After separating from her husband of five years in early 2023, Cora* was devastated. Now a single mum, the earnings from her retail job were too meagre to rent a house and take care of her four-year-old son’s financial needs.

She lived in London, where rent can be so high that a estate agents say a woman on an average salary would need to double her pay to afford it. Distressed, Cora began to inquire from her friends whether they had an extra room to spare.

It was during this fervent search that she stumbled upon a Facebook group called London Mommune - Single Mums House Share. The group – which is aimed towards mums in search of communal living with other single mums – was just what Cora was looking for.

“I was really in luck,” she said. “One of the single mums in the group was looking for a mum to rent with. I linked up with her immediately because she already had a house.”