-- entire rent is calculated on a per sq. foot basis, with each person paying 1/3 of the common areas, and their share of the private areas (so couple divide their bedroom's rent between them and the single person pays the whole of their bedroom's rent).
posted by justkevin at 11:21 AM on May 17, 2006

This is an economic problem not one of "fair". Let's assume the poster picks any of the methods proposed above. When it is presented to the couple they could balk. Then it is a after a wnegotiation. Empath has to decide what (s)he is willing to pay for the smaller room and living with a couple which could be a problem or a plus. How well do you know these people and how badly do you want this apartment? Pick a number you are willing to pay and present it as a take it or leave it.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:36 AM on May 17, 2006

I like how everybody assumed that I was the single one in this scenario :)

Thanks everybody. This is all good stuff. Unfortunately, everyone had really convincing arguments that completely disagreed with each other. Oh well, stuff to chew over anyway.
posted by empath at 12:00 PM on May 17, 2006

Split it evenly. The single person's discount, square-foot wise, is their rebate for putting up with the couple's sex, fights, etc.
posted by dagnyscott at 12:03 PM on May 17, 2006

I've been in this exact situation (with me in the smaller room), and the 30/30/40 split with equal split for utilities worked well for me (and all of us I suppose).
posted by Mrmuhnrmuh at 12:14 PM on May 17, 2006

I once had a huge basement room that took up nearly half of the footprint of the house, but with a noisy oil heater and leaky foundation in the Winter, so square footage isn't everything.
posted by Skwirl at 1:09 PM on May 17, 2006

I think it makes a large difference how the situation was arrived at.

If it's you and your roommate, and his/her fiance moves in. Then I think it's different that if the 3 of you find an apartment together.
posted by Megafly at 3:08 PM on May 17, 2006

Decide on a weight between private areas and shared areas. Divide the total monthly rent into an amount based on these weights. E.g. if total rent for the place is $1000, and you have decided that shared areas are 50% of the place's utility, then the rent is apportioned $500 for private areas and $500 for shared areas.

Split rent for private areas (bedrooms, any bathroom useful to only one bedroom, etc.) based on the proportion of square footage they consume. E.g. you have one bedroom of 200 square feet and another of 150 square feet, the 200 square foot bedroom is worth 200/350 * 500 = $286 while the 150 square foot bedroom is worth $214. If more than one person is occupying a room then they split that equally. So figure you have person 1 and 2 sharing the big bedrom, that's $143 each. Person 3 has the small bedroom to himself, for $214 total.

Split rent for shared areas equally among all residents. So if you have 3 people then each person's share of the shared areas is $167.

Add the two portions together. Person 1 and 2 pay $310 each, person 3 pays $381.

If a bedroom becomes temporarily unoccupied due to a departure, it is considered shared space during that time and all residents chip in to cover it until a new roommate is found.
posted by kindall at 4:01 PM on May 17, 2006

I wouldn't say everyone completely disagreed with each other. There's still a salvageable answer in here. Most people subscribed to one of three scenarios:

1) even 3 way split
2) % of space used
3) 30/30/40

The case for the even split is basically that the value of the shared room of the couple is equal to the value of the private room for the single. The case for the % used that it places a objective value of dollars/square footage. If you actually did the calculations, you'd probably come close to a 30/30/40. That scenario got a lot of votes because that seems about equitable when folks are doing their personal value calculations in there head, all else being equal. I think vacapinta came closest to codifying a "fairness" rule, and strikes pretty close to what most everyone else answered. The third person should pay less than half. But all of these are based on each individual's personal perception of what is valuable to them.

That's the problem. You can't have an exact answer of how it should be split without knowing what value each individual places on each variable. Not just space, but heat, noise, privacy, smell, accessibility, color, % of income, etc, etc. The auction idea actually comes the closest to solving for this, but it just won't work when dealing with a couple and a third wheel.

What you should take away from these answers is that in general, people usually pay between 30/30/40 and 33/33/33, and consider that to be fair. Use that as a starting point for negotiation. Everyone is going to have to live together in the end, so everyone needs to feel that they are getting their money's worth. Discuss what you feel are the advantages and disadvantages to each person and how that should be reflected in the rent. If you can't come to a figure that everyone feels is equitable, then you're probably not going to get along as roommates for very long.

When faced with this same problem, my roommates and I ended up at around 31/31/38. But your mileage should vary.
posted by team lowkey at 4:47 PM on May 17, 2006