Families who live together deserve tax breaks, says Sarah Beeny
FAMILIES with granny flats or adult children living at home should be given tax breaks, property guru Sarah Beeny says.
The television presenter said the Government should encourage three generations to live under one roof as it would save money and avert a social care crisis.
Families could more easily care for older relatives themselves, reducing the growing financial pressure on the State.
It would also reduce our reliance on childcare because grandparents could care for children while parents go out to work, she said.
Miss Beeny, who presents programmes such as Property Ladder and runs online estate agent Tepilo, said: ‘The burden on the taxpayer of trying to pay for all these services is huge. It is much more efficient to take out the layers of bureaucracy.’
Miss Beeny, 42, called the soaring costs of caring for the elderly a ‘disaster waiting to happen’, adding that we should encourage generations to look out for each other and ‘try to fix the whole concept of family responsibility’.
She also said families living together would ease Britain’s housing crisis by freeing up more homes – and pushing down prices.
Miss Beeny went on to say people should be allowed to extend their homes to fit more family members.
But the mother of four admitted her own father Richard, a retired architect, was reluctant to move in with her, her husband Graham Swift and their energetic sons.
‘I would love it but the funny thing is that my dad isn’t that keen,’ she said. ‘He just went “are you mad?”’