Rising living costs may mean more parents with adult children living with them start charging them for “bed and board”, a survey has found.
Just over half (52%) of parents with children aged 18 to 30 living at home do not charge them rent, according to TopCashback.
But, as living costs rise, nearly a third (32%) of parents who do not currently charge for bed and lodging believe they may need to join the 48% of parents who do.
Seven in 10 (71%) of those who charge their adult children do not link these payments to specific bills.
But some do ask their adult children to contribute specifically to bills, such as electricity, gas or broadband.
Parents who are still financially helping their adult children out, mainly through necessity, are facing a double burden— Adam Bullock, TopCashback
Adam Bullock, UK director of TopCashback, said: “It’s already a challenging time for people with the cost-of-living crisis and huge energy bills.”
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures released on Wednesday showed Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation accelerated to 10.4% in February, from 10.1% in January.
The surprise jump in inflation came after food and non-alcoholic drinks prices rose by 18% year-on-year last month.
Among those with adult children who have moved out, two-fifths (40%) said they support them financially, TopCashback found.
Those with younger children aged 18 to 19 are particularly likely to provide financial support, the survey indicated, but a third (33%) of parents with a child aged 25 to 30 years old still help out.
Over half (52%) of those who live with or support their adult children said they have had to make significant sacrifices in order to do so, such as cutting down on non-essential spending or dipping into savings.
A third (34%) of parents said that if costs continue to rise, they will have to ask for more in rent or lower the amount of support for their child.
Thirty-four per cent of parents who provide financial support believe it is impossible for their children to survive without their support.
Mr Bullock added: “The cost-of-living crisis is hitting all of us hard at the moment.
“But parents who are still financially helping their adult children out, mainly through necessity, are facing a double burden as their child’s cost of living rises too.”
The TopCashback research was conducted by Opinium Research among 2,000 parents with children aged 18 to 30 in March 2023.
