A new spotlight has been thrown on how many parents help their grown up children buy their first home. 

More than half of parents who charge rent are using the money to help them buy a first home says the Nationwide.

The surveyed parents charge their adult children living at home an average of £303 per month in rent – equivalent to more than £3,600 a year.

However, the amount of rent paid varies considerably across the country, with parents in Greater London charging an average of £415 a month (£4,980 a year), compared with just £187 a month (£2,244 a year) in Yorkshire and The Humber and £211 in the East Midlands (£2,532 a year).

According to the poll 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, effectively turning rent into a savings mechanism for a deposit. 

The research also found that a third (34%) of adult children remain at home specifically to build savings for a future house purchase.

Many parents are also providing additional flexibility to their children. 

More than two in five (45%) parents have waived rent payments for their child once in the past year, while more than half (52%) say they’ve let children off rent payments between two and six times in the last year.

While the journey to homeownership is taking longer for many aspiring first-time buyers, the family home is increasingly becoming an important stepping stone towards that goal. 

More than eight in ten (82%) parents say rising housing costs are making it more likely their adult children will continue living under the family roof for longer, while four in ten (40%) say their adult child remains at home because they cannot yet afford to move out.

The research suggests the traditional parent-child relationship is evolving as adult children spend longer living at home, with nearly half (45%) of parents saying they feel like a landlord to their own child.

More than six in 10 parents (61%) have increased the rent they charge their adult child. 

One in five (21%) parents admit to already having a formal arrangement in place, with a further 14% saying they would consider it. 

Half of parents (50%) say financial arrangements with their adult child have caused tension or disagreements, underlining the challenges many families face as children remain at home for longer.

Average amount of rent paid by children to parents each month