This seems most fair to me.
I have done it both ways.
I think that overall, the 3rds is the best idea, but it didn’t really do anything except foster discontent within the couple when the roommate would crow about their low low rent and huge disposable income.
Did that twice- since, it has been a flat number that had to do with inconvenience vs income. I have helped out a roommie by allowing rent free stay for a certain amount of time, then the option was to pay half, no exceptions. Don’t like it, leave.
Then again, I haven’t NEEDED a roommate for a long time. Simply helping friends and liking low rent when I have had a roommate, as now. He is gonna get the boot in January, though, as he is well aware, if he doesn’t get out before then.
Another point to consider.
Beside the total 50/50 crowd, all these other methods come pretty close to a 1/3 split, unless the bedrooms are way out proportion to each other or the common living spaces. Or perhaps the odd condition where the roommate is only using/ renting the bedroom itself.
Having said that, having someone tell me that I have to pay 37.2 percent of the rent would be a little offputting.
Yeah, the person who always gets the advantage on a lunch trip is irritating. But the person who calculates their share to penny is irritating too, even if they are right.
My vote, unless conditions are odd, go with 1/3 1/3 1/3 to keep it simple and keep the bad feelings to a minimum.
It should be 30/30/40 if the single guy gets his own bedroom, which isn’t much more than the 33/33/34 it would’ve been if the rent were split evenly.
Utilities should be split 1/3 each though.
Depends on how much say that person has in the household imo. If the couple is in complete charge of the household, and the renter only gets a say inside their own bedroom, and anything outside is off limits(like rearranging furniture, having gatherings of friends, etc), then most definitely only thirds(or less).
I think in any rental situation where you are living with a couple, it is presumed that its the couples house, whereas if you are sharing with another single person, its shared equally more or less. That, at least, has been my experience when renting rooms… When I rent from couples or families, I have almost no say in anything that goes on outside my bedroom. With other single guys, its much more equal, but I also pay a much higher proportion of the costs.
Usage dictates how costs are split.
A fair split for rent will depend on who gets what kind of usage out of the home. The single gets a private bedroom while the couple shares, but presumably there are more rooms that are used equally by all three (e.g., living room and kitchen). Also, as **CutterJohn **observed, decision-making power should also factor into rent. If the roomate is paying as much or more towards your monthly rent or mortgage than each of you individually, they should have an equal say in terms of events, decorating, etc.
A fair split for other bills is to evenly divide them among everyone who uses them. Electricity, water, gas, etc. should all be a straight three-way split. For things like cable, internet, or a land-line phone, a person who does not make use of the thing should not be obligated to contribute to it. (E.g., if roommate and one spouse like to watch cable, but other spouse doesn’t watch TV, it’s a two-way split.)