Fewer young people are able to leave parental home

© Hollandse Hoogte / Piet den Blanken
Among young people still living with their parents who indicated that they would like to leave home and live independently, 45 percent actually moved out in 2021-22. In 2015-16 that percentage was 51 percent. Ever more young people living with their parents would like to buy a home of their own, but the share of those who moved into rental property has remained unchanged. Young people living in the Randstad conurbation who would like to leave their parents’ home are less likely to actually do so than those living outside the Randstad. These are the results of new research conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

The Netherlands Housing Survey (WoON) is conducted every three years and asks respondents whether they want to move house within the next two years. Previously, the survey showed that the percentage of young people still living with their family who wanted to leave home but could not find a place to live doubled to 12 percent between 2015 and 2020. CBS has now looked at young people (aged 18-34 years) living with their parents who indicated that they would like to live independently, and specifically at how many of them were actually able to achieve this in the two years following the survey.

In the two years following the 2021 survey, 45 percent of young people in this situation were able to move out of their parents’ home. In 2018-19, 47 percent in this situation did so, while in 2015-16 it was 51 percent.

More young people living with their parents aspire to buy their own home straight away

More and more young people still living in the family home want to move into an owner-occupied property of their own. In 2021, 46 percent indicated that their preferred option was to buy their own home. In 2015-16, around two thirds of young people living in their parents’ home said they wanted to rent a place to live after leaving the family home, while one third wanted to buy their own home straight away.

Three in ten young people living with parents buy their own home

In 2023, 29 percent of young people who had left home in the previous two years moved straight into an owner-occupied home. In that respect there was not much change since 2015. However, young people living with their parents who expressed a preference for buying their own home were increasingly likely to end up living in a rental property. In 2021-22, this was the case for nearly half of this group. In 2015-16, nearly two thirds of those who left home and indicated that they wanted to buy their own home were actually able to do so.

Young people living in the parental home who wanted to leave home in order to study or work were more likely to move out than those who simply wanted to live independently without their parents. This may be because those who leave home in order to study or work have little choice but to move out. Young couples wanting to live together were also relatively likely to be able to do this.

Young people wanting to live in a single-family home or a flat were less likely to move out than those looking for a shared home such as a room in student accommodation. Young people living with their parents who had their own income from paid work were also more likely to achieve their ambition to move out than those with no income or those receiving benefits.

Young people in the Randstad conurbation less likely to leave parental home

Young people who live in the Randstad conurbation and said they wanted to leave their parents’ home were less likely to do so than those living outside the Randstad. In more peripheral areas of the Netherlands, young people are more likely to actually leave home. Women who wanted to leave home were more likely to actually do so than men.

Sources