The San Antonio Roommate Agreement: What to Put in Writing Before You Split Rent

Your lease is between you and the landlord. A roommate agreement is between you and the person sleeping in the next room — and it is the document that actually decides who pays what, who keeps the deposit, and who has to leave if things go sideways. Texas courts will enforce a written roommate agreement like any other contract between adults, which is why it is worth spending 45 minutes on one before you hand over a deposit.

What follows is not a form you download and sign blindly. It is the list of every clause a San Antonio roommate agreement should address, why each one matters, and where people get burned when they skip it.

Start with the lease you are both signing

Before you write a roommate agreement, read the master lease. Two things matter most:

• Joint and several liability. Almost every residential lease in Bexar County — including the TAA (Texas Apartment Association) lease used by most large-complex landlords — makes every tenant 100% responsible for 100% of the rent. If your roommate ghosts, the landlord can collect the entire balance from you. Your roommate agreement does not change that. It only gives you a contract to sue your roommate on afterward.
• Approved occupants vs. tenants. A person on the lease is a tenant. A person the landlord approved but did not sign is an occupant. An occupant has no direct obligation to the landlord and, just as importantly, no statutory rights under Texas Property Code Chapter 92 — including the security deposit refund rules in §§ 92.103–92.104. If one of you is an unlisted occupant, say so in the roommate agreement and spell out what that person is paying into.

If you can get the landlord to use separate leases (individual liability), take that option. It is rare in San Antonio outside of student-oriented buildings near UTSA's 1604 campus and a handful of co-living operators, but it eliminates most of what follows.

The rent clause

This is where vague conversations become expensive. Your agreement needs to state, in numbers:

• The total monthly rent on the master lease.
• Each roommate's dollar share, not just a percentage. If rent is $1,800 and you agreed on a 60/40 split because one bedroom is larger and has the en suite, write $1,080 and $720.
• The date each share is due to one designated roommate (usually the 25th or 28th, so there is time to combine and pay the landlord by the 1st).
• The payment method — Zelle, Venmo, a specific checking account — and a requirement that it be traceable. No cash.
• Late fees between roommates. If you are the one fronting rent to the landlord, charge your roommate the same late fee the landlord charges you. Otherwise they have no reason to pay on time.

If rent is split unevenly, write one sentence explaining why (bedroom size, private bath, parking spot). That defeats the argument a year later that the split was "supposed to rotate."

The security deposit clause

The landlord holds one deposit. When you move out, the landlord sends one check, made out to one person, usually the first name on the lease. Texas Property Code § 92.103 requires the deposit be returned within 30 days of surrender and a forwarding address, but it says nothing about how roommates divide it.

Put this in writing:

• Who paid what portion of the original deposit, dollar for dollar.
• That the deposit will be refunded in the same proportions, after any landlord deductions.
• That damages caused by one specific roommate (or their guest, or their pet) come out of that roommate's share first, and only hit the other share if the first is exhausted.
• Who the refund check gets mailed to and how many days that person has to disburse it.

Utilities: CPS Energy, SAWS, and everything else

San Antonio utilities are split across separate providers, and only one can be in one person's name at a time:

• CPS Energy — electric and gas. One account, one name, one deposit (often waived with a letter of credit from a prior utility).
• SAWS — water, sewer, and trash inside city limits. Separate account, separate bill.
• Internet — Spectrum, AT&T Fiber, or Google Fiber depending on the address.
• Trash — SAWS in the city; private haulers (Tiger Sanitation, Republic) in parts of unincorporated Bexar County, Helotes, or Boerne.

Decide per-utility who the account holder is, then write down how the bill gets split. A clean structure: account holder forwards the PDF bill within 48 hours of receipt, other roommate pays their share within 5 days. Apps like Splitwise create a receipt trail that matters if you ever end up in small claims.

Watch the summer. A two-bedroom in Stone Oak or Alamo Ranch can run a $250 CPS bill in July and August. If one roommate keeps the thermostat at 68 and the other is at work all day, agree on a set point (most households land at 74–76 in summer) or agree the heavy user pays more.

