In his Norman Conquests trilogy, Alan Ayckbourn highlights the complexities that can be faced by different generations of the same family, particularly those living under one roof. The trilogy opens on Annie, who shares the family home with her mother. Annie is also her mother’s carer and her bitterness at the lack of help from either her brother or her sister becomes quickly apparent.

While the plays cleverly and amusingly highlight how multi-generational living can go badly wrong, it doesn’t have to be the case. With the right planning, it can prove a viable solution to many different modern-day conundrums, including property affordability, childcare and care for an elderly family member.

Here are my tips for making multi-generational living work:

• Decide who is going to own the property. Will it be owned outright by one party or will it be shared? If owned outright, discuss what will happen should the owner decide to sell or in the case of a death. If shared, there are two options: Joint Tenancy, in which case the property is owned in equal part by two tenants, and Tenants in Common, where each party has a fixed share of the property.
• When looking for a property, recognise everyone will have different requirements and think about how the space could be used and shared.
• Draw boundaries. It will be important everyone understands and respects each other's needs, including privacy, noise, having guests over and any other aspect of living where there could be conflict or confusion.
• Decide who will be responsible for what. Who will physically pay the bills? If the care of an elderly relative or childcare is in the mix, discuss and agree who will be responsible for what and when.
• Think about how needs may change over the medium and long term. Will the property still be practical when the toddlers become teenagers, or if an elderly relative can no longer manage the stairs?

The following properties, with plenty of space for everyone, would all work well for multi-generational living: