Questions to ask a potential roommate before you sign

Ask about the lease before you ask about anything else

Whose name is on it decides everything that follows. If yours is going on it, you are a tenant with obligations to the landlord. If it is not, you are relying on somebody else's tenancy and their willingness to maintain it.

Neither is automatically wrong. What is wrong is not knowing which one you are agreeing to.

• Whose name is on the lease, and will mine be added?
• Is subletting permitted by the landlord, in writing?
• When does the lease end, and what happens at renewal?
• Has anyone moved out mid-term before, and how was it handled?

Joint and several liability, in plain terms

On most shared leases each tenant is liable for the entire rent, not just their share. If a roommate stops paying or leaves without a replacement, the landlord can pursue whoever remains for the full amount.

This is standard rather than unusual, and it is the single most under-discussed term in a shared apartment. It is also the reason a share that is cheaper per month is not always cheaper in outcome. The saving is real; so is the exposure, and it is worth pricing rather than discovering.

Then ask about money, specifically

Vague answers here are the reliable warning sign. Anyone who has been running a shared flat properly can answer all four in a minute.

• How are utilities split, and can I see the last three months of bills?
• Who holds the deposit, and how is it returned when one person leaves?
• Is anything else shared — internet, cleaning, supplies — and how is it collected?
• Has anyone been late this year, and what happened?

Then ask about time, which is what actually breaks households

Two people can be perfectly compatible and still be a bad match, because one works nights and the other has a nine o'clock start. Schedules do more damage than habits.

• How long does everyone intend to stay?
• What are the actual working hours in the flat?
• Guests — overnight, weekends, partners staying regularly?
• Is anyone working from home full time?

And the option of not doing it at all

This guidance is genuine — a good shared flat is a good way to live in New York, and cheaper than most alternatives. But it is worth knowing that the whole category is skippable.

A private room rented from a building carries no co-signer, no joint liability, and no dependence on somebody else paying on time. At Seton Residence that starts at $525 a week with utilities, Wi-Fi and weekly housekeeping included, on weekly terms rather than a twelve-month lease. You still get people — sixty-one rooms, a shared kitchen, a lounge and a courtyard — without a stranger's credit risk attached to your name.

And if you are moving with someone and want to share by choice, the King Studio can be twinned: $745 a week between two, which is $372.50 each, en-suite, in the largest room in the building.