Our ‘HUG home' slashes bills and childcare costs by £2,375 a MONTH – anyone can do it

The Sun

13 hours ago

CARRYING backpacks, kids' coats, her toddler daughter and a chatty seven-year-old, Lucy Catkin, 40, pushes through her front door at past five feeling shattered.
She's spent a day running wildlife education classes for corporate clients and just wrangled her little ones away from a nearby birthday party.
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Lucy, however, isn't worried about cooking dinner or having enough people to help with her evening list.
A cracking tea of mac and cheese and apple pie, all home made, is on the table.
All she and the children have to do is wash their hands.
Together with her husband John, 52, who works as a landscape gardener, their two children - Indi, seven and Rosie, two - as well as Lucy's dad Peter, 82, a retired headmaster and educational consultant, they're part of a new housing trend.
Known as HUGs, or House Units of Generations, super savvy families fight back against soaring rents, mortgages, energy bills and grocery prices by living several generations under one roof.
Like Lucy's family living in a four-bedroom detached house in Oxted, Surrey, a HUG home with two households wipes out an extra rent or mortgage.
It halves living expenses and slashes childcare and elder care costs which can mean savings up to £30,000 a year.
'I am proud to live in a HUG household. I don't know why more people aren't giving it a go,' Lucy said.
'It's a game changer for us. It's not just about money, other benefits include better health, diet and less stress for everyone if done the right way.
'Our multi-gen house cuts the cost of living, the kids thrive on quality grandfather reading time and it's allowed me the chance to build a dream business.
'We thought it was just a phase'
Lucy moved back home in 2011 at 26 before going abroad on a year-long sabbatical from studying biology at university.
Her dad was spending much of his time in Spain so returning home made sense.
A year later, she went travelling again, met John in South Africa in 2012 and the pair returned to Britain on what they thought was a temporary basis and moved in with Peter.
They married in 2018, welcomed Indy that September and the arrangement continued as the new parents settled into family life and careers.
'I never thought it was going to last more than a few months,' Lucy said.
'Almost a decade and a half later I am still here with my dad, my husband and our two children all under the same roof.
"The kids adore their grandfather and it is up to 50% cheaper than running two separate homes.'
More 'HUG homes' than ever before
ONS figures reveal there are now 1.8million three-generation households in England.
They make up 2.1% of all households, a 17% rise in a decade.
Three in ten UK adults now live in multigenerational homes, rising to nearly half of those aged 25 to 34.
The number of two-generation households, like adult children living with parents, jumped 44% in just four years.
The surge is fuelled by the cost-of-living crisis, soaring property prices and a shortage of affordable homes.
For many, moving in with family is the only way to keep a roof over their heads.
Once they see the savings and support, few want to leave.
HUGs include kids who never left, boomerang sons and daughters, and couples raising children alongside their own parents.
Property experts at CBRE predict HUG homes will triple by 2040, with the biggest surge between 2025 and 2030.
Research also shows older adults in HUGs are 30% less likely to feel lonely, while children in multigenerational homes have higher reading scores and spend more time on homework.
How it works
When Indy was one, Peter offered the young family the use of the upstairs area as their space including three bedrooms and a bathroom.
Lucy and John also helped convert a downstairs sitting room into his bedroom and bathroom.
It turned the three-bedroom house into four bedrooms.
The refurbishment of upstairs and downstairs cost less than £10,000 as John is also a builder and did much of the work himself.
'It meant HUG snugs for each family group and a shared kitchen, lounge and garden as bustling communal spaces,' Lucy said.
Grandad Peter became the Pied Piper of reading, with Indy and her friends flocking to his special book corner rather than the TV.
'He is also a fabulous cook, famous for chicken curry, mac and cheese and a Monday night roast.
'We all do unpaid jobs around the house and, despite the odd arguments about who ate the last piece of cheddar, we love our unique household.'
The finances
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If they were to live on their own, Jon and Lucy's monthly bills would be hefty.
They would pay £1,571 for a mortgage, based on Office for National Statistics data for their area, £204 in council tax, £140 for gas and electric, and £40 for water.
Their food shop would run to £650, broadband and mobiles another £70, plus £450 on transport, £300 on leisure, and £250 on insurance and other essentials.
A total of £3,625 every month.
Peter, living alone in his three-bed, had paid off his mortgage years ago but even without that, his monthly running costs still came to £1,244.
Run separately, the two households would spend £4,869 a month.
By moving in together, they scrap a second mortgage, share utilities and shop for one big family instead of two smaller ones.
Gas and electric fall from £250 to £170, water bills halve, groceries drop by £150 through bulk-buying, broadband and TV costs fall by £50, and childcare costs shrink with Peter helping on babysitting duty and reading while mum and dad are busy at home.
They have also reduced transport costs by sharing cars.
By living together, they can save up to £2,375 every month, or 48.8% of their combined running costs.
To keep on track, the family has most bills on direct debit and holds regular meetings about repairs and switching providers.
How they've got on the property ladder
When Peter decided to keep living with his daughter Lucy and her husband John, he also wanted to put long-term estate planning in place.
As part of this, he gifted each of them a one-third share of the house, meaning the property is now owned equally between the three of them.
The gift is treated as a Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET) for Inheritance Tax (IHT).
If Peter lives for seven years after making the gift, the value of the shares he transferred will generally fall outside his estate for IHT purposes.
The family shares costs, repairs, and other housing-related expenses.
Because this is Peter's main residence, there is normally no Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to pay on the transfer thanks to Private Residence Relief.
This relief means the gain in value on his share of the property is exempt from CGT.
If there is no mortgage on the property and no money changes hands, there will also be no Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for Lucy and John.
If the property did have a mortgage and they took on part of it, SDLT would be calculated on the debt amount assumed.
If you're considering this you should consult a solicitor and formalise the arrangement with the Land Registry.
A chance for a dream business
For Lucy, the arrangement also made her dream business possible.
After being made redundant in 2023, she knew she had enough support and financial leeway to launch Catkin and Conker, a nature course based small-business.
The courses include ones for children, adults and executives designed to help people go back to nature, learn woodland craft and spend time in forest school style settings.
Catkin and Conker is now in demand across the country, especially from nursing homes.
'Seeing how my kids and dad benefited from doing things together inspired this idea,' Lucy said.
'Now the courses are run at nursing homes for patients including those with dementia.
'Children get to come for free and the elderly residents and kids work together on craft.'