Rising Rents Are Forcing Students to Live at Home, Undermining Their Development into Independent Adults
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rohan-sathyamoorthy. "More and more undergrads are living at home. That’s a crying shame – here’s why | Rohan Sathyamoorthy | The Guardian." August 31, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that because student housing has become so expensive and poor quality, many students—especially poorer ones—are being forced to live at home instead of moving away for university. This is a real problem because living at home denies students the independence, social experiences, and life skills that are supposed to come with the university experience, and the solution should be housing market reform like rent controls rather than just accepting this as the new normal.
Conclusion
The growing trend of undergraduates living at home while studying, driven by unaffordable student housing, is a harmful development that deprives young people of essential adult life experiences and should be addressed through housing market reform rather than accepted as normal.
Premises
- Student rental costs have risen dramatically, exceeding £10,000 a year even outside London, making independent living unaffordable for many students
- Ucas data shows a marked and disproportionate rise in students from poorer backgrounds planning to live at home, indicating this is a matter of financial necessity rather than choice
- Living at home during university causes personal costs including reduced mental health, family conflict, and lack of personal space
- Students who live at home miss out on life skills learned through independent living and the social/cultural experiences central to university life
- Anecdotal evidence shows students living at home experiencing isolation and, in some cases, dropping out entirely
- Student housing quality has deteriorated (84% report significant issues, nearly half with mould) despite high costs, due to deregulation and landlord profiteering since the 1980s
- The current system particularly harms students from difficult family situations who cannot afford to gain healthy distance from parents
Assumptions
- Living away from home during university is a necessary or highly important part of developing into a well-adjusted adult
- The life skills and social experiences gained from independent living cannot be adequately replaced or developed through other means
- The primary cause of the trend is housing costs rather than other factors (e.g., changing student preferences, family closeness values, cultural shifts)
- University's value is substantially tied to the residential/social experience rather than purely academic or credential value
- Market reforms like rent controls and purpose-built affordable housing would effectively solve the affordability crisis without unintended negative consequences
- The author's personal social circle and anecdotal observations are representative of the broader student population