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How to make a room rental agreement in 3 steps

1. 1

   Fill in both sides and the room

   Who is renting out the room and who is renting it, the address, which room, and the parts of the home you share.

2. 2

   Set the rent and the house rules

   The rent and when it is due, any deposit or late fee, what the rent includes, notice periods and your house rules. Every sentence on the page can be rewritten.

3. 3

   Sign it and keep a copy each

   Print two copies and both sign, or sign on screen and share the PDF. Attach a move-in checklist if you made one.

What a room rental agreement should include

• The names of both sides and how to reach them
• The address of the home and which room is rented
• The parts of the home that are shared: kitchen, bathroom, laundry, parking
• The start date, and the end date for a fixed term
• The rent, when it is due and how it is paid
• Any security deposit or late fee
• Which utilities are included in the rent
• House rules: guests, quiet hours, smoking, pets, cleaning
• Notice before entering the room, and notice to end the agreement
• Both signatures, with the date

Renting a room: rules that can be different

The law on renting out a room depends on where the home is, and often on whether the owner lives there too. A few examples, read in the official texts:

California: one lodger in the owner’s home

Where the owner lives in the home and rents a room to a single lodger, either side can end a periodic arrangement with written notice, given as the general rule for periodic tenancies (§ 1946) requires and delivered in one of the ways the law lists. When the notice runs out, the lodger’s right to stay ends. The section applies only where one lodger lives with the owner. California Civil Code § 1946.5

England: a lodger who shares your home

A lodger who lives in your home and shares a kitchen, bathroom or living room with you or your family is likely to be an excluded occupier: reasonable notice, usually the length of the rent period, is enough to end the letting, without a court order. A lodger who shares no living space is likely to have basic protection, and you need a court order if they will not leave. GOV.UK: your lodger’s tenancy type

Lead-based paint (US homes built before 1978)

The federal lead paint disclosure rule covers leases of housing built before 1978, but its definitions count “rentals of individual rooms in residential dwellings” as 0-bedroom dwellings, which are left out of “target housing” unless a child under 6 lives, or is expected to live, there. Renting out a whole home or apartment built before 1978 is usually covered. Read the definitions to see how they apply to your home. 40 CFR 745.103

Tax in the US

Rent you receive is generally taxable rental income. A security deposit you may have to return is not income; the part you keep can be. IRS Tax Topic 414

Tax in the UK

If you let part of your only or main home, the Rent a Room Scheme may let you earn up to £7,500 a year tax-free (£3,750 if you share the income with someone else). GOV.UK: Rent a room in your home

Checked in October 2026. Laws change: check the rules where the home is.

Tips for renting out a room

• Meet the person and check references before you agree.
• Agree on the house rules before moving day, and write them into the agreement.
• Walk through the room together and record its condition; a move-in checklist makes this easy.
• Give a receipt for every rent payment, especially cash.
• Each side keeps a signed copy, plus a record of payments and notices.
• If you rent the home yourself, check your lease first: many leases need the landlord’s consent before you rent out a room.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. For a lease with a lot at stake, ask a local lawyer or tenant-landlord service to look it over.