For many young professionals in London, sharing accommodation well into their thirties has become increasingly common as housing costs continue to rise.
Dan Darragh, a 36-year-old contractor in the finance sector, moved to London in 2022 expecting to share with one roommate to keep costs down. Four years later, he shares a six-bedroom house in the Queen’s Park area with five other people.
“I justify it because of the cost,” he said. Darragh pays £900 a month for his room in the northwest London property.
Older renters turning to house-sharing
According to SpareRoom, a UK platform for shared accommodation listings, adults aged 35 and over accounted for around one third of people searching for shared housing last year. A decade ago, that group represented only about one fifth of users.
“I know very few people that actually live alone,” Darragh said, noting that shared housing has increasingly become the norm in London.
Housing costs outpacing incomes
Britons already spend a larger share of their income on housing than residents of most other developed economies, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.
Despite the high costs, housing space per person in Britain remains lower than in many comparable countries. In some London rental properties, living rooms have been converted into additional bedrooms to maximise rental income. The average home in London sells for more than £550,000, significantly higher than in the rest of the United Kingdom. As a result, many residents are pushed into the rental market.
Average monthly rent in the city is around £2,200, while median annual earnings are approximately £46,000 before tax. Financial guidelines often suggest housing costs should not exceed 30 percent of income, a threshold many London residents exceed.
“The cost of housing has risen so fast that salaries simply cannot keep pace,” said Matt Hutchinson, communications director at SpareRoom, told the New York Times.
Economic effects of high housing costs
London produces nearly a quarter of the United Kingdom’s economic output, but analysts warn that high housing costs are affecting the city’s economic performance. Liam Sides, associate director at Oxford Economics, said expensive housing contributes to slower productivity growth by making it harder for workers to move closer to better-paid jobs.
High housing costs also reduce disposable income, limiting consumer spending and making London less attractive to international workers.
Renting instead of buying
For many professionals, buying property in London remains out of reach.
Vlad Drigin, a 30-year-old data analyst originally from Estonia, previously shared a home with three people. He has since moved to a flat in Canary Wharf with a single roommate, paying £3,100 per month in rent. Although he has considered buying property, he says the only affordable options would require moving much farther from central London.
“For now, renting seems like the better option,” he said.
More young adults staying with parents
The housing crisis is also delaying independence for many younger adults. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the share of Britons aged 25 to 29 living with their parents rose to 28 percent in 2024, up from 20 percent in 2006. While staying at home allows people to save money, many who eventually move out must look farther from central London for affordable housing.
Demand for shared accommodation has also increased in commuter towns around the capital. In Esher, about 24 kilometres from London, demand for rooms in shared housing rose by 32 percent in the final quarter of 2025 compared with a year earlier.
Housing supply remains the key issue
Economists say increasing housing supply remains the most effective long-term solution. “The classic answer is simply to build more homes,” said Bee Boileau, a research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The Mayor of London has set a target of building around 52,000 homes per year this decade. However, construction has consistently fallen short of that goal in recent years, leaving a deficit of tens of thousands of housing units.
Source: The New York Times