The number of over 65s searching for rooms in flat and house shares has risen by 970% since 2014, according to new data from flatshare site SpareRoom.
Though still dominated by those in their 20s and 30s, older age groups have been rapidly growing in the room rental market.
This includes those aged over 55, with the number of room searches from this demographic increasing by 189% over the past decade.
SpareRoom partly attributes this trend to the cost-of-living crisis, with those in later life being particularly hit hard.
While analysed data goes as far back as 2014, the research found there had been a particularly recent surge in this trend.
Over the past two years, the number of over 65s renting out spare rooms in their homes had risen by 73%.
18-24 year olds made up 32% of the room rental market in 2014, but this has since fallen to 27%.
Commenting on these findings, Spareroom director Matt Hutchinson highlighted the need for better support across the rental sector.
“We have to make commonsense changes to the PRS now to make renting at any age – and for life – an affordable and viable option in the UK.
“It’s really encouraging to see that more homeowners are renting rooms to lodgers.
“Making better use of existing housing stock and offering more generous tax incentives under the Rent a Room scheme is crucial to boosting rental supply and increasing affordability across the rental sector.
“So, too, is incentivising landlords to stay in the rental market, provided they are renting to tenants and not offering short-term holiday lets.”
