Housing Benefit (2) – Parliamentary Written Answer

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of single people aged 25 to 34 who are not in receipt of housing benefit to live in shared accommodation.
Steve Webb: It is estimated that 41% of non-student, single people, aged 25 to 34, who are renting in the private sector, have no children and have not declared housing benefit receipt are living in shared accommodation.
Notes: Shared accommodation refers to households where there is no clear head, for example unrelated adults sharing a house or flat on an equal basis. This analysis therefore excludes other forms of sharing, for example lodging in an owner-occupied house, or adult children living with their parents.