Problem is, even though you signed a lease with one person, you sometimes wind up with more than that in the form of the occasional or frequent overnight guest. In fact, it can be a positive in the sense you get to significantly lower your cost of living and have a built-in buddy. But living with another person, or multiple people, can be a daunting task when you realize all of the different habits not all of them good that people have.
The extra noise, dishes, remote-control battles and various debris can prove extremely annoying. But there are ways to prevent awkward situations from arising, and tactics to keep in mind if problems surface. Below are a few helpful tips to make sure you and your roommate have the best living experience possible, especially related to overnight guests. The idea that honesty is the best policy is true. Of course, you should be wise in approaching the conversation.
Be open to questions and prepare for your roommate to get defensive. A lot of overnight guest problems can be avoided by establishing ground rules upfront. If you have the foresight to do this, good for you! Of course, this means that you have to abide by the rules, too, when and if it becomes necessary. No one likes a hypocrite! Perhaps weekends are fine, but you prefer not to have a disturbance on work or school nights. Or maybe one weeknight and weekends are acceptable.
Frequent guests become a strain on utilities. Verbalize your dissatisfaction and ensure that guests who stay frequently contribute in some fashion. If possible, refer to previous billing cycles that did not include overnight guests and compare them to current invoices to illustrate the impact. It can be bad enough to have to share the apartment with one other person, but random house guests definitely cut into your morning routine, leaving you without vital things like hot water and coffee.
Make it a point to have an agreement in writing about the use of common areas and items therein. Hopefully, any houseguest has manners enough to pick up after themselves. Make sure your roommate knows that guests should park in the guest spots and not take the space of the actual tenants. The danger of confronting your roommate about overnight guests is that the situation could get complicated.
