Win-win-win
Older Women Share Housing in Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21570097 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lyndall Bryant (0000-0002-6427-847X, Queensland University of Technology, corresponding author), John-Patrick Moore (0009-0001-1602-5072, The University of Queensland) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-15 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-06 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Urban Policy and Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0811-1146 • E-ISSN: 1476-7244 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/08111146.2026.2685505 |
| OpenAlex | W7167476520 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
Australia’s rental crisis is deepening, with older women now one of the fastest growing cohorts at risk of homelessness. At the same time, more than 13 million bedrooms remain underutilised across the housing system, many within the homes of older women living alone. Despite this potential, research has largely overlooked how older women might engage in share housing and how policy frameworks shape these decisions. This pilot study explores older women’s willingness to share, drawing on a survey of members of a community-based government-supported initiative in Queensland that connects women interested in shared living. The findings suggest that share housing among older women is shaped by a combination of financial, regulatory and relational factors. Whilst interest exists, particularly among those in housing stress or motivated by social and ethical considerations, uptake depends on appropriate tax and pension settings, legal protections, and support mechanisms to manage compatibility and risk. By positioning share housing as a viable yet undervalued option for older women, this study offers something rare in housing policy: a low-cost, high-benefit intervention that simultaneously addresses affordability, social connection and supply – a genuine win for older women seeking housing, for those with rooms to share and for the broader community
Housing tenure · Older people · Pension · Public housing · Rental housing · Renting · Homelessness and Social Issues · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies
Elder abuse
Social Relationships and Mortality Risk
Intergenerational homesharing programmes
The Trends and Patterns of Informal Housing Practices in Australia
Motivational Barriers to Shared Housing
Understanding Single Older Women’s Invisibility in Housing Issues in Australia
Making ends meet’ by renting homes to strangers
Accommodating the Lodger
Dublin’s Lodger Phenomenon in the Early Twentieth Century
Japan’s urban singles
Introduction
Boarding and lodging practices in early twentieth-century Scotland
Imperfect infrastructures of care
Women’s life course and precarious housing in older age
What women want
Tracking the impact of Covid-19 in Victoria, Australia
I cannot afford to live alone in this city and I enjoy the company of others
Housing and the Post-Welfare Patchwork of Shadow Care Infrastructures
Single People's Geographies of Home
Generation Share
Urban singles and shared housing
| Highly cited | No |
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