Ahead of July 19th which will see the last national restrictions lifted, new research by flatshare site, SpareRoom, reveals the extent of the reverse migration, highlighting that 59% of adult children who moved back in with their parents since March 2020 have now flown the nest again and what this could mean in the longer term.
The research found that of those adult children still living at home, 35% say they plan to leave their parents’ home in the next six months. Many entrepreneurial parents, who have found themselves becoming Hotels of Mum and Dad, are opening up to the social and financial benefits of staying in business, with 16% now considering getting in a paying lodger when their adult kids move out.
46% of UK parents who have adult children living with them have had at least one of their grown-up kids move back into the family home since lockdown began in March 2020. Although spending time with family was seen (by most) as a positive bonding experience, it does come at a cost. 55% of parents cover extra expenses on behalf of their adult kids while they live at home, with the average parent being out of pocket by £117 per child each month.
SpareRoom’s research shows that those who have moved out of their parent's home in the past but have since moved back in, have been there for an average of six months so far, leaving mum and dad to fork out around £700 to cover their adult child’s essentials, which is more than the average monthly room rent in the UK at £579. Parents could have pocketed almost £3,500 for their spare room if they’d taken in a paying lodger during this time.
Instead, the bank of mum and dad, now also known as the Hotel of Mum and Dad, help pay for their child’s food (64%), clothes (36%), fuel (25%) and even give ‘pocket money’ for them to socialise with their friends (25%) while they’re living back at home. Many parents also paid for their child’s subscriptions (20%) and holidays (23%). Covering mental health and therapy (12%) costs were also on the list of expenditures for parents.
More than one in six (16%) parents say they’ll consider getting a lodger in once their adult child moves back out. Surprisingly, seven in ten (68%) Brits aren’t aware of the tax benefit of getting a lodger in which lets you earn up to £7,500 tax-free money per year by letting out a furnished room in your home.
Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom Director comments: “In the space of a couple of weeks in March 2020, huge numbers of renters upped sticks and returned to their parents’ homes. At the time nobody had any idea that they could be there for more than a year, and in lockdown for a big chunk of it.
"Now, as we see this migration almost completely reversed, there’s an opportunity for the Hotels of Mum and Dad to stay open for business, by taking in lodgers. With the government’s Rent a Room Scheme letting people earn up to £7,500 tax-free a year there’s a real incentive. What’s more, they actually get to choose who comes to stay.”
