What Happens If the Match Doesn't Work

What Happens If the Match Doesn’t Work

We’ll be honest with you: even the most thoughtful compatibility matching isn’t a guarantee. Two women can share values, schedules, and habits on paper — and still discover that living together feels off. That’s not a failure. It’s real life.

What matters is what happens next. This page tells you exactly what Lily does when a match doesn’t work — before you move in, and after.

Our commitment to you

Lily was built on the belief that a woman should never feel trapped. If something isn’t right, you have a clear, supported, and dignified way out. No guilt. No dead ends. No woman left without options.

Before You Move In: The 72-Hour Confirmation Window

Once a match is confirmed and both women have agreed to move forward, there is a 72-hour window during which either party can withdraw — no explanation required, no fee charged.

This window exists because the excitement of finding a match sometimes moves faster than practical reality. Use this time to:

Re-read the compatibility summary Lily prepared
Review the home details, lease terms, and move-in date
Sleep on it — genuinely
Talk to a trusted person in your life

If you withdraw within 72 hours, here is what happens:

No match fee is charged to either party
Both women are returned to the active pool immediately
Lily will personally reach out within 24 hours to begin a new match

Important

The 72-hour window begins the moment both women confirm the match via the Lily platform or coordinator — not from the date of first contact. You will receive a written confirmation with the exact window close time.

After You Move In: The 30-Day Transition Period

The first 30 days of any co-living arrangement are the most important — and the most likely to surface incompatibilities that no questionnaire could have predicted. Lily treats this month as a protected transition period.

During the first 30 days, either woman can initiate a match exit by contacting Lily directly. Here is exactly how that works:

Contact Lily Day 1–30
Email or message your Lily coordinator directly. You do not need to have a specific reason prepared. You simply need to tell us it isn’t working.
Brief check-in call Within 48 hours
A Lily team member will schedule a private 15-minute call with you. This is not an interrogation — it’s a conversation to understand what you need next and ensure your safety and wellbeing.
Exit plan drafted Within 72 hours
Lily will provide you with a written exit plan covering your move-out timeline, any shared obligations, and your rematch status. We use our legal agreement templates to make this as clean as possible.
Rematch begins. Immediately
You are placed at the top of the active match queue. Lily treats a 30-day exit as a priority rematch — not a restart from zero.

On financial obligations during exit

Lily’s role is to coordinate the match and support the exit — not to arbitrate financial disputes between members. Rent obligations during your notice period are governed by the co-living agreement you signed, not by Lily. This is why we provide legal agreement templates before move-in: they spell out exactly what each party owes if the arrangement ends early. Please review your agreement carefully before signing.

If There Is a Safety Concern

A compatibility mismatch is one thing. A safety concern is another, and Lily treats them very differently.

If at any point — before or after move-in — you feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or threatened, you do not need to wait 30 days, follow a process, or justify yourself to anyone.

Safety is always the first step

If you are in immediate danger, contact 911 first. Contact Lily second. We will support you through every step that follows — emergency housing resources, rematch priority, and documentation support — but your physical safety comes before our process.

For non-emergency safety concerns — behavior that makes you uncomfortable, boundary violations, or situations that feel wrong but aren’t immediately dangerous — contact your Lily coordinator immediately. You will be taken seriously. You will not be asked to prove yourself. And you will have options.

What Lily Provides to Make Exits Cleaner

Every Lily member receives access to the following documents before move-in. These are not legal advice — they are practical templates designed to reduce friction if something goes wrong. We strongly recommend reviewing them with an attorney before signing any co-living arrangement.

Co-living agreement template

Rent split, notice periods, guest policies, shared space rules, early exit terms, and dispute process

Move-in checklist

Documented condition of the home before move-in, shared items, and utility responsibilities

Move-out checklist

Clean exit process, return of keys, final utility reading, and deposit terms if applicable

The Rematch Promise

A match that doesn’t work is not the end of your Lily experience. It is information. It tells us something about what you need that we didn’t fully capture the first time.

Every woman who exits a match within 30 days receives:

Priority placement in the next available match queue
A revised compatibility conversation with your Lily coordinator
No additional background check fee — your verification remains valid for 12 months

Founding members who exit a match within 30 days are also re-enrolled in the next founding cohort at no charge. Your founding status is permanent — a bad match does not change that.

What We Ask of You

Lily’s exit process works because both women engage in good faith. Here is what we ask in return for the support we provide:

Give the match a genuine attempt before initiating an exit. “It doesn’t feel right” after two days is different from “it doesn’t feel right” after three weeks of trying.
Contact Lily before you contact the other woman to end the arrangement. We are here to facilitate that conversation so it doesn’t become a confrontation.
Be honest with your coordinator about what went wrong. You don’t owe us details — but the more we understand, the better your next match will be.
Treat the other woman with dignity throughout the process. She took a risk, too.

Quick Answers

What if both women want to exit at the same time?

That’s actually the cleanest situation. Both women contact Lily, both are released from the arrangement, and both are placed in the rematch queue. The exit plan is drafted jointly and the process moves quickly.

What if one woman wants to exit and the other doesn’t?

The woman initiating the exit has the right to do so within 30 days. Lily will work with both women separately — supporting the exit for one and beginning a new match process for the other. We do not ask the staying woman to convince the leaving woman to stay.

What if the exit happens because of something the other woman did wrong?

Tell your coordinator. If a member has violated the terms of the Lily agreement or behaved in a way that is harmful, that is important information for us to have — both to support you and to protect future members. We handle these situations with discretion and seriousness.

Does Lily share my exit reason with the other woman?

No. What you share with your Lily coordinator is confidential. We will not share the specific reason for your exit with the other woman without your explicit permission. We will tell her only that the arrangement has ended and that she will be supported in finding a new match.

What if 30 days have passed and I’m still unhappy?

Contact your coordinator. The 30-day window is our structured support period, not a cutoff for conversation. Lily will always take a call from a member who is struggling — and we will always try to help, even if our formal options are more limited after the window closes.

Still have questions?

Reach out to your Lily coordinator directly. Every member has a named point of contact.

We answer every message. That’s not a policy. It’s a promise.

Legal disclaimer

The documents provided by The Lilypad Initiative, including co-living agreement templates, move-in and move-out checklists, and compatibility summaries, are provided as informational templates only and do not constitute legal advice. Members are strongly encouraged to consult a licensed attorney before entering any co-living arrangement. The Lilypad Initiative is not a party to any co-living agreement between members and accepts no liability for disputes arising from such arrangements.