Divorced and separated parents now make up a significant number of residents who have taken advantage of the apartment boom and downsized from the family home, says Archers the Strata Professionals.

Archers the Strata Professional Partner, Grant Mifsud, said single mothers and fathers have been buying or renting apartments in strata communities following their marriage breakdown for lifestyle and affordability reasons.

“Our strata communities have many divorced and separated parents who have had to seek alternative accommodation because the family home has had to be sold as part of their settlement,” he said.

“Even if there are children to factor in, these people often have no choice but to move to an apartment building.

"Most find it works for them financially and offers them a lifestyle choice because unlike a home, the apartment requires little maintenance. If they are renting, they can also often secure a furnished property.

“It’s more common these days to accommodate children in apartments."

According to 2016 Census data, the number of adults with children living in apartments between 2011 and 2016 increased by 56 per cent nationally.

A study released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, The Economic Consequences of Divorce in Australia, found that, for women, divorce has a substantial negative impact upon their household income in the short term, but six years post-divorce it largely recovers to what it would have been had they remained married.

Report author Professor David de Vaus discovered men who divorce, however, experience a substantially faster rate of increase in income post-divorce than if they’d stayed married. 

Mr Mifsud said the apartment option after a major event such as a divorce can allow the couples involved the opportunity to move from a big home to a smaller property in a location that suits them.

“Some people in these marriage breakdown situations are moving to apartments for financial reasons, while others are also preferring an inner-city lifestyle to a house in suburbia,” he said.

“They can be closer to work and public transport and they don’t have to spend the weekend tending to the garden.

“Divorced and separated parents can also embrace the strata community lifestyle and they take comfort from knowing they have neighbours close by in their complex, which makes them feel safe.”

Mr Mifsud said divorced or separated women were typically buying or renting two-bedroom apartments, or two-plus-study or three bedrooms, for them and their children, while men tend to move to smaller apartments.

“The divorced father will usually have the children staying with him every second weekend so he may not need such a large apartment,” he said.

“He’ll usually go for something like a one-bedroom apartment plus a study which can be converted into a bedroom. The men will often look for an apartment near the ex-wife or their family home if she is still staying there with the children.”

Similar to this: 

Archers welcomes new CEO amidst industry growth

Managing your strata manager

It can be curtains doing the wrong thing in a strata scheme