Room to rent? UK housesharing on the rise due to energy bills and living costs
When they finally moved in to their first home together last summer after four years of housesharing, Rosie Macdonald and her partner didn’t expect they’d be returning to living with another person so soon. But with rising living costs and concerns over energy prices, in April the couple organised for a housemate to move into their home in Leeds.
“We were struggling to keep our heads above water before the increase in inflation,” says Macdonald, 27, a senior digital PR strategist at Love Energy Savings, a business utilities and price comparison retailer. “While we’re good with our finances, I worked out what the increases might be with each cap – my job means I have my ear to the ground in that sense – and calculated how much extra we might need.”
The gap has been filled by her friend Katie moving in, with the housemate paying £320 a month including bills. However, this amount will increase soon. “I’ve just done my finances for the winter bills and we’ll have to up the rent by £100 a month,” says Macdonald.
The government has provided a £400 discount for energy bills over the next six months, but for many households bills will still rise from next weekend.
Macdonald isn’t the only one contemplating bringing in a lodger to help. A survey by rental website SpareRoom found that 90% of homeowners who’d previously had a lodger said they’d consider finding one again to help with rising costs.
“Numbers aren’t yet back to pre-Covid levels but there’s a definite increase recently and there are signs of a turnaround beginning,” a spokesperson for SpareRoom told the Observer. “We’re expecting to see a large uptick in autumn when the weather starts to get colder and energy price rises really start to bite. We know a lot of people are
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