'I just want our family to be together': Jen Hatton shares housing story 

The comedian is joining others on Tiktok in sharing how the housing crisis has affected her family 

At 33, Hatton had to move home because of rising rents in Dublin.

Dublin comedian, Jen Hatton, has joined in on a new Tiktok trend where users are sharing stories of how the Irish housing market has affected them.

The video thread was originally started by another Irish user named Ali, who asked people to ‘stitch’ her video in with their own experiences.

Hatton, who has nearly 35k followers on the platform, used the opportunity to describe how the housing crisis has led to her and her partner living apart.

By sharing how her Dublin city rent became too high for even a couple with 'good paying jobs’, the actress and podcaster is hoping to help Ali’s campaign ‘make a difference'.

“Me and my partner are both 33 years old. We have a one-year-old son. We were renting but the rent got too high so we decided to move home to save for a deposit,” she says in the video.

“We both have good-paying jobs but apparently not good enough because of the prices of housing in Dublin, where we know and love. I’m living at home with our one-and-a-half-year-old son. He’s living in his aunt’s with our two dogs because there wasn’t enough room in the one house for us. So, we’re living apart.” 

Jen's video has been viewed more than 40k times since it was posted yesterday

The young mum gets emotional toward the end of the video, telling viewers that it feels like ‘there is no end in sight’ to her current living situation.

“I just want our family to be together and it just doesn’t look like it’s going to happen any time soon because of the way things are. It just feels pointless.” 

Ireland has one of the highest percentages of young people living with their parents in Europe. According to Eurostat, 87% of those between the ages of 20 and 25 and 40% of 25 to 29-year-olds were still living at home in 2018 - long before the pandemic hit.

As per the Residential Tenancies Board, the average rent in Dublin city is currently about €1,745 per month, which is a 2.1% increase from last year.

@adhdali is hoping to combine the videos posted and send them to the Government.

Ali, who is 30 years old, has a masters degree and is working an above-average wage job in Dublin. Before the pandemic, she was paying more than €1,000 a month for a room in the capital and has had to move every year since was 22. 

Since moving home last year, she has saved up enough to place a deposit on a house but can only afford one that would be hours away from her work. She’s hoping to combine the videos shared with her on Tiktok and send them to the Government.

The campaign has received a great response so far, with 56k views on Ali’s video alone and more than 650 comments left by people sharing their own experiences.

“I’m 31, single, permanent job (HSE, good money, overtime etc), no debt. I was offered a €91,000 mortgage...what tent could I buy with €91,000,” one user wrote.

Another commented: “33 and 35 with two kids...it's near impossible to save a deposit and pay rent.” 

“23, nurse, €38,000/year, single, deposit of 30% saved, €130,000 offered on my own. Looks like I’ll have to get married just to buy a house,” shared another.

Hatton’s video has been viewed more than 40k times since it was uploaded yesterday and people have been leaving similar responses underneath it. “We’re in limbo like thousands of others,” she said.

To view, go to tiktok.com/jen_hatton and tiktok.com/@adhdali