Rhode Island Roommate Agreement
The Rhode Island rules that shape the document: no lodger shortcut, a sublessor who becomes a statutory landlord, and a fair housing exemption limited to gender.
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Introduction
A roommate agreement is a private contract between co-tenants, not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or change what the lease says. In Rhode Island, a handful of state rules sit on top of the national template: there is no lodger-removal shortcut, so removing an unwanted roommate always requires a formal District Court eviction; the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act defines landlord to include a sublessor, so a tenant who takes in a roommate as a subtenant becomes that subtenant's statutory landlord; and Rhode Island's fair housing law exempts only sex-based roommate selection, not the sexual orientation and gender identity exemptions the state repealed in 2021. Everything else, the rent split, chores, guests, and quiet hours, is covered by the national template.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Rhode Island has no lodger statute like California's. Removing an unwanted roommate always requires a formal District Court eviction with written notice; self-help removal, such as changing the locks or shutting off utilities, is expressly barred by R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-44.
- 2
Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act defines landlord to include a sublessor of the dwelling unit. If the original tenant sublets to a roommate, the original tenant becomes that roommate's statutory landlord and must use the same formal eviction process to remove them, with no lighter roommate-specific procedure.
- 3
No Rhode Island statute gives a tenant an affirmative right to add a roommate over the landlord's objection, unlike New York's Roommate Law. The lease controls whether a new roommate may move in.
- 4
No general Rhode Island statute makes co-tenants jointly and severally liable for rent. The only statutory joint and several language applies narrowly after a leaseholder's death, to occupants who elect to become grace period temporary tenants (R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-38(d)(11)).
- 5
No Rhode Island statute addresses how departing roommates split a security deposit refund. The deposit statute, R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-19, regulates only the landlord-tenant relationship, capping the deposit at one month's rent and requiring an itemized return within 20 days.
- 6
Rhode Island's only broad shared-living fair housing exemption is limited to sex: an owner, lessee, sublessee, or assignee may advertise for and select a same- or opposite-sex roommate to share their unit (R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-37-4(k)). Every other trait, including sexual orientation and gender identity, is fully protected with no shared-living carve-out.
- 7
Rhode Island repealed its narrow owner-occupied exemptions for sexual orientation and gender identity effective July 2, 2021. No Providence or other Rhode Island city ordinance addressing roommate selection or cotenancy was identified separate from state law.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Roommate Agreement in Rhode Island, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Roommate Agreement guide walks through them.
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Rhode Island Requirements for Roommate Agreement
Rhode Island has no owner-occupier lodger statute. Self-help repossession is expressly barred by R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-44, so removing an unwanted roommate always requires a formal District Court eviction with written notice. The agreement should not suggest any self-help removal right.
Under R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-11(7), landlord is defined to include a sublessor. A tenant who sublets to a roommate becomes that roommate's statutory landlord and must use the same formal eviction process to remove them, with no lighter roommate-specific procedure.
No general Rhode Island statute makes ordinary co-tenants jointly and severally liable for rent; the only such language applies narrowly to grace period temporary tenants after a leaseholder's death (Section 34-18-38(d)(11)). The agreement should state each roommate's share explicitly.
R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-19 governs only the landlord's handling of a security deposit, not how it is split among roommates. Include a clause setting each roommate's contribution and the move-out division.
Rhode Island's Fair Housing Practices Act exempts only sex-based roommate selection and advertising (R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-37-4(k)). Sexual orientation and gender identity exemptions were repealed in 2021, so those traits, along with all other protected classes, remain fully covered with no shared-living carve-out.
Frequently Asked Questions
The lease is between the tenants and the landlord. A Rhode Island roommate agreement is a separate contract between the co-tenants themselves, covering rent splits, chores, guests, and issues like security deposit division or removing a non-paying roommate that Rhode Island's landlord-tenant statutes do not address.
No. Rhode Island has no lodger statute like California's, and self-help removal, such as changing the locks or shutting off utilities, is expressly barred by R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-44. Removing an unwanted roommate always requires a formal District Court eviction, with written notice first.
It depends on the paperwork with the landlord, not the roommate agreement. It matters because Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act defines landlord to include a sublessor, so if you sublet to a roommate, you become that roommate's statutory landlord and must use the same formal eviction process to remove them.
No. Unlike New York's Roommate Law, no Rhode Island statute gives a tenant an affirmative right to add an occupant over the landlord's objection. Whether a new roommate may move in is governed entirely by the lease.
Generally, no general statute says so. Rhode Island's only joint and several rent language applies narrowly to occupants who elect to become grace period temporary tenants after a leaseholder's death, not to ordinary roommates. The lease controls what the landlord can collect, so your roommate agreement should state the split among yourselves directly.
No Rhode Island statute addresses this. The deposit statute, R.I. Gen. Laws Section 34-18-19, governs only the landlord-tenant relationship, capping the deposit and setting a 20-day return deadline. It says nothing about dividing that money among co-tenants, so your agreement should set the split yourselves.
Yes, in a narrow, specific way. Rhode Island's fair housing law exempts an owner, lessee, sublessee, or assignee from selecting or advertising for a same- or opposite-sex roommate to share their own unit. That exemption does not extend to any other protected trait.
Yes, fully. Rhode Island once had narrow owner-occupied exemptions covering sexual orientation and gender identity, but both were repealed effective July 2, 2021. Selecting or advertising for a roommate based on either trait is unlawful discrimination under Rhode Island's Fair Housing Practices Act.
No local ordinance addressing roommate selection or cotenancy separate from state law was identified for Providence or other Rhode Island cities. Statewide law, including R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 34-18 and ch. 34-37, is what applies.