Almost 3.8m young adults aged 20 to 34 are living with their parents, the highest figure since records began in 1996.
This is according to an analysis by conveyancing solicitors Bird & Co.
The firm’s research points to the cost of a deposit, now equivalent to around two years of rent across much of the country, as a likely key barrier to moving out.
The study draws on official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the HM Land Registry.
The shift over the past three decades is pronounced.
Back in 1996, approximately 2.7m 20 to 34 year olds lived with their parents, roughly one in five.
That figure has since risen by more than 40%, an additional million people, and now stands at close to three in ten.
The survey authors claim the trend cannot be explained by population growth alone.
The number of 20 to 34 year olds in the UK has increased by less than 4% since 1996, while the number remaining in the family home has grown more than ten times as quickly.
Had young adults continued to leave home at the rate seen in the 1990s, approximately one million fewer would still be living with their parents today.
The data also reveals a clear gender divide.
Among men aged 20 to 34, 35% remain in the parental home, compared with 22% of women in the same age bracket, leaving young men over 50% more likely than their female peers to be living with their parents.
To identify one potential reason for the figures, Bird & Co measured the cost of a deposit against the cost of renting across 316 local authorities in England and Wales.
The firm says that in some major cities, a 10% deposit is equivalent to between 18 and 24 months of rent.
Across all areas, the typical figure rises to around 28 months, more than two years of rent.
Although the least affordable areas are all in London, where a deposit can approach three years of rent, the same barrier is felt in towns and cities throughout England and Wales.
“For those already paying rent, accumulating a sum of this scale represents a substantial and sustained financial challenge” says the conveyancer.
