Yahoo Finance Five million homeowners are living in multi-generational houses
Inter-generational households are becoming increasingly common in Britain, according to researchers.
A representative survey of over 2,000 British homeowners by Barclays Mortgages has revealed three in ten – or five million Brits – are now living with adult relatives, with many even adapting their property to accommodate family members.
The likely causes are millennials moving back in with their parents, and an increasingly ageing population, Barclays said.
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The UK population is growing due to improvements in healthcare and lifestyles keeping people alive for longer. According to government data, in 2016 in the UK, 18.2% of people were aged 65 or over, compared with 15.9% in 2007. This is projected to grow to 20.7% by 2027.
Meanwhile, research by think tank Civitas in 2017 revealed the number of young adults living with their parents has skyrocketed by a quarter (26%) – from 2.7 million to 3.4 million – since 1998, likely due to increased rent and house prices.
On average, 23% of homeowners have converted living space into an additional bedroom, with a quarter of making these adaptations within the last two years.
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With 2.4 million 20 to 34-year-olds living with their parents – an increase of almost 20% since 1997 – it’s no surprise homeowners are looking to adapt their homes to create more space for their adult children to live with them under the same roof.
Alongside bedrooms, building outhouses in the garden, ground floor bathrooms and step-free access to the home were all noted as necessary improvements when living in an inter-generational household. The latter changes are becoming increasingly important, with one in 10 homeowners saying they expect to have to take care of their elderly parents in their homes one day.
And with the added stress of living with adult family, almost a quarter (23%) of homeowners said they have created a dedicated mindfulness space to calm themselves down.
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Across the country, the amount of inter-generational households differs. Londoners are most likely to live in a multi-generational home, with 35% currently in this situation.
However, the west-midlands (33%), north-west (28%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (26%) follow closely behind, with increasing housing costs likely to be a contributing factor.
Elsewhere, East Anglian homeowners are the least likely to live with adult family members. Property prices holding firm in city centres and dropping elsewhere is thought to be a key factor in this national split.
