Multi-generational households on the rise

Along with her husband Anthony, their newborn daughter May and 18-month old son Vinny, the family moved in for one month while their home was being renovated.

"We initially thought it would be completed before May was born but that didn't turn out how we had planned," she said.

"It was really difficult leaving hospital and not being able to bring our newborn 'home'. Whilst Mum and Dad made every effort to make us feel comfortable it was still difficult not having our own space during the first few weeks adjusting to having a new baby in our family."

Teigan said living with her parents during the early days had a profound effect on the children.

"We were able to share the early moments of our babies lives with my mum and dad. They now have a really close relationship with both babies."

Mal and Janelle were also able to provide practical support, such as handling the cooking and cleaning while Teigan and Anthony bonded with their children.

But the family also had to navigate through some difficult moments.

Teigan said she found it challenging to maintain Vinny's routines.

"As grandparents my mum and dad are very hands on and were paying attention to him almost 100 per cent of the time. As far as they are concerned, what Vinny wants Vinny can have.

"That was hard because we are unable to give Vinny all of our attention as we had a newborn to look after and Anthony's two older children every second weekend.

"Having your normal ups and downs and arguing as new parents was made even more difficult as we had a constant audience."

Despite this, Teigan said she wouldn't have approached their living arrangements differently.

"My parents are very laid back and understanding and we're very lucky to have them."

Teigan and her family aren't the only ones to move back in with mum and dad.

New research from University of New South Wales shows one in five Australians live in multi-generational households, or one in four for Sydneysiders.

Housing affordability is one of the key drivers behind the growth of multi-generational living, but many families are choosing to stay for the support.

"You have young people who, increasingly, are unable to afford to leave home, and at the same time, you have [their parents and grandparents] experiencing perhaps similar financial stress," said Dr Edgar Liu, a senior research fellow at the university's City Futures Research Centre.

"'We find that whether forced to live in the arrangement because of financial pressure or not, people like having their family around, and having that companionship and support.

"It's a way for families to stay connected, and allows for greater intergenerational connections, especially for the older generation, they can be closer to the family and spend more time with the grandkids."

Dr Liu said the desire to age in place, rather than move into institutional aged care, may also be behind the growth, noting that government support for institutional care has also changed over the last 20 years.

"The fastest-growing age group for multigenerational household members is the over 65's," he said

"There's an aversion to moving into aged care for obvious reasons we see now, with the Aged Care Royal Commission, and policy-wise, the government doesn't want people to move into institutions; they want people to live in the general community. So, more families are considering providing that care and support themselves."

But naturally, the arrangement isn't for everyone.

Dr Liu said it can put further strain on family relationships, particularly for the middle generation who often report of feeling burdened.

One common complaint raised in multigenerational households is noise and lack of privacy.

"A lot of the housing we have is open-plan living, so there's no audio and visual privacy. It's not very pleasant if the only place you might be able to get privacy in your home is your bedroom."

Dr Liu said if the upward trend towards multi-generational living continues, it will have significant policy implications for urban planning as well as aged care services.

"It's quite hard to find a house with enough bedrooms that's affordable, has reasonable access to jobs and services appropriate to the needs of each generation," he said.

"At the moment, much of the new housing we see are provided as apartments, and they are typically small with 1-2 bedrooms, which is not really suitable to most family arrangements. So it is a bigger planning issue around how we have the right mix of housing for people.

"Wider recognition that these households do exist and are on the rise is needed so that policy-makers can accommodate for the increases in demand for services and support these households require."