When Pratibha Dudani moved to London from Bombay in 2022 to study a Masters in Business Administration at the University of East London, she searched endlessly for a place to rent that fit her budget.
“I found a shared house in Sutton, south London,” the 33-year-old tells The i Paper. “It was compact – there were 10 of us living in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house. I shared a dark box room with another person.”
For a year, Pratibha lived out of her suitcase, paying £700 a month in rent. “I was the only girl in the house,” she says. “A lot of the men were labourers. They were filthy, as was the house. They often used drugs. I was uncomfortable and felt unsafe.”
Feeling anxious whenever she was at home started affecting her mental health. “I was depressed, which I had never been in my life,” she says.
She constantly looked for other places to rent a room, but as a student, had very little money to work with.
On the Spare Room app, Pratibha started seeing ads pop up from an organisation called Share and Care Homeshare. “I just scrolled through them because it looked like a scam,” she says. “I looked at the good areas and sizes of houses on offer, and then at the cheap price, and thought it couldn’t be right.”
After months of ignoring the ads, she grew more desperate to get out of her crammed living quarters. She researched home-sharing – where householders who need company and help maintaining their independence are matched with people in need affordable housing.
Caroline Cooke, director of Share and Care Homeshare, tells The i Paper they are seeing around a 20 per cent increase in home-share matches each year.
“It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Cooke says. “The older householder benefits from some light-touch practical help around their home, friendly company, and the reassurance and comfort of knowing someone is living in their home overnight, while the sharer benefits from an affordable home, the feelgood factor that comes from helping someone. The fact it’s such a low-cost solution for all parties adds to the attraction.”
Under the Share and Care contract, the sharer of the house must offer 15 hours of support each week, plus the natural reassurance from sleeping in the home.
“Much of the practical help is with things they would be doing for themselves anyway, wherever they live – shopping, cooking supper four times a week, taking out the bins, loading the dishwasher, and the extras are usually little things like prompts and reminders, help with simple IT, or changing a lightbulb,” Cooke says. “It is absolutely not a job, and sharers never give any form of personal care.”
With the next generation of older people used to living alongside lodgers due to the cost of living crisis, Cooke suspects it will be even more common in the future.
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Pratibha made an inquiry about home sharing, and deciding to find out more, had a DBS check, background check, and interview.
“They wanted to know about my background, why I was in in the UK, why I needed somewhere to live, what my availability in the house would be, my values and hobbies, and what my lifestyle was,” she says. “All the questions made it feel very legitimate.”
Based on the interview, the agency started to match her profile with available options, eventually matching her with Ahmad Latif, an 89-year-old man whose wife died in 2019. He had previously suffered a stroke, and although he was capable of taking care of himself, he felt isolated alone in his London terraced house.
“Before meeting him, his family interviewed me on the phone,” she says. “Just to get a feeling for the kind of person I am. When they felt comfortable, I went to meet him.”
Once everyone decided to move forward, Pratibha packed her bags and moved in in May 2024.
Pratibha and Ahmad, with Ahmad’s daughter (Photo: Pratibha Dudani)“I was in a huge house on my own,” Latif tells The i Paper. “I was alone most of the time, watching TV and cooking for myself. It was lonely.”
His daughter, Tanya, and two sons visited regularly, but couldn’t see their dad as much as they would have liked. They didn’t feel he needed a full-time carer, just someone else to keep an occasional eye on him, and provide a bit of company through the week.
After several discussions with his children, it was decided they would look to home-share. “A few people lived with me, but they weren’t here for long,” he says.
And then, there was Pratibha.
“She has been so good to have around the house,” Ahmad says. “I love talking to her – she’s very chatty and sweet. We have a laugh!”
Ahmad used to do all the cooking when his wife was alive, and now often makes food like pulao, chicken curry and dal for him and Pratibha.
“I’m so much happier with her around. Just to pass by her in the morning and evening, and say hello, has made such a difference.”
They both have a love of football, and make a habit of watching it together on the TV. “She gets very loud when she’s watching football,” he says jokingly.
Pratibha will often help him when he can’t figure out how to use technology – his phone or the TV. He also feels more secure having a younger person in the house: “She reminds me to lock the doors at nights.”
Ahmad has carers coming through the week to take care of his personal and household needs – this isn’t something required of Pratibha. “She’s more of a lodger, like family,” Ahmad says. “And she helps out just like a family member would.”
Pratibha loves the set up, too – both because of the huge amount of money she has saved, and the extended family she feels she has gained. She now pays £150 a month for her own bedroom and bathroom in Zone 3 of London. She does light cleaning, cooking, and gardening but no more than a family member would.
“My room is spacious and bright,” she says. “I have my own personal space and privacy. And there is a garden – I’ve never had a garden before. I’ve become obsessed with the garden.”
When she goes out with friends, it has never been a problem, and she has even invited friends to the house. But she does say that their set-up probably would not work for someone who wants to be out all the time. “It works for me though because I like to be home.”
Without a huge rent bill every month, she’s been able to save and pay off her education loan. “I’ve also been able to send money back home to family,” she says.
Home-sharing with Ahmad has impacted more than just Pratibha’s finances. “The family has changed my outlook on this city,” she says. “Before moving to Ahmad’s, I had decided I would return home to India. But as soon as I got here, my mind changed.
“I’m part of a community now. It’s like living with extended family. I actually call Mr Latif Granddad. I couldn’t have asked for a better living situation. I feel so blessed.”
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