Intergenerational Living Growing in Popularity as Student Housing Crisis Continues
As the student housing crisis continues, and traditional aged care faces increased scrutiny due to COVID-19, intergenerational living arrangements are becoming increasingly popular.
Two primary models are emerging to address these challenges.
The first is a home-sharing setup. This sees students seeking affordable housing paired with seniors in need of companionship.
The second model sees university students residing on-site in aged care facilities, often in exchange for volunteering hours at reduced rents.
Home Sharing Models
In Europe, intergenerational home-sharing is well-established with organizations like ensemble2générations in France and 1toit2ages in Belgium. Now, universities in Canada are teaming up with home-sharing platforms to tackle their own affordable student housing shortage.
Platforms such as SpacesShared and Canada HomeShare match students with seniors, offering affordable housing in exchange for household assistance.
Saving for students can be substantial, with the company claiming that students who participate can save an entire year’s tuition in eight months. Demand continues to grow and, as a result, Canada HomeShare plan on expanding into twelve new locations.
In the United States, UC Berkeley is currently running their own pilot program with the Front Porch Home Match program, connecting graduate students with retired faculty for below-market rent arrangements.
Aged Care Models
Intergenerational living within aged care settings is also on the rise, albeit accommodating fewer students.
Inspired by successful initiatives like Humanitas in the Netherlands, Canada's first intergenerational living pilot is set to launch in Calgary, Alberta. Similarly, Judson Manor in Cleveland, Ohio, has welcomed students since 2010, integrating them into an "artist-in-residence" framework.
In the UK, Melfield Gardens in London Borough of Lewisham is preparing to offer structured intergenerational living, pairing postgraduate students with older residents in exchange for reduced rent.
Denmark's House of Generations in Aarhus takes a comprehensive approach, integrating various age groups within a single complex.
“Scattered between the apartments for the elderly are 40 family homes, 40 youth flats and 24 apartments for residents with a disability. Each corridor has a demographic mix. Some flats have shared kitchen and bathroom facilities, and others are self-contained. Older residents babysit for young families and students help solve the pensioners’ technology problems.”
The Times reports: “The mix of ages living at the property means it can tap into multiple local authority budgets. “The whole House has four owners. There are three different departments in the municipality, for schoolchildren, the elderly and disabled people. Then we have a private housing association involved, too.”
If you are interested in letting your property to students, accommodationforstudents.com is the no.1 student accommodation service in the UK.
