My roommate had 14 people over on a Tuesday and the landlord showed up at 9pm
So my roommate Dave decided a random Tuesday was the perfect night for a watch party, and by 9pm there were 14 people crammed into our 700 square foot spot in Columbus. Our landlord Steve was doing a walkthrough for the unit below us and knocked on our door right in the middle of it, and Dave just froze holding a bag of chips. Steve gave us a warning about noise and said if he had to come back it was a $50 fine each. How do you even bring that up with a roommate without it turning into a whole thing?
I used to just let stuff like this slide with roommates because I figured it was easier than starting a fight, but honestly that always blew up worse later. The move here is to talk to Dave the very next morning, not when you're both annoyed, and keep it simple, like "hey, Steve said $50 each if he comes back, so we gotta keep it chill on weeknights." It's not about telling him he can't have people over (I've been the guy with 14 friends in a tiny place, it happens), it's about the fine landing on both of you. Lay out the deal Steve gave you and let Dave sit with it, because once he knows there's real money on the line it stops being a you vs him thing.