Nebraska Roommate Agreement
The Nebraska rules that shape the document: a fair housing exemption keyed to four sleeping rooms, no lodger law, and no statute on splitting a deposit or rent liability among roommates.
Find out where you stand in Nebraska
Where are you with your roommate arrangement?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Introduction
A roommate agreement is a contract between co-tenants who share a home. It is not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or change the terms of the lease the tenants signed. In Nebraska, two things shape the document beyond the national template: the Nebraska Fair Housing Act exempts an owner-occupier from the Act's rental and tenant-selection rules when renting rooms within their own home, but only up to four sleeping rooms, a threshold set by room count rather than the unit count most states use; and Nebraska has no lodger statute and no statute letting one roommate remove another directly, so an unwanted roommate can only be removed by the landlord through a formal eviction. Several other questions, including whether landlord consent is required to add a roommate and whether roommates are jointly and severally liable for rent, are not addressed by any Nebraska statute, so the lease and this agreement are what actually govern them.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Nebraska's fair housing exemption for owner-occupiers is keyed to rooms, not units. An owner renting rooms within their own home is exempt from the Nebraska Fair Housing Act's rental and tenant-selection rules, but only up to four sleeping rooms (Neb. Rev. Stat. 20-322(3)). Rent a fifth room and the exemption is gone entirely.
- 2
Nebraska has no lodger law. No provision comparable to California's owner-occupier lodger statute exists, so there is no shortcut for removing a roommate. Only the landlord can remove an occupant, through the normal eviction process under the Nebraska Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
- 3
Nebraska has no statute giving a tenant an affirmative right to add a roommate, unlike New York's Roommate Law. Whether your lease requires the landlord's consent before adding a roommate is not settled by state statute, so check the lease itself rather than assuming a right either way.
- 4
Nebraska's protected-class list for fair housing (Neb. Rev. Stat. 20-318) is race, color, religion, national origin, disability, familial status, and sex, an exact match to the federal Fair Housing Act. Nebraska adds no protected classes of its own at the state level.
- 5
The room-rental exemption's text covers only the decision to refuse or change a roommate. It says nothing about advertising for one, and whether the Act's general ban on discriminatory advertising still reaches an exempt owner-occupier is unresolved. Avoid stating a preference for a protected characteristic in any posted ad.
- 6
Nebraska sets a security deposit cap of one month's rent, plus an optional pet deposit up to one-quarter month's rent, and requires the landlord to return or itemize it within 14 days (Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-1416). Nothing in that statute addresses splitting a shared deposit among roommates, so this agreement should.
- 7
No Nebraska statute sets a default rule on whether roommates are jointly and severally liable for rent. That is left to the lease and to this agreement, so state each roommate's payment share explicitly rather than assume Nebraska law fills the gap.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Roommate Agreement in Nebraska, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Roommate Agreement guide walks through them.
Open the Roommate Agreement guideCustomize your Roommate Agreement Template with DocDraft
Nebraska Requirements for Roommate Agreement
State plainly that the roommate agreement is a contract between the roommates only, does not modify the lease, and does not obligate the landlord. Nebraska statute does not resolve whether landlord consent is required to add a roommate, so direct the parties to check the lease itself.
Nebraska has no lodger statute and no mechanism for one roommate to remove another directly. State clearly that only the landlord, through a formal eviction under the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, can remove an occupant, and that self-help removal is not authorized.
No Nebraska statute sets a default rule on joint-and-several liability for rent among roommates. Draft the payment clause to state each roommate's share explicitly rather than relying on an assumed Nebraska default.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-1416 caps the security deposit at one month's rent plus an optional pet deposit of up to one-quarter month's rent, and requires return or itemization within 14 days. The statute does not divide a shared deposit among roommates, so the agreement should set out each roommate's share.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 20-322(3) exempts an owner who occupies the home and rents no more than four sleeping rooms within it from the Fair Housing Act's tenant-selection rules. The exemption ends at a fifth room, and its text does not address advertising, so pair any selection clause with a caution against discriminatory advertising.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a contract between co-tenants who share a home in Nebraska. It divides rent and expenses, sets house rules, and addresses issues like the security deposit and what happens if a roommate leaves. It is separate from the lease and does not involve the landlord.
No. Nebraska has no lodger law and no statute letting one roommate remove another directly. Self-help removal, such as changing the locks or putting a roommate's belongings outside, is not authorized by any Nebraska statute. Only the landlord can remove an occupant, and only through the formal eviction process.
Only within a narrow exemption. Neb. Rev. Stat. 20-322(3) lets an owner who occupies the home and rents no more than four sleeping rooms within it refuse to rent to, or change, a roommate for any reason, without triggering the Nebraska Fair Housing Act. Rent a fifth room and that exemption no longer applies, and the Act's protections against discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, disability, familial status, or sex apply in full.
Up to four sleeping rooms within the owner's own home. This is distinctive because Nebraska's exemption is keyed to a room count rather than the unit count most other states use for their owner-occupied exemptions, which maps directly onto a homeowner renting a spare bedroom to a roommate.
Be cautious. Nebraska's owner-occupied room exemption only addresses the decision to refuse or change a roommate; its text says nothing about advertising. Whether the Fair Housing Act's general ban on discriminatory advertising still applies to an exempt owner-occupier has not been settled, so avoid stating a preference for a protected characteristic in any posted ad.
Nebraska statute does not address whether a tenant needs the landlord's consent to add a roommate to a unit, so this agreement cannot tell you either way. Check the lease itself for any clause on subletting, assignment, or adding an occupant, and get the landlord's consent if the lease requires it.
Nebraska has no statute setting a default rule on this. Whether roommates are jointly and severally liable depends on the lease itself. Because Nebraska law does not fill this gap, the roommate agreement should state each person's payment share and responsibility explicitly.
Nebraska law does not say. Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-1416 caps the deposit and requires the landlord to return it or an itemized statement within 14 days, but it speaks only to the landlord-tenant relationship and does not divide a deposit among multiple roommates. The roommate agreement is what should set out each person's share.
Omaha maintains a municipal human rights ordinance that reportedly extends housing protections beyond the state and federal list, but its exact scope is unclear. If you are selecting or advertising for a roommate in Omaha, check the current Omaha city code directly, or ask a Nebraska attorney, rather than relying on the state exemption alone.