Housemate Won't Pay Rent or Bills? What to Do in Australia
The rent is due on Friday and your housemate has gone quiet. Or the power bill arrived three weeks ago and their half still has not landed. You are covering the gap, the excuses are getting thinner, and you are starting to wonder whether you will ever see the money.
This guide explains who is legally on the hook when a housemate stops paying, the steps that actually get money back in Australia, and the shortcuts that feel fair but can land you in trouble.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Share house rules differ between states and territories and change often. Check with your state's tenancy authority or tenants' advice service before you act.
First: Who Does the Landlord Chase?
Before you decide how hard to push, work out your own exposure. It depends on whose name is on the lease.
You are both on the lease (co-tenants)
Co-tenants are "jointly and severally liable". In plain terms, each of you is responsible for the whole rent, not just your own share. If your housemate pays nothing, the landlord or agent can ask you for the full amount, and unpaid rent puts everyone on the lease in arrears together. In Victoria, for example, once rent is 14 days behind the landlord can start the process to end the tenancy for all of you, regardless of who paid their share.
Only you are on the lease (you are the head tenant)
The landlord's agreement is with you alone, so the full rent is your problem whether or not your housemate pays you. What they owe is a debt to you personally.
Only they are on the lease
Then the rent owed to the landlord is their responsibility, not yours. Keep paying your own share on time and keep proof of every payment.
Protect the tenancy first, then chase the money. If your name is on the lease, letting the rent fall behind hurts you as much as them. It is usually safer to cover the shortfall, keep the receipt, and recover it from your housemate as a debt.
Who Pays the Bills?
Electricity, gas and internet work differently from rent. The provider's contract is with whoever's name is on the account, and that person owes the provider the full bill. The rest of the household owes their shares to the account holder under whatever you agreed between yourselves. So if the account is in your name and your housemate does not pay, you still have to pay the provider, and you recover their share from them afterwards.
Not sure what each person actually owes? The bill split calculator works out fair shares for rent and bills, including uneven room sizes and part-month stays.
What to Do, Step by Step
1. Work out the exact figure
List every missed payment with its date and amount: rent weeks, each bill, anything else they agreed to pay. Gather the proof now, including the lease, any housemate agreement, bank statements, the bills themselves and the messages where shares were agreed. A precise number with dates is far harder to argue with than "you owe me heaps".
2. Have the conversation, then confirm it in writing
Talk first. Most missed payments come from a lost job or a bad month, not bad faith, and a payment plan agreed early beats a tribunal claim later. Straight after you talk, send a message that records it: "Confirming what we agreed: you owe $840 in rent and $112 for electricity, and you will pay $200 each Friday starting this week." A reply of "yes" turns a chat into written evidence.
3. Send a formal written reminder
If the plan is not kept, send a clear written request with the total owed, how it is made up, and a firm date to pay, usually 7 days. Stay factual and polite. This message may be read by a tribunal member later.
4. Send a letter of demand
A letter of demand is the formal last warning before legal action. It sets out the debt, gives a final deadline (commonly 7 to 14 days), and says you will lodge a claim if it is not paid. It often works where reminders did not, because it shows you are prepared to follow through. You can create a letter of demand in a few minutes.
5. Try free mediation
Most states and territories have a free or low-cost community mediation service, such as Community Justice Centres in NSW. A neutral mediator helps you reach a repayment agreement without anyone needing to be "right". It is worth trying when you still have to live together.
6. Lodge a small claim
If the money still does not arrive, you can claim it as a debt without a lawyer. Where you lodge depends on your state and on your legal relationship:
- Between co-tenants. Tenancy tribunals generally cannot deal with money disputes between people on the same lease. Tenants' Union NSW and Tenants Victoria both say this of NCAT and VCAT. These claims usually go to the small claims division of your local or magistrates court instead
- Between a head tenant and a sub-tenant. Where there is a written sub-tenancy agreement, your state's tenancy tribunal can usually hear the dispute, because the head tenant is treated as the landlord
- Informal arrangements. With no lease and no written agreement between you, it is generally an ordinary debt claim in the small claims court
Our state-by-state small claims guide lists the right court or tribunal, the claim limits and the fees where you live. You generally have six years to claim a debt, or three in the Northern Territory.
