Rent Split Calculator: How to Split Rent Among Roommates

Property owners who rent an individual property to multiple tenants often wonder how to split rent among roommates. This process is especially difficult when renters have different-sized rooms or diverse amenities. For example, one roommate may have a large room with its own bath, while another may have a smaller room with a shared bath. In such cases, it may make sense to charge specific amounts of rent to each tenant. Our free rent split calculator below can help you determine a fair rent amount for each tenant.

A common situation where this occurs is with student housing. College students often choose to live off-campus once they are able. Thus, having housing that they can share with other students is a necessity for many buildings near universities. 

Frequently, owners of property near a campus will rent out their property to groups of college students. Other times investors step in to buy these properties and repurpose them for this rental sector. 

Rent Split Calculator

Regardless of who owns the property, a proper division must be made among multiple rental tenants. One way to do this is with a rent split calculator. A rent split calculator can calculate appropriate rent for each person based on the following factors:

• Total square footage of the property
• Full monthly rental cost
• Square footage occupied by each tenant
• Whether a bathroom is shared or not
• Number of occupants in the property

Using a rent split calculator is an easy way to fairly divide rental costs among tenants. In this manner, renters each feel that they are paying justifiable amounts according to how much space they occupy. 

The rent split calculator can also be applied to utilities. For example, if each tenant understands the percentage of the total rent that they pay each month, they can apply that percentage to utility costs. 

Consider a renter who pays 30% of the total rent each month. If the electricity bill is $100 for the month, they can pay 30% x $100, or $30. Gas, water, and sewage costs can be divided similarly.

Advantages of Splitting Rent

As a student housing landlord, figuring out how to split rent among roommates can be significantly advantageous. College students (and their parents) often struggle to meet their monthly expenses. In many cases, a busy school schedule can prevent them from working, or they may only be able to work a few hours per week.

By offering housing options that vary according to usage, students can choose cheaper options if needed. This approach allows them to save money that can be better spent on other things, such as books, materials, or food. It also prevents drama. 

Landlords who choose to allocate rent based on the number of occupants (and not the space they occupy) often open themselves up to hostility between tenants. 

Renters may see that their other roommates have more living area, but they are each paying the same amount of rent. This situation can escalate quickly and leave friends feeling bitter towards one another.

Another advantage of splitting rent is allowing tenants to make their payments privately. Using a tenant payment portal for each renter allows each tenant to make their payment directly to the landlord on their own terms. They can use their own credit cards or bank transfer information. This setup preserves individual privacy. 

Utilizing a tenant payment portal to split rent payments also prevents messy situations where multiple checks are given to a landlord. Such situations can lead to incorrect rent tracking and upset tenants who receive incorrect balance statements. 

Determining how to split rent among roommates can also help when it comes to property damage. For example, if a window is broken in the common area, the costs may be divided according to the rental allocation unless one person specifically admits fault.

Disadvantages of Splitting Rent

To be honest, there aren’t many disadvantages to figuring out how to split rent among roommates. If a good rent split calculator is used, it can alleviate potential arguments and make the monthly rental payment process easy. 

Living with roommates can be difficult in other ways, however. There is usually a lack of privacy that can be frustrating to individuals who prefer alone time. In addition, some people may have different cleaning styles than others. One may prefer tidiness while another lives in a perpetual mess. 

While allocating rent according to space and usage can’t solve every problem, it can go a long way to preventing discord amongst tenants.