Over half of current home owners with adult children have or expect to help their children financially to buy a property – and many feel guilty if they can’t. 

The latest research by HomeOwners Alliance shows that parents play a pivotal role in helping their children get a foot on the housing ladder and worry about their children who do not currently own their home being able to buy. 

Among this group, 59% worry about their children’s chances of owning in the future. Half of parents with adult children who do not yet own a home wish they could do more to support their children financially to buy and a quarter feel a real sense of guilt about the level of support they are able to provide.

Amongst home owning parents with adult children who do not own their home, 59% worry about their children’s chances of owning in the future; 50% wish they could provide more financial support than they can; and 25% feel guilty about not being able to provide more support.

Among those who expect to support their children, 28% say this will mean dipping into savings or investments; leaving 13% concerned they won’t have enough money for the long term and 10% worried they might not have enough money should they need long term care.  

Some 9% of parents lending support say they may need to work longer and delay retirement and a similar proportion (9%) say they may need to downsize their home. 

Homeowners Alliance chief executive Paula Higgins says: “While we all know that the Bank of Mum and Dad is supporting many people’s first steps onto the housing ladder, what our survey shows is the emotional and financial strain it puts on families in today’s Britain. Parents with adult children understand the importance of homeownership but are overwhelmingly worried, want to help more and feel guilty they can’t. 

“Beyond the emotional burden, there is a worrying picture emerging of the impact this is having on older parents’ life. Our survey found that many people were worried that helping may leave them financially short. And 1 in 10 may even delay their retirement and work longer into old age in order to help their child buy a house. 

“The system is just too pressurised. At one end of a lifetime we have young people giving up on the dream of home ownership unless they’re lucky enough to have access to the bank of Mum and Dad; while in later life, we see parents using savings and delaying their retirement to help them. We are calling on the government to reinstate local housing targets as a matter of urgency.”