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54% of parents ‘return rent paid by adult children to help them save a deposit’

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Cite

Shaw, V. (2026, September 25). 54% of parents ‘return rent paid by adult children to help them save a deposit’. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/money/nationwide-building-society-north-east-east-of-england-northern-ireland-wales-b1298466.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-25 · by Vicky Shaw

Quick Summary

A survey of over 2,000 UK parents reveals that 54% return some or all of the rent paid by their adult children to help them save for a home deposit. Additionally, about two-fifths (45%) have waived at least one month's rent in the past year, and half (50%) report tensions over financial arrangements with their adult children. Carlo Pileggi from Nationwide highlights that parents are using new tactics like returning rent payments to support their children's homeownership goals amid rising challenges in saving for a deposit.
Written by AI on 2026-09-26, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

According to a survey of over 2,000 UK parents with adult children who pay rent, 54% return some or all of the rent paid by their children to help them save for a deposit on a home. Additionally, 45% of these parents have waived rent payments at least once in the past year, and 52% let their children off rent payments between two to six times within the last 12 months. Ian Harris, president of NAEA Propertymark, emphasized the importance of clarity regarding financial arrangements to avoid misunderstandings and tensions. Carlo Pileggi from Nationwide noted that behind many first-time buyer success stories are parents quietly helping, using rent payments as a means to support their children's homeownership ambitions.

Written for “Parents Returning Rent Payments” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Parents Returning Rent Payments
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
22%
4 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-26 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8264 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Vicky Shaw
65 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Vicky Shaw
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 65 articles by Vicky Shaw →

Topics

Britain Censuswide Connells Group NAEA Nationwide

Subjects

Aneisha Beveridge PERSON · 1× Britain GPE · 1× Carlo Pileggi PERSON · 1× Censuswide ORG · 1× Connells Group ORG · 1× Ian Harris PERSON · 1× Katie Horne PERSON · 1× NAEA ORG · 1× National Association of Estate Agents ORG · 1× Nationwide ORG · 1×

Narrative

Ian Harris, president of NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) Propertymark said: “Where an adult child is paying rent, even informal family arrangements can become complicated. “Being clear about rent, bills, responsibilities and what happens when circumstances change can help avoid misunderstandings and financial tensions.”
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-26
🔮 “Even when they’re contributing towards household costs, they’re often able to save far more than they would if they were renting independently.

Claims (18 extracted, 4 hedged)

More than half of parents who charge their adult children rent are putting some or all of the money towards helping their child save to buy their own home, a survey indicates. asserted
survey → charge → home
According to the survey of more than 2,000 UK parents with adult children living at home and paying rent, 54% return some or all of the rent paid by their children to support their homeownership ambitions, turning rent into savings for a deposit. uncertain
% → accord → deposit
Many parents are also providing additional flexibility to their children. asserted
parents → provide → children
More than two-fifths (45%) of parents said they have waived rent payments for their child once in the past year, while more than half (52%) said they have let children off rent payments between two and six times in the past 12 months. asserted
they → say → months
Carlo Pileggi, Nationwide’s head of mortgage products, said: “Behind many first-time buyer success stories are parents quietly helping along the way and it appears they are using new tactics to support their children. asserted
they → say → children
“As saving for a home remains as challenging as ever, our research shows many of Britain’s parents are using rent payments as a way to help their children build a deposit, turning the family home and time spent living at home into a stepping stone towards homeownership. asserted
children → save → homeownership
“However, the findings also serve as a reminder that many aspiring first-time buyers do not have access to family support and continue to face significant challenges in saving for a deposit. asserted
buyers → serve → deposit
” Arrangements are not always straightforward, with half (50%) of parents saying financial arrangements with their adult child have led to tension or disagreements, according to the survey carried out by Censuswide in July and August among more than 2,000 parents across the UK with adult children living at home who pay rent. uncertain
who → say → rent
Aneisha Beveridge, research director at Connells Group, said: “For many young adults, living at home has become one of the few effective ways to build up a deposit. asserted
living → say → deposit
“Even when they’re contributing towards household costs, they’re often able to save far more than they would if they were renting independently. asserted
they → contribute → costs
“Rising rents and broader cost-of-living pressures mean that putting aside enough money for a deposit has become increasingly challenging. asserted
putting → rise → deposit
Read More “Rent now absorbs a large share of many young adults’ incomes, leaving little room to build meaningful savings. asserted
Rent → read → savings
“As a result, more parents are finding ways to support their children, whether that’s charging a modest rent and returning it later as a lump sum, or simply providing a more affordable place to live while they save. asserted
they → find → place
“While not everyone has access to this kind of family support, staying at home for longer can put would-be first-time buyers in a much stronger financial position in the long term. asserted
staying → have → term
“For many, it’s become less of a lifestyle choice and more of a practical stepping stone onto the housing ladder.” asserted
it → become → ladder
Ian Harris, president of NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) Propertymark said: “Where an adult child is paying rent, even informal family arrangements can become complicated. “Being clear about rent, bills, responsibilities and what happens when circumstances change can help avoid misunderstandings and financial tensions.” asserted
circumstances → say → misunderstandings
Katie Horne, banks relationship manager at Flagstone, said: “High-interest savings accounts increase the value of that rental income and help your child to appreciate the power of compounding interest, even over what might be a relatively short period of time.” uncertain
what → say → time
Here are the average amounts of rent paid by adult children to parents per month, according to the survey for Nationwide Building Society: London, £414.97 East of England, £386.34 South East, £268.10 Scotland, £260.56 South West, £256.19 West Midlands, £239.89 North West, £230.25 East Midlands, £211.40 Yorkshire and the Humber, £187.08 uncertain
Midlands → pay → England
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