Lockdown with flatmates: not just for the young – Eastlondonlines

Silver Sharers is a sharing scheme with a heart that matches homeowners over-50 in London with flatmates, providing long-term and affordable accommodation. “What makes it different from existing flat sharing sites is that compatibility is at the heart of what we do.” – Suzanne Noble Having a flatmat…

Silver Sharers - Atlas of the Future

A 58-year-old Londoner has launched a flat-sharing service aimed at older people who need to split their rent in the capital.

Londoner launches ‘silver’ flat sharing scheme for older people

Services assists prospective tenants in their search for landlords of a similar age

Silver Sharers: the site helping older renters meet their match

I'm a serial entrepreneur currently working on a solution to help homeowners over 50 'age in place' and reduce social isolation by matching them with compatible long-term lodgers called nestful.

On the side, I run a social enterprise called Advantages of Age helping over 50s to access a pro-ageing community of like-minded people and host events on behalf of the Soho House Group. 

Currently working on Startup School for Seniors. Funded by the London Community Response, this 8-week course has been designed for anyone unemployed and over 50 who wants to run a business but doesn’t know where to start.

I have a vast and very broad network of contacts and am always happy to make mutually beneficial introductions.


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nestful, the London-based startup that supports those seeking affordable accommodation to co-live with those aged 50+ with rooms to spare has won the first Impact Shakers Award for 'Housing' in Europe. "The impact Shakers" startup awards celebrate that which is good and helps to build a better world. They use the doughnut economic model as a framework for the awards and focus on the 12 domains in the social foundation as 12 awards. &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/145/images/1255a236321ae73b447ea24e973aa3f9dd91cfe699e58d449446872e65874f61e7f42739c66396f3eaa640e5e1361098e579af80fa8ebb34a2d4224ca58a79f4.png"></figure> What is the Doughnut? A compass for human prosperity in the 21st century. It consists of two concentric rings. A social foundation – to ensure that no one is left falling short on life’s essentials, and an ecological ceiling – to ensure that humanity does not collectively overshoot planetary boundaries. Between these two boundaries lies a doughnut-shaped space that is both ecologically safe and socially just – a space in which humanity can thrive. Impact Shaker's goal is to start tracking companies within the doughnut and share insights<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/145/images/8d80e24e98b689714ec6d4fe66bb4cc8f6a986e74e2136ee729510d1c1c9fb2a545d312de299f5f7b608e802b98e91b9bb1c52b965fd5d7b2a19295cc5f9dfd6.webp"></figure><blockquote>Suzanne Noble, Co-founder of nestful says, "We're over the moon to win! Our first (of hopefully many) awards. Winning this is a testament to what my colleague Steve and I have been working on to support more people into affordable accommodation while helping older people remain in their homes and the communities they know and love. We're grateful to Impact Shakers and all those who voted for us for recognising the value to society of services such as nestful.</blockquote>

UK startup nestful wins  first edition of the Impact Shakers Awards in Europe.

There are currently over 6m empty bedrooms in the homes of those aged 60+ in the UK. Homeowners aged 60+ account for 55% of all UK homeowners. For most of them, the central part of their wealth is in their homes, but they can also have cash flow problems. Recently France passed a new law removing the income tax from those over 60 renting out rooms to those under 30 for a 180 day or more extended period. And we want to do the same. And go one step further by enabling those over 60 to rent out a room to a person of any age for the long-term. The number of people aged 65, as a percentage of the population, will increase by more than 40% within 20 years, and the number of households where the oldest person is 85 and above is rising faster than any other age group. (The State of Ageing 2019, Centre for Ageing Better). The current rent-a-room scheme provides homeowners with £7,500 tax-free income that came into force in 2015. This is not a sufficient incentive for many to rent out their spare bedroom, where the average rent for a bedroom in London zones 2-3 averages £750-800/per month. It is especially true for single older women, who struggle with keeping the roof over their heads due to inadequate pensions (roughly £100k less than a man of a similar age). Removing the income tax from long term room rental would provide those age 60+ with an average of £9k tax-free income or an additional £1,500-£2,000 a year. It will remove the thousands of short-term rentals currently being hosted on Airbnb and others and provide more rooms over a longer-term. Many older people rely on income from renting a room to enable them to 'age in place,' remaining in the communities they know and love. A 2015 study by the Strategic Society Centre found that 80% of older homeowners wished to stay where they are. In the Centre for Ageing Better's major report with Ipsos MORI – Later Life in 2015 - "they found that having strong social connections help some people to overcome disadvantages such as poor health or a lack of financial security." Meanwhile, both young and old struggle to find affordable housing - vacancy rates are low and rent high, particularly in urban centres. Affordable housing is scarce, and there are long waiting lists for social housing. Young people have lower-incomes, higher debt and fewer savings. By 2040 nearly 1 in 3 people aged 65 or over will be renting. There is a large proportion of seniors living on low incomes who live alone or disabled or without retirement savings who have housing affordability problems. Single women are more likely to live in poverty in later life. Students need accommodation near the location of their institutions of learning and wish for cheap rents for about a year. Temporary workers may have to move locations to find employment. Part-time workers require low rent housing and have free time to provide services. Removing the income tax burden from an older person letting out a spare room for 180 days or longer would help to free up affordable accommodation for those who desperately need it. It also provides an incentive for those currently renting on short lets such as Airbnb to consider the benefits of a longer-term solution. It will help create social connections for both younger and older people and alleviate loneliness, which currently affects 1 in 10 people. Please help us to remove the income tax from older live-in landlords renting out a room and enable more people to age in place. Sign up to create more clean, comfortable and safe places for people to live and let's help to solve the housing crisis... one room at a time. #openingdoors
<blockquote>Removing the threshold on the rent-a-room scheme would remove the lack of clarity currently experienced by the over 60s over what constitutes as taxable income. It would also, potentially, help increase the number of spare rooms available which is vital during a time when so many cannot find an affordable place in which to live.</blockquote>

Remove the income tax payable for live-in landlords over 60 renting out a room long term

I'm a serial entrepreneur currently working on a solution to help homeowners over 50 'age in place' and reduce social isolation by matching them with compatible long-term lodgers called nestful. On the side, I run a social enterprise called Advantages of Age helping over 50s to access a pro-ageing community of like-minded people and host events on behalf of the Soho House Group. Currently working on Startup School for Seniors. Funded by the London Community Response, this 8-week course has been…

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