Yahoo Finance 65-year-old flatmate: Rent crisis forces Boomers into share houses
Aussie renters have been hit hard by the rising cost of living, with those aged over 65 now the fastest-growing demographic looking for a share house.
A new survey from Flatmates.com.au of more than 9,000 respondents from across Australia revealed share houses were being impacted by a tight rental market.
The number of room seekers aged between 65 and 74 increased by 25 per cent over the five years to 2021, according to the 2021 census.
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“Share houses today come in all shapes and sizes. Typical university share houses aren’t dominating the market like they used to,” Flatmates community manager Claudia Conley said.
“Companionship and an additional income stream are increasingly popular reasons landlords opt into share-house living. With the rising cost of living and limited rental stock, we are seeing the number of diverse share houses full of families, single parents, elderly sharers, migrants and empty nesters continue to grow.”
Conley said the pandemic drove many renters to re-evaluate where and who they wanted to live with.
“This year, we’ve seen the share-house market change significantly. With COVID-normal underway, there’s been a shift from a desire for more space to simply being able to pay the bills,” Conley said.
“A large proportion of the Flatmates.com.au community live in share accommodation due to financial reasons, and current market pressures and the rising cost of living are taking a toll.
“Facing these pressures, we’ve seen share houses work together to navigate higher rents and costs, whether that means finding new ways to save money or looking for cheaper rooms to rent.”
Penny pinching is more prominent
More than half (57 per cent) of survey respondents said they currently lived in share accommodation for financial reasons, with one in 10 subscribing to the co-living concept because of tight competition for solo rentals.
Navigating challenges from the rising cost of living has proved testing for many share houses, with 45 per cent reporting that their rent increased in the past six months.
Of those who experienced a rent increase, more than half (52 per cent) said the increase was more than expected, with a similar proportion citing inflation as the reason behind the rise. As a result, almost one in two said they and their flatmates were now struggling to pay rent.
But, while finances were a pain point for many, flatmates were getting creative to keep costs down.
Almost two thirds (62 per cent) of respondents said they had introduced new house rules to help save costs.
Those included cooking meals together (23 per cent), establishing rules for heater usage (22 per cent) and working or studying away from home to keep bills low (10 per cent).
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