Housing · Canada
Canadian roommate agreements that protect your wallet (not just your vibes)
Handshake houses end the same way: someone ghosts, the Interac stops, and the name still on the lease pays. A roommate agreement will not rewrite the Residential Tenancies Act, the B.C. Residential Tenancy Act, or the Civil Code of Québec. It will decide who owes whom when the landlord’s contract does not care about your chore wheel.
Use this beside roommate rent math and lawful deposits. This is wallet protection, not a Canva template you should file as a statute — and it is not legal advice.
Key takeaways
- The lease (LTB / RTB / TAL world) decides who the landlord can chase. The roommate agreement decides splits, e-transfers, guests, and buyouts.
- Ontario last-month, B.C. half-month (+ pet), Québec no exacted deposit — a roommate “damage pot” does not legalize an illegal landlord fee.
- If you all signed, you are often joint and several: the landlord can claim the whole rent from one name.
- Write an early-exit and replacement-roommate clause before someone’s job is in Calgary.
- Illustrative clauses on this page are not a form and not legal advice.
What belongs in a roommate agreement vs the lease
The lease or Québec mandatory form is the landlord’s contract: rent, term, lawful deposits, who is a tenant. The roommate agreement is between occupants: how you split that rent, who holds cash, what happens if someone leaves, guests, quiet hours, and the grocery fund. It does not bind the landlord unless they sign it — they almost never will. If only one name is on the lease, the others may be occupants or subtenants under provincial rules. That is a legal status question, not a vibe. Ask before you send a “first and last” e-transfer to a roommate who is not the landlord.
Deposits, damages, and who is on the hook provincially
- Ontario. Lawful last-month rent to the landlord; damage deposits are generally not a landlord’s to take. A roommate-to-roommate “damage pot” is a private deal — it does not let the landlord invent a fee. See the fee cheat sheet.
- B.C. Security deposit capped at half a month; pet deposit separately capped. RTB-27 move-in condition. Refund clocks are short (15 days is the usual conversation). A roommate who “held the deposit” and moved to Alberta is how money vanishes — write who holds it and a photo protocol.
- Québec. Landlords generally cannot exact a security deposit (C.c.Q. 1904). Post-dated cheques and last-month games are their own TAL topics. Do not invent a deposit because a Toronto blog said so.
If everyone is on the lease, the landlord can usually pursue any one tenant for the whole rent (joint and several). Your agreement is how you chase each other afterward — small claims, not the LTB, is often the roommate-vs-roommate forum. Confirm locally.
Chore, guest, and quiet-hour clauses that prevent move-outs
Money fights hide in dishes and partners who “just stay over.” Write: quiet hours, overnight guests per month before a conversation, whether a partner starts contributing on night 15, and who talks to the landlord. Thermostat rules matter in a baseboard unit. These clauses will not be enforced by the LTB. They will be the text you point to in month four instead of a blow-up that forces a vacancy.
Payment mechanics: e-transfer dates and late fees between roommates
| Item | Write it down |
|---|---|
| Rent due to landlord | Date on the lease (often the 1st) |
| Roommate e-transfer | 48 hours earlier, named email, who sends the landlord |
| Hydro / internet | Whose account; split %; screenshot on the 5th |
| Missed Interac | Written notice; optional private late amount you both initialled |
| Tenant insurance | Each person; certificate in the shared folder |
One person “just covering it” without a written IOU is a gift in a fight. Use the same folder as the insurance certificate.
How to handle a roommate who wants to leave early
Between roommates: notice period (30 days is a common private choice), duty to help find a replacement the landlord will accept, and who pays rent until that person starts. Toward the landlord: you cannot unilaterally drop a name in Ontario or B.C. because the group chat agreed. Assignment and sublet have provincial tests and landlord-consent rules. Québec has its own assignment/sublet path at the TAL. If the remaining people cannot carry the rent, that is a vacancy plan — price it against hunting costs now, not the week the flight is booked.
Sample clause list (illustrative, not legal advice)
- Split: equal / by room size / other — attach the dollar amounts and a review date.
- Each roommate keeps their own tenant policy at the lease liability limit.
- Move-in photos in a shared album within 48 hours; move-out photos the last day.
- Early exit: 30 days’ written notice and a replacement the landlord approves; departing person pays their share until the replacement’s first day.
- No illegal extra deposit to the landlord; any roommate pot is labelled and held by a named person.
- Guests: X nights per month; a longer stay is a new conversation and maybe a new share.
Have everyone sign and date. A PDF in email beats a Notes app screenshot. This list is education. It is not your lawyer’s retainer.
When to get the landlord to add/remove names
Add a name when someone is actually a tenant — they gain rights and they share the joint-and-several risk. Remove a name only through the landlord’s process (new lease, assignment, or a written release). Do not “white-out” a departing roommate and hope the property manager never notices. If the landlord refuses a reasonable replacement, that is a provincial-rules question — LTB, RTB, or TAL materials, not this page.
Sources & date stamps
- Tribunals Ontario / Landlord and Tenant Board — standard lease and application context (used 20 Sep 2026).
- B.C. Residential Tenancy Branch — deposits, condition inspections, assignment/sublet themes (gov.bc.ca; used 20 Sep 2026).
- Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) — Québec lease and deposit context (used 20 Sep 2026).
- Saving Optimizer deposit and roommate-math pages — lawful cash and Q2 2026 asking-rent splits.
Frequently asked questions
Is a roommate agreement legally binding in Canada?
It can be a private contract between roommates. It does not replace the lease or rewrite provincial tenancy law, and it usually does not bind the landlord. Enforcement between roommates is often a small-claims story. This is not legal advice.
Should every roommate be on the lease?
All names on the lease means the landlord can typically chase any one of you for the rent. Off-lease occupants may have fewer rights and less obvious liability — and less protection. It is a risk choice. Confirm in your province.
Can roommates charge each other a damage deposit?
You can agree privately to hold a pot for damage you cause each other. That does not let a landlord collect an illegal fee. Ontario last-month, B.C. half-month caps, and Québec’s no-deposit rule still apply to the landlord relationship.
What if a roommate leaves early?
Your agreement should say the notice period, who finds a replacement, and who pays until that person starts. The landlord still has to approve a new tenant through assignment, sublet, or a new lease — provincial rules apply.
Is this legal advice?
No. Illustrative clauses only. Use LTB, RTB, or TAL materials and a licensed professional for your facts.