The latest data from room share platform, ideal flatmate, has looked at the changing face of the house share landscape and how more and more people above the age of 50 are turning to a house share as a viable way of living either as a live-in landlord or as a roommate.

Data from ideal flatmate across thousands of room share listings across the UK shows that the current average age of a room share tenant is 30 years old. House sharing has become a popular choice for many, particularly in major UK cities, where the cost of renting is often too high to tackle alone. So far in 2019, ideal flatmate has seen a 24% increase in the number of people opting to room share when compared to last year as a whole.

As you may expect, the 18-25 age category accounts for the largest percentage of all room share tenants, with 43% of those renting via ideal flatmate falling into this bracket. This starts to decline as the age increases: -

• 36% of room shares are aged between 25-35
• 13% between 35-45
• 6% between 45-55
• Just 2% are aged 55 or over

But is this starting to change? In 2019, ideal flatmate has seen a 74% increase in the number of over-50s using its platform when compared to 2018, either to find a room share applicant to fill their spare room or as an applicant themselves looking for a room to rent.