A mum says her four grown up children still rely on the bank of mum and dad - and rising rent and mortgages make it "impossible" for them to be fully independent. Dennie Smith, 61, earns £30,000 a year as a hair salon owner and says a few hundred pounds each month goes towards helping her adult kids with their rent or mortgage payments.
She supports them with money for petrol and days out too - as well as dropping off food parcels when funds get tight. She worries about her eldest, Laurel Smith, 34, physical assistant, might have to sell her London flat if she can’t afford the mortgage repayments.
Dennie’s second eldest, Ellis Smith, 32, a kitchen designer, can afford a £900-a-month one-bed even with her daughter coming by often. Dennie, a hair salon owner, from Croydon, south London, said: “I’m helping my elder two out because they’re on their own.
"My eldest is part-renting and part-buying, but she keeps mentioning the mortgage rate changes and it worries me. Literally, if her mortgage is £75 more, she can’t afford it.
“I’m just trying to make their life easier by stocking up on essentials and helping out as much as I can. I met my husband relatively early and we luckily had two wages in the household which made it possible for us to buy a house.
“If you’re single, that’s when you struggle with London rent and living.”
Her other three children are renting and have all got good jobs - with two of them having a master's degree. She also helps them out by regularly bringing them food parcels when she "isn’t in the position to help them financially.”
Her youngest is house-sharing in London with a good wage but is struggling to find a one-bed flat within budget. Her daughter, Brooke Smith, 31, a teacher - who lives with her partner and daughter in a dual-income household - is renting unable to afford the interest rates on a mortgage.
However, Dennie says they can’t pay a penny more if there is ever a rent increase - because the rising cost-of-living impacting her clients means her own business is struggling too. Dennie, who owns Vintage 62 salon, said her clients they show up at the salon less and choose cheaper services to help cut costs.
Dennie - who has been in the industry for 40 years - said: "Now, instead of a cut and blow dry, some clients go only for a wet cut which is cheaper. I’ve had a client not be able to come in because of ULEZ, she didn’t want to pay that money to drive up to the salon.”
And she is not alone in her position - as she says her older clients who frequent the salon also mention still helping out their adult children, just like she does. Dennie has been forced to shut her own salon doors two days a week.
After Covid she made the decision to close on a Monday, and last month she had to close on Tuesdays too to reduce overhead costs on quieter days. She has been leasing the salon, so her rent won't go up until the next rent review in 2025, but Dennie said every other cost has risen.
She said the cost of stock, which used to be £700 per month, has risen now to as high as £1,200 some months. Their music licence has shot up from £37 to £57 a month and their energy bills have risen by at least £100 per month, she claims.
She is now running a dating app called Geek Meet Club in the hope that an income from that can supplement tough months in the salon. “This is heart-breaking because my children work so hard, they've never claimed a benefit in their life," she said.
"They've all worked since they left school, but they still have to rent.”
