Loathe ’em or love ’em, flatshares are an essential part of the London experience. Whether you’re moving in with friends or finding people online to live with, in the early days of living in a city as expensive as London, flatsharing is the only way to afford the rental prices. But recent data from SpareRoom has revealed that we all might end up with flat-mates for a bit longer than we anticipated.
It’s no wonder, given London was recently named one of Europe’s least affordable places to live alone. And for a demonstration of just how much rent has risen across the country, not just London, consider this: at the end of 2020, the average rent in the UK was £580 per month. At the end of 2025, it was £749 per month.
As rents continue to go up, fewer young people can afford to leave home – even as flatsharers. And at the same time, fewer people are able to escape the rental cycle by purchasing their own property. In fact, surprising numbers of people are returning to flatsharing as the cost of living continues to go up.
Flatsharers in the UK
As rents go up, the dynamic of flatsharers is changing in response. And recent data from SpareRoom reveals just how much is changing. Among the discoveries from the data are the following surprising facts:
- Under 25s now make up just over a quarter (26%) of the flatshare market, down from almost a third (32%) a decade ago.
- Renters aged 45+ now make up 16% of the flatshare market, up from 10% in 2015.
- The proportion of flatsharers aged 65+ has tripled in the past decade.
- Almost four in 10 flatmates now live in multi-generational households, where the age difference between the oldest and youngest adult is 20 years or more.
Take a look below at some of the overarching data showing these changes.
Why are flatsharers getting older?
Well, in case you haven’t noticed, everything keeps getting more and more expensive. And for many of us, our salaries aren’t rising at the same rate! Here in London, in particular, the median salary is well below the average income required to purchase property in even the cheapest area in the city.
Said Matt Hutchinson, director of flatshare site SpareRoom: “It used to be the case that multi-generational households were a rarity in flatsharing. The market was dominated by groups of twenty and thirty-somethings chasing jobs and opportunities in cities and major towns.
“Today, unaffordably high rents are shifting household dynamics as well as changing the geography of flatsharing too. The youngest are being priced out of the rental market altogether, as older renters are priced out of home ownership or renting solo. Meanwhile, those priced out of cities are migrating to more affordable suburban towns.
“The market adapts but the long-term picture is concerning, as the UK is not a country that’s geared towards renting for life. Those who haven’t built equity in property could be much worse off in their retirement years unless something changes dramatically.”
See the latest data from SpareRoom here.