Multigenerational living : The concept in which at least two adult generations are living together.
Recent estimates show that there are now roughly 1.8 million multigenerational households in the UK and its unsurprising with its benefits such as combating loneliness, reducing the cost of care and effectively childcare under the same roof. Furthermore, Covid 19 heightened our sense of family and the need to be near our loved ones.
A recent study
A recent study from Legal & General has shown more than half believed this structure of life would become more common in the years ahead, and a third thought these living arrangements would surpass the basic family household in the future.
It was intriguing to see the results taken from this research on what people perceived the benefits of multigenerational living would be against the reality.
The Advantages Shown
The Pros within this survey included help with childcare, contribution to the bills, shared financial responsibility, help with household tasks plus positives that would assist with the family dynamic such as, better family communication, more trust in the family and a closer family bond.
| Perception (Respondents not from multigenerational family homes) | Reality (Respondents from multigenerational homes) | |
| Help with Childcare | 77% | 49% |
| Contribution to bills | 71% | 55% |
| Help with household tasks | 66% | 58% |
| Closer family bond | 64% | 68% |
| Shared financial responsibility | 63% | 39% |
| Intergenerational Knowledge | 55% | 49% |
| Better Family Communication | 52% | 49% |
| More trust in the family | 41% | 43% |
The survey consisted of 1,019 UK residents and from this, those who had lived in a multigenerational home, roughly 8 in 10 described the experience as positive overall. However as shown from the table above, while multigenerational living might be a positive experience overall, those of us from the outside seem to overestimate the pros.
Taking this into consideration, of course naturally we have immediate thoughts regarding the cons of multigenerational living. Will I have my own space? Will boundaries be crossed? Using the same format of perception vs reality, these were actually less common then imagined.
The Cons
| Perception | Reality | |
| Lack of personal time | 72% | 54% |
| Limited Physical Privacy | 71% | 44% |
| Lack of boundaries | 67% | 39% |
| Less emotional privacy | 64% | 47% |
In conclusion, inevitable downfalls can occur whilst adapting to the multigenerational life, however we are shown that we think the worst… and that’s not always the case.
Households are continually evolving and there is no one size fits all in the approach to homes today.
A granny annexe is a relatively easy solution to allow for multi-generational living and we have seen a rise in this type of development over the last few years. It allows for families to live together but to also maintain some independence and space which is very much needed.
If you are looking to build a Granny Annexe to become a multigenerational family, please get in contact with NAPC who can ensure that the standards are met.
