The generation game
Multi-generational living isn’t a new idea, but it’s a growing trend in the UK. At the end of 2020 a third of UK households were multi-generational, mainly due to adult children still living at home. This statistic is from How We Live, a survey of 4,000 adults across the UK by insurance company Aviva, which found that 34% of respondents were living in multi-generational homes, equivalent to 9million homes(1) . Multi-generational households with older relatives appeared lower in the results, around 14% of respondents, suggesting 1.28million homes(2) , but that compares to a similar study by Aviva back in 2016 that found they accounted for only 9%, so there’s been a marked increase.
The increase in multi-generational households has been driven by a number of factors, including:
● The cost of properties encouraging or forcing young adults to stay longer with their parents as they are unable to buy or rent their own homes.
● The cost of childcare encouraging parents to take advantage of grandparents living with them to help with care for younger children.
● Different generations pooling resources to buy a better property than they could afford on their own.
