Number of pensioners who want to live with flatmates has risen almost 2,000% in a decade, with more over-65s searching on SpareRoom , figures reveal
- Bosses of flat-sharing website SpareRoom say the number of over-65s searching for or advertising a room has rocketed by 1,843 per cent since 2008/9
- Although money was a factor, older people also sought company and security
- Pop icon Gloria Gaynor, 69, recently revealed she lives with a flatmate
The number of pensioners wanting to live with flatmates has soared nearly 2,000 per cent in the past decade, research claims.
Over-65s either searching for a room in a shared house or advertising a room in their own house have risen by 1,843 per cent since 2008/9, bosses at flat-sharing website SpareRoom.co.uk said.
Compared to other age ranges, pensioners were responsible for the highest percentage rise in the ten-year period.
Bosses of flat-sharing website SpareRoom say the number of over-65s searching for a room in a shared house or advertising a room in their own house has rocketed by 1,843 per cent since 2008/9
A spokesman for the website explained that while money was a factor, older people were also sharing with others for the company and security.
In a poll of 10,000 flatmates, a total of 55 per cent of those over the age of 65 said they could afford to live by themselves but preferred to live with other people.
Matt Hutchinson, of SpareRoom, said yesterday: ‘People think of flat-sharing as only a young person’s game, but that’s no longer the case.’
He explained: ‘Rents have risen far more over the past decade than salaries, making some people lifelong renters, while other age groups are coming back to sharing, or even sharing for the first time, in their 50s and in later life. It’s a trend we see continuing well into the next decade, if not further ahead.’
Singer Gloria Gaynor, 69, lives with a flatmate in New Jersey who moved in while going through a divorce and ‘never left’
Pop icon Gloria Gaynor, 69, recently revealed she lives with a flatmate, which came about when her friend was looking for a place to stay after going through a divorce.
The I Will Survive singer said she invited her friend to move into her four-bedroom home in New Jersey while she sorted things out but she ‘never left’.
The singer said: ‘I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have the companionship, to have the camaraderie’, praising ‘the security of having someone there with you if something happens and who cares enough to help you.’
She added: ‘Sometimes senior citizens need extra support.’