Roommates can have disputes for a number of reasons. It can be difficult to decide what to do when there is a problem with the lease, how to divide things like property, various expenses, cleaning and maintenance, etc. Mediation is great for roommate issues because they can be difficult to resolve alone, and there isn’t always an ideal place to deal with them in court. Mediation is also a way to address these issues very quickly and at a small cost compared to alternatives.

When renting a property together, most roommates don’t anticipate what might happen if circumstances arise that could cause them to be at odds. Having to make critical decisions together quickly, glaring personality differences that make it difficult to live together, or disagreements about what to do with furnishings, expenses, etc. can all come up. But what does one do about resolving these issues? 

One option is small claims court, since the filing fee is small, parties represent themselves, and things can go reasonably quickly through this court, provided parties are properly served and there are no continuances. However, small claims isn’t an ideal place to resolve some of these personal issues, as you will not have time to discuss the nuances of the issues in any way. It is very brief and the judge has to make decisions with only a small amount of information. I have seen judges make decisions in small claims that were based on a slight misunderstanding of fact because of this. Unfortunately, judges are people who can make mistakes, too. Additionally, small claims court (in California) caps the value of the claim at $10,000. This suffices for most issues between roommates, but not always. If the potential value of the dispute exceeds $10K, you will have to file a more formal civil complaint, incur more fees, and are much more likely to need an attorney to be adequately represented. No matter which way you slice it, the court holds a lot of uncertainty from a potential time, cost and outcome standpoint. 

By contrast, mediation provides an opportunity for the parties to discuss the issues with each other fully, in the presence of the mediator who will act as a referee and guide them in the discussion until they have hopefully reached an agreement. Mediation doesn’t place a limit on the ways in which the parties choose to resolve their issues. It requires them to be open minded and willing to make concessions in certain areas in order to find a resolution that both parties can agree to. While this thought seems unpalatable to parties at first, they must consider that in court a judge will be making concessions for one or all parties that they do not choose themselves. Additionally, mediation allows the parties to resolve their differences in a private setting, in full detail, and be able to do it as soon as everyone’s availability allows. Most cases should resolve relatively quickly if everyone has all the information they need to make decisions in front of them, and can be resolved in a short session or two. 

Nobody likes to have issues with their roommates, but handling disagreements like this alone can often result in nothing but relentless emails and texts back and forth that probably don’t go far in reaching an actual solution without outside help. Mediation allows the parties to explore ideal resolution for them in a much more relaxing setting, full decision making power, and with a method that is extremely cost effective.