Do Granny Annexes Make Sense During Covid?
The amount of multiple-family homes has continued to grow throughout the covid-19 pandemic as families chose to be together for both financial and safety reasons.
The rise of the granny annexe started way before COVID-19 and hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down – even amid a pandemic. Families still need a solution for living together comfortably with the maximum amount of space and privacy.
In this Family Annexe blog, we explore do granny annexes make sense during covid, the impact is has on families, and where you can go if you take the next step.
Are Multi-Family Homes Growing?
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), multifamily households (two or more families that may or may not be related) have been the fastest-growing type of home over the past two decades.
By 2019, 297,000 households were classed as multi family homes.
There are many reasons families choose to live together but the most common is those looking after elderly relatives – usually their parents. There has also been a large increase in numbers of adult children moving back in with parents, or not ‘flying the nest’ to begin with.
Family circumstances are varied but common reasons for elderly parents moving in with children include ill health, ageing, financial reasons, childcare purposes, and simply wanting to live closer to each other. Older children may also have varied reasons for moving back home, but the biggest factor is due to finances; many younger people have increasingly found themselves priced out of the housing market over the last decade.
Now, it seems as though the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the increase in multi-family homes.
For younger people hit by job losses, moving back in with parents makes financial sense. But many millennials have also moved back home to help care for parents.
For older people, moving in with relatives made sense at the start of the pandemic – as older people are more vulnerable to the virus, many families worried about care arrangements. For example, by their parents being exposed to risk in the community, by home carers, or in care homes.
For many families, having their loved ones under the same roof just made sense during a national crisis.
It is likely this growth in multi-generational households will continue for as long as coronavirus is a concern.
Are Families Still Buying Annexes?
In short yes. Granny annexes still make a lot of sense to many families and the pandemic has increased the desire for families to be together, not just for now, but on a permanent basis.
For many years, families have had concerns over the affordability and quality of care for elderly relatives. Within care homes and using home care services. Coronavirus further increased fears over safety in care worsen and some families simply chose to have relatives at home, where they can shield without having to contact anyone outside of the family bubble.
Granny annexes provide an ideal solution for families wanting a practical solution to concerns around care, and how the pandemic will continue to progress this year.
Annexes make sense for many practical reasons during these strange times – elderly relatives can safely have a place to shield themselves, whilst still being close to their family for essential care, and tasks like shopping and cooking.
Additionally, should any member of the main household test positive for coronavirus, the relative living in the annexe would easily be able to reduce their risk of coming in to contact with the virus as they could simply avoid entering the main house, and stay in their annexe.
Can I Still Build An Annexe?
Obviously, Covid has put the brakes on for a lot of businesses this year and we have been no different at Family Annexe.
With a few changes to our process, we can now successfully carry out consultations for new customers and install our annexes safely. As our self-contained annexes are pre-fabricated offsite, the time we spend on customers property is already at a minimum and as our work is conducted outside to install the annexe, we are confident we can operate safely.
We are also able to carry out consultations and meetings via zoom to reduce the need to physically meet with our customers (although we would like to!)
We hope we have answered your question “Do Granny Annexes Make Sense During Covid?”. If you’re thinking about installing a granny annexe, please get in touch for more details on how we can do so in the most secure way.
To view our annexe options, please request a brochure.
