Silver Sharers: the site helping older renters meet their match

It’s not just Generation Rent that struggles with insecure lets, unscrupulous landlords and bad accommodation.

There are more than 400,000 people aged over 60 living in private rented accommodation, up more than 60% from 2007. Research predicts a third of over-60s could be renting privately by 2040, as rising divorce rates and sky-high property prices take their toll.

For some older renters, the prospect can be depressing as it could mean poor-quality accommodation, insecure tenancy, isolation.

But a new service is dedicated to matching older homeowners with lodgers of a similar age. Since opening for business last week, Silver Sharers has signed up more than 500 prospective landlords and renters, with six members close to signing tenancy agreements.

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Suzanne Noble, the site’s founder, said: “I’m 58 and I share my flat with my lodger, Ameet, 52. Despite my initial reservations about living with someone my own age, I’ve discovered I like our setup far more than I would have imagined. Ameet and I often share meals together, we have mutual interests and, when I just want to have a chat, he’s available.

“The situation worked out so well that when my 62-year-old partner wanted to move into London to be closer to where I live, I helped to find him a similar arrangement and he now shares with a couple in their sixties. Now I’m helping others to do the same via my website.”

In Paddington, west London, more than 20 putative renters and lodgers recently braved the wind and rain to turn up to the first Silver Sharers event, meeting potential matches over a glass of wine and a chat.

Noble said: “This looks like fun – as if it’s a matchmaking, dating game – but it’s actually a massive relief for a lot of the people here to realise that they’re not the only person their age to have to rent a room.

“Older people are rightly nervous of using the usual websites to find rooms because of the scams,” she said. “But also, most homeowners on those sites overwhelmingly specify that they only want to live with younger people because most of them are young themselves.

“The feeling can be mutual. A lot of older people don’t want to rent from younger people either because they want their home to be a quiet, sedate space.”

The benefits are obvious: the number and proportion of people aged 50+ living in the private rented sector has reached a record high but one third of older private renters have borrowed money or cut back on spending in the last 12 months to meet their payments.

At the same time, more than two thirds of homeowners aged over 65 have at least two spare bedrooms, with many not only grateful for the financial help but the company of a like-minded lodger.

There is also the question of dignity. Trudy, 68, said she finds having to rent a room a degrading experience. “I’m humiliated by the fact I have to rent at my age but it’s the hand that life has dealt me,” she said.

“I owned my own house when I was married but gone are the days when the sale of a family home meant a divorcing couple could buy two smaller properties,” she said. “My ex-husband and I are both renters now. We had sizeable deposits from the sale of our family home in 2010 but mortgage advisors decided that my single income was too low for a mortgage. In my ex-husband’s case, they said he was just too old for a mortgage.”

For Trudy and her generation, renting is often harder than for younger age groups. Their standards are higher and they want secure, long-term arrangements.

Niki, 62, sold her flat in Muswell Hill and moved to Cyprus in 2011. When she found herself unable to get work abroad, she returned to the UK. “Because of ageism in Cyprus, my work just dried up there,” she said. “I came back to the UK but can’t afford to pay rent anywhere central without using up all my savings.

“Most adverts on house-sharing websites specify maximum ages of around 40 for tenants. I’m also scared of being scammed on these websites. I want to do what I’m doing tonight: meet a homeowner that I have interests in common with so we can form a long-term, respectful bond.”

This article is part of a series on possible solutions to some of the world’s most stubborn problems. What else should we cover? Email us at theupside@theguardian.com