House sharing is a solution to rising rents

News reaches us via the BBC that the ‘number of middle-aged renters has doubled in a decade’ (since 2007). The fact this article appears in the Personal Finance section of the website is testament to people’s main concern that private rents are too high and that as people reach retirement age they’ll not be able to afford them.

Despite leading with this main point the article and associated comments also highlight a number of other reasons why people like renting, as well points concerning wider issues. Below I have added a comment about why house sharing is so important as a part of the solution.

Why renting is liked ….

People who like travelling don’t want to be tied down by a mortgage – but you do need money to travel and spending less on rent by sharing would give you more money to travel. Also, once you’ve retired or are slowing down and working part-time, you may want to travel more – before it’s too late!

Maintenance is the landlord’s problem – if you rent a room in a privately owned flat or house it’s not your responsibility to pay for repairs, but you are more likely to see they get done as the house owner or tenant also lives there.

It’s more sociable – renting a room is a good way to get to know people in a new area, or to help find their way around.

Wider issues …

People can only afford to buy tiny flats – larger houses and flats provide better value for money when fully occupied. See our article on ‘What can I save from house sharing?’ and also look at ‘Rooms to rent’ section to see the high quality rooms available in lovely houses.

We’re not building enough houses (for our growing population) – if houses are in short supply and consequently over-priced then house sharing is one way of reducing pressure. Not everyone wants to share, but then again not everyone wants to spend over 1/3 of their monthly income on rent. House share and live a little!

What happens when private renters get older? – house sharing, or any sort of communal living, affords the opportunity to share the cost of services and to look after one another. Single dwelling units are the least efficient to build and consequently to rent or buy.

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See our housemates preferences report (2021) to see how mature sharers very much understand what makes a good house share.

Nuria Prieto outlines what a good mature co-living development might look like