Popular flat-sharing website, SpareRoom, has revealed a growing number of over-50s are looking for house and flat shares to cope with rising rents.
Their figures show a astonishing 239% increase in demand from 55 to 64-year-olds since 2011 and a 114% increase in demand from 45 to 54-year-olds.
25 to 34-year-olds still make up the majority of sharers, but a senior director at SpareRoom expects the rise in demand from over-50s to continue due to the cost-of-living increase meaning solo renting has become near unaffordable for many people.
The findings are common across the sector, with another leading flat-sharing website revealing a big increase in demand from over-55s. Cohabitas, which focuses on over-40s, has seen a 51% increase in demand from 55 to 64-year-olds looking for a shared property in the past six months, while they’ve also seen a 44% increase for all users in the same time period this year, compared with 2021.
Tom Gatzen, co-founder of ideal flatmate, said: “While the older age brackets still account for a very small number of room share applicants as a whole, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of people over 50 opting to search for either a housemate or a spare room for themselves.
“I think perceptions are starting to change and there has been a number of great stories around older people welcoming others into their homes, particularly younger roommates.
“Previously it carried a bit of stigma, much like living with your parents at the age of 30 use to, but as rents continue to climb and the issue of affordability grows ever larger, I think people of all ages are starting to band together and tackle the rental market in whatever way they can.
“The ability to verify people and the information and checks required has also provided an additional layer of security for elderly applicants and as more of the older population becomes silver surfers, their ability to adapt and adopt new technology has changed the way they do things from shopping to contacting family, and now even renting.
“Age is just a number and it’s one that doesn’t seem to hold any bearing what so ever when looking for that ideal flatmate and we expect that the fabric of the UK rental sector will continue to evolve as a result of this diversity and acceptance.”
As you’d expect, those renting and living in HMO’s or roomshares, the percentage starts to decline as the age increases:
36% of room shares are aged between 25-35
13% between 35-45
6% between 45-55
Just 2% are aged 55 or over
However, this is looking to change due to the cost-of-living. In 2019 alone, Ideal Flatmate saw a 74% increase in the number of over 50s using their platform when compared to 2018, either to find a room share applicant to fill their spare room or as an applicant themselves looking for a room to rent.
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