What You Must Not Do
These all feel reasonable when you are owed money. Each one can turn you from the person in the right into the person with a legal problem.
- Do not change the locks or shut them out. Even a housemate who is not on the lease generally cannot be locked out without proper notice
- Do not take or sell their belongings to cover the debt. You have no right to keep someone's property as security unless they agreed to that in writing
- Do not stop paying your own share in protest. If you are on the lease, that puts your own tenancy and rental history at risk
- Do not help yourself to their bond. A bond lodged with the state authority is only released by agreement or by a tribunal order
- Do not harass them. Repeated messages, threats or posting about the debt online can backfire badly
If They Will Not Pay and Will Not Leave
Owing money and living in the house are two separate issues with two separate processes. The debt is recovered through the steps above. Ending the living arrangement depends on whether they are a co-tenant, a sub-tenant or an informal flatmate. Our guide to removing a flatmate who is not on the lease covers the notice you need to give. If they are on the lease with you, speak to the agent or landlord early, because any change to the tenancy needs their involvement.
How to Stop This Happening Again
Nearly every unpaid-housemate dispute has the same root: nothing was written down. Nobody recorded who pays what, when it is due, or what happens when someone falls behind. So when it goes wrong, each person remembers a different deal.
A written housemate agreement, signed before anyone moves in, fixes that. For money, it should cover:
- Each person's rent share, the due date and how it is paid
- How bills are split, whose name is on each account and how quickly shares must be paid after a bill arrives
- Bond contributions and how they are returned when someone leaves
- What happens if someone falls behind, including how long they have to catch up
- Notice to move out, and who covers the rent until a replacement is found
It will not make a broke housemate solvent. It does mean that when you ask for the money, you are pointing to a signed document, not arguing about a conversation from eight months ago. See how to split bills fairly for the common methods.
Get Your Housemate Agreement in Writing
Answer a few plain-English questions about rent, bills, bond and notice. Get an agreement both of you can sign online in minutes. From $3.99.
Create a Housemate Agreement →Sources: Tenants' Union of NSW, Share housing factsheet, Tenants Victoria, Share houses, Residential Tenancies Authority (Qld), Share homes and co-tenancies, WA Consumer Protection, Tenants bulletin 44.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my landlord make me pay my housemate's share of the rent?
If you are both named on the lease, yes. Co-tenants are each responsible for the full rent, so the landlord can ask any of you for the whole amount. You can then recover your housemate's share from them as a debt. If you are not on the lease, you only owe what you agreed to pay.
Can I kick my housemate out for not paying rent?
Not on the spot. If they are on the lease with you, you cannot remove them yourself at all. If they rent from you, you need to give proper written notice, and the rules depend on whether they are a sub-tenant or a more informal flatmate. Locking them out is never the safe option.
Can I keep my housemate's belongings until they pay?
No. Holding someone's property to force payment can expose you to a claim, and in serious cases a police complaint. Recover the debt through a letter of demand and a small claim instead.
Can I take what they owe out of their bond?
Not by yourself. A bond lodged with the state bond authority is paid out only when the people named on it agree, or when a tribunal orders it. If you hold their bond informally, keep careful records and get their written agreement to any deduction. See our guide to flatmate bond disputes.
Is it worth going to small claims over a few hundred dollars?
Often the letter of demand settles it and you never get that far. If you do lodge, filing fees for small amounts are modest and you do not need a lawyer, but winning an order is not the same as being paid. Weigh the amount against the time involved and how likely they are to pay.
We never signed anything. Can I still get my money back?
Yes. A spoken agreement to share rent and bills is usually still binding. You will need evidence of what was agreed and what was paid, such as messages and bank transfers. See whether a verbal agreement is legally binding.