You are sick of picking up after her and doing what you believe is 2/3rds of the work. Will you suddenly be happy if she pays a portion of the rent? Will waiting for the bathroom and doing 2/3rds of the work be tolerable if she pays a portion of the rent? It sounds like you are trying to hide behind the lease as a way to address the problem. This is a case where you simply need to make your feelings known. You need to communicate to your roommate that you feel you are getting the short end here and a change is necessary. She is living off of BOTH of you, not just him. Be assertive. You don't need to hide behind a piece of paper. Or maybe it's time to find a new roommate.

Unless your roommate is also your landlord, or unless you signed some kind of "roommate agreement" with him (which I assume you would have mentioned if you had), you probably have no legal recourse. The lease is a contract between tenants and landlord, not between one roommate and the other roommate.

It's possible that your lease has a guest clause that your roommate is violating by having a too-frequent guest. However, if that is the case, you are also in violation, because, as co-signers of the lease, you are responsible for each other's behavior.

Doing what you want, and having the girlfriend pay rent and "officially" live there is also possibly (likely) against the terms of the lease. It's possible that your lease prohibits you from subletting without the landlord's permission.

You are just going to have to talk to your roommate and deal with each other like rational adults and hopefully come up with some type of acceptable compromise.

I understand both replies but when she has a key I start to have a problem. At this point I dont think another person should have a key to our apartment. Do you now think I dont have a claim in this situation?? I'm just asking for advice because I've never had to deal with this type of problem. Your thoughts are welcome.

I know you are trying to make this as nonconfrontational as possible. But you still have to have the conversation with your roommate. He brought her in. He gave her the key. Did he ask you if it was okay for her to stay the night(s)? Did he ask you if he could give her a key? I suspect not. But if he did, and you agreed, then you really need to talk with him and let him know that while you agreed to these things, you are no longer comfortable with the situation.

Also, stop picking up after them. Only deal with your own stuff. Do not coddle to her, especially. It sounds to me like they have it pretty nice. Cheap rent (for two) and a live-in housekeeper. You'll have to be assertive. There is an old Ann Landers saying - there are two kinds of people; those that take advantage of others and those that let themselves be taken advantage of. Don't be the latter.

ITs not a lease issue, its a roomate issue. Is this a friend or a stranger you are romming with? Just let him know how you feel. If you are this upset perhaps you could ask if its ok for the girlfriend to take over your half of the lease. If its ok then talk to the landlord and get yourself removed.

No, the fact that she has a key doesn't matter. You do not have a legal agreement with your roommate. None. Nada. If by "claim" you mean some type of legal claim, you do not have one. Ethically, you may be right, and I would argue that if he gave her a key without checking to see if you were ok with it, you are right. Doesn't matter. You can't *make* him get it back, you can't *make* him stop having her over so much, and you can't *make* her pay rent, you can't *make* either of them do a better job of cleaning up after themselves.

Even if you legally could... exactly how would you go about doing this? You would take your roommate to court to force him to get rid of his girlfriend? Or threaten to? Somehow, I doubt this would have the desired result of improving your living situation...

To be fair and cooperative I would sit him down and explain the issue you have calmly. If you are cleaning up after her and she is using utilities, you can (with clear conscience) ask him to have her help out with utility bills, therefore cutting your part down. He should be liable for 2/3 of the bills and you 1/3.

As far as her paying "rent," it is not legal, nor do I really think it is fair. She is not on the lease and is therefore not obligated to pay rent. When it comes time to renew the lease, if she is still around 90% of the time, definitely make him include her.

I currently share a 2 bedroom duplex with my boyfriend and a roommate. Our rent is not split in thirds (he pays 630/mo and we pay 900/mo)because my boyfriend and I share a room (but we do pay the majority of the utilities). If you look at roommate classifieds, you generally get rent breaks for being willing to share a room.

So, my main point I guess is instead of building up all this tension and trying to find a way to corner them with obligation, sit them both down first and give them the opportunity to offer. In his defense, he may not even be thinking about it meanwhile it is bugging you half to death.

I just stumbled across this forum and I am in a bit of a dilemma with this 3 people 2 bedroom situation. My two friends and I are planning to move into the apartments. Our rent is $2000 and we are having trouble splitting the cost. We came up with $780 and $610. I think that is a bit too much for the two people paying $610. We came up with $800 and $600 but she would not agree to those prices. Then I was willing to take the single room for $800, but she wants the single. The two rooms are essentially the same size with one two square feet bigger than the other. The person getting the single is going to get their own bathroom too. I do not know what to do. Please help.

You are okay with $600 but not $610?!? That is not really that much of a difference.
What about $605? $606? $607?
You are so close to a solution that I don't think anyone can suggest any other options.