Crowded nest? How parents and their adult kids can live together in peace

With record numbers of adult children living at home with their parents, how can this arrangement work for everyone? Set ground rules from the off, respect each other’s privacy, and don’t revert to type, say the experts

Whether they are fresh out of university and looking for a job, have recently been made redundant, are saving to buy a home or newly divorced, it’s becoming increasingly common for adult children to live at home with their parents. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 35% of men and 22% of women aged between 20 and 34 were living with their parents in 2025.

I speak from experience: my younger sister lived at home with my mother for two years while she did her PhD, and I moved home for almost three years after becoming a single mother postpartum. In both of our situations, it would have been good to have some practical advice to make it work, with tensions sometimes running high and arguments inevitable.