22 'ideal' age to leave home but 1 in 10 return

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities, Finance

New research has revealed that 22 is the 'ideal' age for children to move out - yet one in ten are forced back to their parents' homes because of housing costs.

The Shelter commissioned YouGov poll found that 9% of those aged between 20 and 40 - more than 1.6m people - have moved back in with their parents in the last two years because they can't afford to rent or buy.

Government figures released earlier in the year showed that almost a third of first-time buyers are aged over 35 - suggesting that young people face years of private renting or living with parents before they can afford to buy their own homes.

It was also found that moving back in with parents was having a negative impact on people's lives. Almost two thirds reported that developing new relationships is harder because of their living situation, and nearly a quarter said that their relationships with their parents had deteriorated. Over a third said it was embarrassing to admit they lived with their parents.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “These figures paint a vivid picture of twenty- and thirty-somethings in arrested development, with our housing crisis putting the brakes on their aspirations for the future.  
 
“Our chronic lack of homes that young people can genuinely afford to rent or buy is at the root of the problem.
 
“There’s no doubt that young people are grateful to be able to live with mum and dad to save money. But we have to question whether it’s acceptable that this is becoming the norm for people to live at home into their mid thirties, when we know that they are desperate to be independent and make their own way in the world.
 
“As rents soar and deposits become even further out of reach, the government needs to look seriously at how it can meet these young people halfway, and make housing more affordable so that this generation and the next can get on in life.”
 
Dan Montefusco, 35, from London, said: “For my parents’ generation, it seemed possible to get on the housing ladder and see a steady progression in front of you: a career, a comfortable home that they could afford, a family. Yet I’m faced with a choice between living with my parents in my mid-thirties, or paying rents I can barely afford while somehow finding a huge deposit for a mortgage.
 
“I’ve had to move back in with my parents a few times when I struggled to pay rent or find somewhere to live. I’m grateful to be able to rely on my family, but I can’t be the only person in my thirties feeling like no amount of hard work will get me a home of my own. I earn a decent salary and save money, but I’m stuck in a property trap with no way out.”