A growing number of couples who have decided to end their relationships are finding they cannot afford to physically part ways, a phenomenon researchers and practitioners have termed "separation under the same roof", or SUSR. According to a report in the Guardian, financial pressures and a shortage of available housing are leaving some separated partners trapped in shared homes for months at a time, with significant consequences for their wellbeing and, in some cases, their children.
Rising numbers staying put after separation
Data from Australia's federal circuit and family court, cited by the Guardian, shows that the proportion of divorcing couples who report remaining under the same roof after separating has risen from 15% in 2020, 2021 to 19% in 2024, 2025. Researchers and relationship specialists quoted in the piece say the pattern reflects a broader squeeze: the cost of establishing two separate households has become prohibitive for many couples, particularly where housing stock is limited and property values are high.
University of Sydney economists Professor Stephen Whelan and Dr Luke Hartigan, whose research was presented last year, observed that "divorce is a decision that brings with it significant costs". Dr Hartigan explained: "When you have higher house prices it's more costly to run two households so you're more likely to stay in one household."
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Cost of living named as top relationship pressure
According to research by Relationships Australia, nearly a third of Australians report that the cost of living is putting pressure on their relationship, making it the number one relationship pressure identified in the study. Elisabeth Shaw, a clinical psychologist and chief executive of Relationships Australia New South Wales, told the Guardian that while there are various reasons couples delay physically separating, the cost of living is "front and centre". She added that two factors combine to create difficulty: affordability and a lack of available housing stock.
Shaw described the situation of one couple, referred to as "Robert" and "Jane", who spent eight months living under the same roof while attempting to agree on a property settlement and parenting arrangements. Robert had moved into his teenage son's bedroom. "They didn't have enough money to buy two homes and even two rental properties was a stretch," Shaw told the Guardian. "Both were increasingly stressed but were stuck."
Conflict and flashpoints in shared spaces
The Guardian's report includes accounts of couples dividing their homes into zones and negotiating access to different areas. Tara Houseman, a family law specialist at Relationships Australia NSW, described how seemingly mundane domestic matters, who empties the dishwasher, who uses more electricity, can escalate into flashpoints. She recounted one case in which a separated couple engaged in a pattern of one partner turning hallway lights on and the other immediately switching them off again.
Shaw noted that in some cases couples decide to remain under the same roof for the sake of the children or until a property is sold, but warned that such arrangements tend to be short-lived in practice. "Very few couples, in the scheme of things, are parting so amicably that they can tolerate it," she said.
In another case Shaw described, a separated couple spent a year in open conflict under one roof. Their children were drawn into the disputes and became distressed. "Their financial picture looked pretty bleak and some of their stuckness was driven by fear of poverty," Shaw told the Guardian.
A financial and emotional bind
The Guardian's report illustrates the bind through the experience of one woman, referred to as Mary-Ann, whose relationship with her husband had effectively ended before they formally separated in late 2025. When she proposed moving out while the family home was prepared for sale, on the condition that her husband cover the mortgage in the interim, he declined, insisting she continue to pay half. Unable to fund both rent elsewhere and a share of the mortgage, she remained in the shared home for a further five months.
While the data cited in the article relates to Australia, the underlying pressures, high housing costs, limited rental availability, and the financial burden of running two households, are widely recognised in the UK context as well.
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