20 July 2020 | written by nimtim architects

Multi-generational living is a growing trend in the UK - increasing as a proportion of housing since the millennium and particularly since 2010 from 1.3m to 1.8m households between 2009-14 alone.

Much has been written about the subject: in academic papers (https://www.cchpr.landecon.cam.ac.uk), industry reports (NHBC ), newspaper articles (Guardian, The Telegraph) and even estate agent websites/ magazines.

There is not much we can add to the research or statistics but it is interesting to reflect upon our own experiences as a small practice in responding to our clients' needs to accommodate several generations within a single household as well thinking about how the need could be met on a larger scale.

The increase in multi-generational households has been driven by a number of factors including:

cost of properties encouraging/ forcing young adults to stay longer with their parents as unable to buy or rent their own place
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 larger/ better property than they might otherwise afford on their own
Having elderly relatives stay in the house so they can be cared for rather than moving them to a nursing home or other care facility. An ageing society with higher levels of dementia and conditions requiring full-time care is a factor. Austerity and a reduction of state care provision may well also be a factor here.
Choosing to live together because of the positive benefits of daily interaction and co-habitation. This can sometimes be part of a cultural tradition for many families from ethnic minority backgrounds

We’ve experienced all of these motivations from clients and it is very often a combination of factors rather than one alone that is driving the decision to live together. We have also found it quite common to be asked to consider potential future scenarios for multi-generational living. In this instance clients are anticipating future situations where children have become adults and are returning or staying in the family home and sometimes preparing for their own parents to need to come and live with them so they can be cared for.

Click here to read more on nimtim architects’ website.

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