Renting out rooms in a flat: one lease or separate leases

Renting out rooms in a flat? A separate lease for each room usually protects the landlord better, because when one person moves out, the rest of the tenancy stays in place. One shared lease makes sense for a close-knit group, for example student friends who move in together and plan to leave together. Have three rooms and expect students or workers to come and go? Below I compare both options in a table, and then go through the clauses on common areas, utilities and replacing a tenant.

One lease or separate room leases: a side-by-side table

It really comes down to three things. Who is a party to the lease, what they are responsible for, and what happens when someone leaves. The table covers the points that cause the most arguments.

With a stable group, a shared lease wins on simplicity. But what if the tenants don’t know each other and the line-up changes every few months? Then go with separate leases, no question.

When is one lease with several tenants enough?

When the tenants move in together and move out together. A typical example is a full academic year. The general rules of tenancy that such a lease relies on are in the consolidated text of the Polish Civil Code. You can add joint and several liability of the tenants for rent and damage to the lease. In my view it is worth considering, but its effects in your particular situation are best discussed with a lawyer.

The trouble starts with the first move-out. One person leaves and straight away you need an annex or a renegotiation with the whole group. That is why the lease should state plainly who looks for a replacement: the remaining tenants or the landlord.

Renting by the room with separate leases: what a room lease must include

The subject of the lease is a specific room. Common areas are the spaces shared with other tenants. This distinction has to be in the lease, because without it it’s hard to tell later what the tenant has exclusive rights to and what they don’t. What to include?

• identification of the room, ideally with a description or a floor plan of the flat,
• the room’s furnishings and equipment,
• the scope of use of common areas,
• rent and payment date,
• deposit and the rules for returning it,
• lease term and notice conditions,
• rules for bringing in third parties, including overnight guests.

Record the condition of the room at move-in in a document signed by both parties. You’ll find a template in the guide on how to prepare a handover report for the room. And unusual clauses? Take those to a lawyer.

Common areas in a room lease: kitchen, bathroom, hallway

Kitchen, bathroom, hallway. If the lease doesn’t name them explicitly, disputes about cleaning and damage have nothing to refer to. In practice, these clauses come in handy:

• a list of rooms and appliances for shared use,
• cleaning rules: a tenant rota or an outside cleaning company,
• liability for damage when the person responsible can’t be identified,
• house rules as an appendix to every lease.

List the fridge, washing machine and dishes separately in the handover report, apart from the room furnishings. Why? When a room is handed back, it’s much easier to separate one tenant’s damage from normal wear and tear on equipment everyone used.

Utilities when renting rooms: flat fee or split bills?

With separate leases, the simplest approach is to include utilities in the rent as a flat fee. The other option is to split the bills using a formula written into each lease. There are several models:

• flat fee - a fixed utility charge added to the rent,
• an equal split per room,
• a split by the number of people in each room,
• re-invoicing, meaning passing the cost from the supplier’s invoice on to the tenants.

Going with a flat fee? Then add when and on what basis you can adjust it and by what date you settle the difference (without this, the first rise in electricity prices ends in an argument in the kitchen). The pros and cons of both approaches are covered in the article on flat-fee versus re-invoiced utilities.

Replacing a tenant: how to word it so the tenancy doesn’t fall apart

With separate leases, a replacement affects one room and one lease. With a shared lease, you need an annex signed by all the tenants. The steps themselves are similar in both cases:

1. Notice given in line with the lease terms.
2. A move-out report for the room and settlement of the deposit.
3. Letting the other tenants know about the change.
4. A new lease or an annex to the shared lease.
5. A handover report when the new tenant gets the room.

You can also give the remaining tenants a say on the new person. That’s good for the atmosphere, fair enough. But finding a replacement takes longer and the room may stay empty for longer. With students, changeovers pile up before the academic year, so a schedule for handing over flats to students will help. Several parallel leases mean a lot of paperwork. This is where Tenanto helps: it reminds you when a lease is ending, shows its status and keeps annexes and reports in the tenant and lease database.

Have three rooms, rent them to people who don’t know each other, and see tenants come and go? Separate leases usually work out better. One lease with a joint and several liability clause suits a close-knit group that moves in and out together. And one thing applies to both options: when renting out rooms in a flat, you describe common areas, utilities and tenant replacement rules before signing the lease, not after the first row. You’ll find more tips in the section with guides on rental agreements.

Frequently asked questions

Read also:

• Studio or two-room flat to rent: which is easier to let
• The complete guide to settling utilities for landlords
• Landlord insurance for a rental flat: what the policy should cover
• Electricity contract in a rented flat in 2024: who signs it