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Cambridge Centre for Housing & Planning Research

 

Commonweal Housing has funded the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research to research the housing needs and views of non-resident parents who live, or have considered living, in shared housing.

By 'non-resident parent', we mean parents whose children stay with them at least once a fortnight, but no more than 50% of the time, having their main home with their other parent.

Shared housing is becoming more common for young people, as a result of housing pressures and benefit cuts. Separated parents whose children live with them part-time (‘non-resident parents’) are a group whose needs may be particularly badly met by shared housing. Housing benefit entitlements can pose difficulties for single, non-resident parents, as they only cover shared housing.

Very little, however, is known about the suitability of shared housing for non-resident parents. The research aims to examine evidence of the need for shared housing solutions for non-resident parents, identify possible housing solutions and identify the key challenges in developing such housing, and suggest ways in which they might be tackled.

If you are a non-resident parent and interested in taking part in a telephone interview to contribute to this research, please contact Anna Clarke on acc44@cam.ac.uk or 01223 764546. Taking part is anonymous and you would not be identified in the research. A £20 Love2Shop voucher will be offered to thank you for your time.