Silver Sharers is a sharing scheme with a heart that matches homeowners over-50 in London with flatmates, providing long-term and affordable accommodation.

“What makes it different from existing flat sharing sites is that compatibility is at the heart of what we do.” – Suzanne Noble

Having a flatmate is not just something you only do in your 20s. There are multiple reasons beyond financial necessity why flat sharing is desirable for older people. For some, filling a spare room allows a homeowner the financial freedom to pursue a passion – and then there are those seeking someone to live with a parent, to provide companionship and a sense of security.

Run by two award-winning ‘tech for good’ entrepreneurs, Silver Sharers is like a dating matchmaking service, but for the perfect housemate for older people. Homeowners get to remain in their home, providing a passive income stream and helping to build social connections to reduce social isolation. A weekly newsletter of new rooms goes out to a trusted community, verifying each of the homeowners to establish their authenticity and giving a flavour of the ‘characters’ of prospective renters.

Silver Sharers founder, Suzanne Noble (pictured above), explains that by 2040, more than one third of over-60s will be renting: “We believe it is important to be able to create happy households where everyone benefits from the arrangement. Many of the current platforms for finding shared rental accommodation are aimed at young people and generally, there is a lack of trust around them.”

The business sprung out of 59-year-old Suzanne’s own experience of living with a 52-year old lodger (Ameet, pictured below), and then trying to find an old friend a shared home that matched his budget with people who shared his interest and of a similar age. Together with her ‘prop tech’ expert co-founder Steven Glasper, Suzanne believes that Silver Sharers can help ease the housing crisis and form a blueprint for how many of us will be living in the future.

Silver Sharers is part of Bethnal Green Ventures S20 portfolio of Tech for Good backed businesses. Since launching in 2019, the service has signed up more than 600 prospective landlords and renters and has started to put on social “matchmaking” events in London. “Online or off, nothing pleases me more than the satisfaction of connecting like-minded people and watching them hit it off or using my sleuthing skills to ferret out a bargain.”

For now, Silver Sharers has its sights set on older homeowners, but sees the intergenerational benefits of ‘olders’ living with ‘youngers’ too.

AtlasAction: Whether you’ve got a room to fill or looking for a space, get in touch and Silver Sharers will do their best to help. Suzanne also runs a Facebook forum called Advantages of Age.