Who should clean the bathroom in a shared apartment?
Both at fault
The short answer
A shared bathroom is cleaned in turns, on a schedule both roommates can see. Waiting for the other person to give in first is not a schedule.
The ruling
From the public record. Names are replaced with roles.
Small claims division
Case no.PC-2026-06026
The roommate who bought the bleach v. The roommate who never touched it
Filed 10/19/2026
- Plaintiff
- The roommate who bought the bleach
- Defendant
- The roommate who never touched it
Statement of claim
I bought bleach and a scrub brush in August and left them by the tub as a hint. It is October. The brush is still in the plastic. My roommate says I never asked him to clean, which is true, because I left a brush.
Charge
Eight weeks of mutual waiting over a shared bathroom, with a scrub brush used only as a message
Judgment
Both at fault
Both roommates at fault after an eight-week bathroom standoff
Sentence
The defendant cleans the bathroom this weekend. The plaintiff cleans it next weekend and writes the rotation on the inside of the bathroom door.
How the court usually rules on this
Bathroom cases often end with both roommates at fault, because both used it and neither cleaned it. The court favors a weekly or biweekly rotation written somewhere visible. A roommate who cleans more often by choice does not earn a debt from the other, but one who never cleans does owe a turn. Supplies are bought from shared money.
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