Date Posted: 2012-05-23 10:10:08
Site Posted: Myproperty.ph
There are a lot of reasons why you would want to have a roommate while renting an apartment: you need someone to share the bills with, or you just feel safer with someone around all the time. Things can even start out fun at first, especially if you decide to room with a close friend.
However, characteristics like being late for the rent all the time, not doing their part in the chores or making a racket at an ungodly hour can quickly turn a good roommate relationship sour. If you feel like things are getting out of hand and you are ready to let your roommate go, here are some ways to let them down easy.
1. Get your act together – Don’t just approach your roommate and tell them to start packing. You have to show them a plan of action: which one will leave, when they should go, how you will split up belongings that you bought together and who will be responsible for looking for a new tenant. Keep this in mind about your apartment lease, though: if you are asking them to leave, make sure that yours is the only name on the lease. If both your names are on there and one of you leaves, this will be seen as a violation of your contract with the landlord.
2. Set some time for “the talk” - Asking someone to move out is not something that you spring out on them the minute they get home. Make sure that you arrange a time and place for it so that you are both clear-headed and calm. If you handle the situation while you are both either angry or tired, you run the risk of a blow-up.
3. Don’t leave a memo – In any relationship, it’s never a good idea to break up with another person with a short note or over the phone, and this applies in breaking up with a roommate. You need to let your roommate understand why you want them to leave the apartment so they don’t think that you’re just having a bad day at work and are taking it out on them. However, if you think that your roommate is the type to blow a fuse, you can get away with writing them a letter. Just make sure that you choose your words so you won’t have to eat them later.
4. Don’t lie (unless absolutely necessary) – Be honest about the reason why you want your roommate to go. Tell them that you don’t earn enough to cover both your expenses every time they’re late with their share; this is a perfectly acceptable reason, especially if it’s why you decided to room together in the first place. On the other hand, if your reason for asking them to leave has something to do with, say, their personal hygiene, it might be better to skirt the issue and say you want to move closer to your job.
Try to end your roommate relationship in good terms, especially if you were close friends before you were roommates. If the split is not amicable, then this should serve as a warning to you not to room with a close friend next time.
Jillian Cariola, Writer
(cover image from freestockphotos.es)
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