Mortgage and housing insights
Finder’s mortgage and housing expert Matthew Boyle’s advice:

Updated . What changed?
Even before lockdown began on 23 March 2020, a lot Brits were anticipating the shutdown of the UK. As the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout Europe, the UK watched as one after another, its neighbouring countries began to go into lockdown.
With this in mind, many Brits moved back home to be with their families, to ensure that they would be locked down in the best possible circumstances. We’ve done some research to find out how many moved back in with parents and what this has meant for renters.
At least 6.2 million Brits (12%) say have moved back in with their parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of those that have moved home, over two thirds (68%) plan to make the move more permanent and currently have no planned move out date.
It’s clear that the financial hardships caused by the pandemic are far from over, with 1.2 million Brits (2%) saying they still plan to move back in with their parents in the near future. This is likely due to fears of job loss and a second wave of social distancing restrictions in the coming months.
Some Brits have continued to pay their rent despite not using the accommodation. In fact, 1.1 million (18%) of those who have moved out have continued to do so. The average cost of rent in the UK is £886 per month and lockdown has lasted three months. This means that young renters have paid £2,658 on average for unused accommodation, which comes to £2.9 billion total across the UK. With the second wave of social distancing measures introduced for a possible 6 months, this total is only like to increase as people continue to stay with parents.
However, not all renters who have moved back in with their parents have continued to pay rent. Around 13% of individuals who have moved home have not renewed their tenancy, making this the second most common scenario. A further 12% have managed to cancel their tenancy altogether. Through talking to their landlord, 10% have managed to negotiate a rent reduction and 7% have chosen to take a rent holiday.
Percent | |
---|---|
Continued paying without using it | 17.71% |
Didn't renew tenancy | 12.97% |
Cancelled tenancy | 11.97% |
Rent reduction | 10.22% |
Rent holiday | 7.48% |
Sublet | 5.74% |
Refused to pay | 4.49% |
Other | 4.49% |
Don't need to pay rent | 24.94% |
Although a higher proportion of Gen Z was more likely to move home, due to the larger population of millennials, they made up the largest population of movers (44%), with 2.8 million moving back home. Generation Z was the second-largest movers (40%), with 2.5 million moving home. Understandably, far less Generation X and Boomers moved back with parents.
Generation | Moved home | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Generation Z (Born after 1996) | 2,489,159 | 40% |
Millennials (1981-1996) | 2,751,176 | 44% |
Generation X (1965-1980) | 838,454 | 14% |
Boomers (1946-1964) | 131,008 | 2% |
Finder’s mortgage and housing expert Matthew Boyle’s advice:
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