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Respondents who Share Rented Accommodation with Unrelated Housemates

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Respondents who do not live with a partner and who share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates were asked questions about their experiences of life in a house share.

Just over three quarters (76%) feel they will never be in a position to own their own place.

Although seven in ten (71%) said they enjoy the company of others in the shared accommodation, more than half (51%) feel they don’t have enough privacy.

More than four in ten (44%) reported feeling lonely all or most of the time. This is higher than both the rate reported by lone parents (41%) and the rate reported by those living alone (17%). Just over half (52%) of those living in a house share have a housemate that they can count on if they have a serious personal problem. See Tables 2.1, 3.1,4.1 and Figure 4.1

X-axis labelHouse sharing
Believe that will they will never own their own home76
Enjoys the company of others in the dwelling71
Housemate to count on if they have a serious personal problem52
Does not have enough privacy51
Feels lonely all or most of the time44
Table 4.1 Experiences of respondents that live with unrelated housemates in rented accommodation by demographic and other characteristics, May-June 2021

Respondents who share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates –  Analysis by sex

Male respondents were more likely to report that they enjoy the company of others in the shared accommodation (77%) compared with female respondents (65%). Female respondents were more likely to say they don’t have enough privacy (57% compared with 44% of male respondents). Female respondents are more likely to have someone in the shared accommodation they can count on if they have a serious personal problem (54% compared to 51%) and more likely to believe they will never be in a position to own their own home (79% compared with 73% of male respondents). See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.2.

X-axis labelMaleFemale
Believe that will they will never own their own home7379
Enjoys the company of others in the dwelling7765
Housemate to count on if they have a serious personal problem5154
Does not have enough privacy4457
Feels lonely all or most of the time4346

Respondents who share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates - Analysis by labour market activity

Overall 76% of respondents who share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates believe they will never own their own home. Analysis by labour market activity shows the rate for those in full-time employment is 72% and for those not in full-time employment the rate is 86%. The rate for feeling lonely all or most of the time is significantly lower for those in full-time employment (36% compared with 63% for those not in full-time employment). Those in full-time employment are more likely to have someone in the shared accommodation they can count on if they have a serious personal problem and are more likely to enjoy the company of others in the household. See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.3

X-axis labelNot in full-time employmentFull-time employment
Believe that will they will never own their own home8672
Enjoys the company of others in the dwelling6574
Housemate to count on if they have a serious personal problem4555
Feels lonely all or most of the time6336

Respondents who share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates –  Analysis by sex composition of the shared accommodation

As already stated, male respondents were more likely to report that they enjoy the company of others in the shared accommodation (77%) compared with female respondents (65%). For male respondents who live in an all-male accommodation, 86% said they enjoy the company of their housemates. For male respondents who live in a mixed sex accommodation this rate drops to 72%. Of female respondents living in an all-female accommodation, 63% said they enjoy the company of their housemates. This rate increases to 68% for females in mixed sex accommodation.

Both female and male respondents are more likely to have a housemate they can count on if they have a serious personal problem if they live in a same sex accommodation. Six in ten (60%) female respondents in all-female accommodation have a housemate they can count on. This rate drops to just under five in ten (49%) for females in a mixed sex accommodation. More than half (53%) of males in all-male accommodation have a housemate they can count on. This rate drops to 49% for males in mixed sex accommodation.

Likewise, female and male respondents in mixed sex accommodation are more likely to say they feel lonely all or most of the time when compared with females and males in same sex accommodation. Almost four in ten (38%) female respondents and three in ten (31%) males sharing accommodation with housemates of the same sex report feeling lonely all or most of the time. This rate increases to more than half of female (53%) and male (51%) respondents in mixed sex accommodation. See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.4

X-axis labelAll femaleFemale in mixed sex house shareAll maleMale in mixed sex house share
Feels lonely all or most of the time38533151
Housemate to count on if they have a serious personal problem60495349
Enjoys the company of others in the dwelling63688672

Respondents who share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates -Disagreements

Respondents in shared rented accommodation were asked if they have disagreements with their housemates. For example, respondents were asked how often they have disagreements about sharing household chores. The response options to these ‘Disagreement’ questions were (1) Often (2) Sometimes (3) Hardly ever and (4) Never.

Overall almost one in two (49%) respondents said they Sometimes or Often have disagreements with their housemates about sharing household chores. One in three (34%) Sometimes or Often disagree about using shared household facilities e.g. bathroom, cooking area, TV. More than four in ten (42%) Sometimes or Often disagree about excess noise made by housemates and 45% Sometimes or Often disagree about having people over to visit. Just under one in four (24%) Sometimes or Often disagree about household expenses. See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.5

X-axis labelSometimes/often
Disagree about chores49
Disagree about household expenses24
Disagree about using shared household facilities34
Disagree about noise made by housemates42
Disagree about having people over45
Table 4.2 Respondents living with unrelated housemates in rented accommodation - Disagreements by sex composition of house share, May-June 2021

Respondents who share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates -Disagreements by sex composition of household

Analysis by sex composition shows that female respondents in mixed sex accommodation are most likely to Sometimes or Often disagree with housemates about sharing household chores. Almost six in ten (59%) of these respondents said they Sometimes or Often disagree about the sharing of household chores, compared with 48% of female respondents in all-female accommodation, 45% of males in all-male accommodation and 44% of males in mixed sex accommodation.

More than one in three (36%) female respondents in all-female accommodation said they Sometimes or Often disagree with housemates about using shared household facilities. This rate increases to 44% for females in mixed sex accommodation. Less than two in ten (18%) male respondents in all-male households Sometimes or Often disagree about using shared facilities. This rate doubles (36%) for male respondents in mixed sex accommodation. See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.6

X-axis labelAll femaleFemale in mixed sex house shareAll maleMale in mixed sex house share
Disagree about chores48594544
Disagree about household expenses3124.572718
Disagree about using shared household facilities36441836
Disagree about noise made by housemates49443936
Disagree about having people over50463150

More than one in three (35%) male respondents in all-male accommodation said they Never disagree with their housemates about sharing household chores. The comparable rate for females in all-female accommodation is 23%.  More than half (52%) of males and four in ten (39%) females in same sex shared accommodation said they Never disagree about household expenses. Almost half (48%) of males and four in ten (38%) females in same sex shared accommodation said they Never disagree about using shared household facilities e.g. bathroom, cooking area and TV. Male respondents in all-male accommodation were also more likely to say that they Never disagree about excess noise made by housemates (43% compared with 34% of females in all-female accommodation) and to Never disagree about having people over to visit (36% compared with 26% of females in all-female accommodation).  See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.7

X-axis labelAll femaleFemale in mixed sex house shareAll maleMale in mixed sex house share
Never disagree about chores23203528
Never disagree about household expenses39535255
Never disagree about using shared household facilities38294842
Never disagree about noise made by housemates34294325
Never disagree about having people over26303633

Go to next chapter >>>  Adult Respondents Living with Parents