My Partner and I Are Moving in. Do I Need a Formal Rental Agreement?

Congratulations on this next step in your relationship!

Living together—called cohabitation in legal language—means that you 1. are sharing bills or family responsibilities and 2. have a sexual relationship.

Cohabitation works like roommates rather than like a married couple. If you found a roommate on Craigslist, you would use a contract to define how much rent each person pays and who pays for utilities. The same is true when you move in with your partner. It’s a way to protect both yourself and your partner.

If the relationship goes beautifully, then you have clear boundaries and responsibilities. If you decide later to separate, you each know what you need to keep paying for.

What if you have lived together for years; do you still need a contract? Yes. It’s never too late to set down in writing who pays for what.

Ohio law is very direct: Legally, you are either married or you are individual persons.

When a long-standing partnership dissolves, a judge may be called upon to separate the shared assets—any property, vehicles, pets, or stuff you got when you were together—or to finalize custody arrangements if children are involved. (Alimony doesn’t apply in these cases.)  A judge will enforce any written contract.

If nothing was written down, the judge has final say. He or she will try to determine what the two people had intended. This means that any unpaid rent or utilities, the car that’s in your ex’s name but was meant for you, and anything else that’s up for debate will be decided by the judge.

It’s always best to put the financial arrangements in writing while things are going well. It supports you in the good times and protects you in the bad.