Bedrooms, common areas, and guests

The bedroom assignment should be named. Common areas — living room, kitchen, patio, garage, driveway spots — should be called shared, with any exceptions listed (for example, one assigned parking spot per tenant in most apartment complexes off 281 or 1604).

The guest clause is where friendships end. Specify:

• How many consecutive nights a guest can stay before they count as an unauthorized occupant under the master lease (most TAA leases use a 7-night threshold).
• Whether romantic partners staying 3+ nights a week owe anything toward utilities. If you do not write this down, you will argue about it in month four.
• Who is responsible for a guest's damage or noise complaint.

Pets, noise, and cleaning

Keep these short and specific. "Clean as you go" is not a clause. "Kitchen counters wiped and dishes in the dishwasher by end of day; shared bathroom cleaned on a rotating weekly schedule" is. If one roommate is bringing a pet, attach the pet deposit and any additional pet rent directly to that roommate in the agreement, because the landlord will lump it into the single monthly charge.

The exit clause

This is the clause everyone skips and everyone needs. Address four scenarios:

1. A roommate wants to leave before the lease ends. They remain liable to the landlord under joint and several liability unless the landlord releases them in writing (usually via a lease amendment). Between roommates, require 60 days' written notice and a good-faith effort to find a replacement acceptable to the landlord and the remaining roommate.
2. A roommate gets PCS or deployment orders. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3955), a servicemember can terminate the lease with 30 days' notice after the next rent due date following delivery of orders. Your agreement should say the non-military roommate either takes over the full rent, finds a replacement, or also exits — with a deadline to decide. This matters in San Antonio more than almost anywhere else given JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, and Fort Sam Houston.
3. A roommate stops paying. Define a cure period (usually 5 days past the internal due date), then the remedy: the paying roommate covers the landlord, the non-paying roommate owes that amount plus the late fee, and repeated non-payment is grounds to demand they vacate and sign a lease release.
4. The lease ends. Who gives the landlord notice, and by when. Texas Property Code § 91.001 sets default notice for month-to-month at one full rental period, but your lease probably requires 60 days — check the document.

Dispute resolution

One paragraph is enough. Agree to try a direct conversation first, then written mediation (a neutral friend or a paid mediator through the Bexar County Dispute Resolution Center), then small claims in the appropriate Bexar County JP court for amounts up to $20,000. Venue for roommate disputes is the JP precinct covering the rental address — Precinct 1, 2, 3, or 4.

What most people get wrong

• Treating the agreement as optional because "we're friends." The friends are exactly who you need it with. Strangers from Craigslist already expect a contract.
• Writing percentages instead of dollar amounts. When rent renews at a higher number, a percentage fight starts immediately. Restate dollar shares at every renewal.
• Putting all utilities in one roommate's name with no written reimbursement terms. That person becomes an unsecured creditor if the other leaves.
• Forgetting renters insurance. Most San Antonio landlords now require it ($100K liability minimum is typical). Each roommate needs their own policy; a single policy does not cover the other's belongings.
• Ignoring the deposit paper trail. Keep the move-in condition form (and photos, time-stamped) with the roommate agreement. When the landlord itemizes deductions under § 92.104, you need proof of who caused what.
• Assuming a verbal side deal modifies the written agreement. It does not, unless you both sign an amendment. Add an amendment clause requiring changes to be in writing and signed.

Before you sign

Print two copies. Both roommates sign and date both copies. Each keeps one. Scan a PDF to a shared folder. If your landlord is willing, attach the roommate agreement to the master lease as an exhibit — not required, but it puts everyone on notice.

If you are still searching for the unit, start with current listings and filters for roommate-friendly floor plans on RentInSA at /rentals. If you are a landlord reading this because your tenants want to add a roommate mid-lease, the list-your-home and resources pages at /list-your-home and /resources cover the amendment side of the same transaction.