Multigenerational homes are homes which provide space for multiple adult generations to live, in separate accommodation, under one roof. This could be a home with elderly parents living with their children and possibly their grandchildren, or a home with parents and their adult children living with them.

In the UK a third of households are multi-generational, mainly due to adult children living with parents, while older relatives account for around 15% of multi-generational living. These numbers are rising, driven mainly by the current shortage of housing and the rising property prices. These rises are not only seen in the UK, Canada has seen a 40% rise in multigenerational households, and about 20% of American households have more than one generation living under one roof.

Multigenerational homes, conjure up pictures of grannie flat extensions, loft conversions and other modifications to existing properties, but architects are now designing new build properties, specifically for multigenerational living. One of the problems, however, is that many of the houses being built by developers nowadays are either open plan or have small rooms and are built on small plots of ground. This is not conducive to providing shared space or to building extensions to house an extended family. Traditional city dwellings, many of them terraced, tend to be more compact than their rural counterparts, but the recent pandemic has brought about a surge in homeworking, which has resulted in more families looking to move out of cities in search of properties with more space to expand. The unexpected result of this trend is that families could find that they now have space to house a second generation. Building a property to facilitate this merging of the generations is not difficult, if you have the space.

Living a multigenerational lifestyle has various drivers and has, to a certain degree, been encouraged by the Covid pandemic, with children returning home from university. Property price rises are squeezing the finances of first time buyers and making it even more difficult for them to get on to the housing ladder and a distinct lack of affordable housing has only made the situation worse. The lack of social housing, together with the rising cost of rented property means that many young couples are now paying more in rent than they would pay in a mortgage for an equivalent property and are struggling to save for the deposit required to get them a mortgage. On that basis, a suitable extension built on to their parent’s existing property may appear to be a more financially viable proposition. It is the changes to lifestyles that can be the challenge in forming extended family living.

Before deciding on any alterations to the structure of the property, it is important to decide on the changes to the structure of the family dynamics. Will it be an adult child or adult children moving in with parents, or are older parents moving in with children and grandchildren? How much social integration will there be? Do the different generations want to retain their own dedicated space, with a separate kitchen integrated into their living space, giving them independent living.

Living as an extended family has its advantages and disadvantages and planning out the dynamics and functionality of the new living arrangement is crucial to making the arrangement work – or not. Firstly, decide on what both parties want to achieve and agree on why are you doing this? Having decided and agreed on this, the next task is to work on the detail of how much integration or contact there will be on a day to day basis. It is important that all parties agree on this as it is the basis for everything that comes after.

Some families will want almost complete integration, with everyone sharing the household chores and bills. They will want to cook and eat together, watch television together and treat their own accommodation as somewhere to retreat to for a bit of space when they feel the need. Others will want to live as separate entities, with their own entrance and totally separate living space with lounge, dining and kitchen areas, bathroom and sleeping accommodation. There is also the question of household bills such as gas, electricity, council tax etc. Does it make sense to apportion these rather than install separate meters and give the extension its own identity for council tax?

These are the main items which will determine the multigenerational lifestyle of the newly extended family but there are other benefits to an arrangement such as this, some of them additional financial benefits, other than just bill sharing. Childcare costs can be avoided or at least cut, school runs can be shared, care home costs can be reduced and loneliness for any family member who may be liable to encounter it, can be avoided and support would be easily available on any issues where a family member might benefit from it.

There are of course downsides to a multigenerational lifestyle. Sharing a living space also means sharing the lifestyles of the individuals involved. Younger members of the family may want to have friends round, which may mean loud music or general increased noise levels. Older members may be very set in their ways and find it difficult to adapt to the habits and lifestyles of others. There is an old adage which says that two women in the same kitchen never works. What happens if a son’s parents move in, the father dies and the mother-in-law does not gel well with the daughter? Grandparents have a reputation for being more liberal with young grandchildren than their parents are, which could cause tensions.

As with all other lifestyle decisions, it is wise to consult all parties involved and weigh up the pros and cons, the benefits versus the downsides and decide how to move forward. There is no doubt that multigenerational homes could help to ease the problems that a shortage of housing present. Two households into one house will free up the second property to go on the market for sale, but it is the lifestyle changes which the move to a multigenerational home brings that could either be an enriching experience for the extended family or be the start of a nightmare.

If you are considering extending or altering your home, you may find some of these services useful: