Borrowed Space explores several key themes, primarily the housing crisis and the generational divide. The characters are trapped by a difficult housing market where the rent is constantly increasing and new flats are built for "money laundering" rather than for people to live in. The play highlights the frustration of trying to navigate this system while receiving unhelpful advice from a parent who believes things were "better in my day". The play uses the metaphor of "borrowed space" to suggest that the younger generation has no permanent place of their own and is constantly at the mercy of others.

 

The play also critiques privilege and entitlement. The "Posh Mate" who buys the building and subsequently evicts the tenant is a symbol of this. This character, who has benefited from the "Bank of Mum of Dad" , shows no empathy and simply repeats the same corporate platitudes as the landlord. This cyclical repetition of uncaring behaviour suggests that those in power are detached from the reality of those who struggle, perpetuating a system of injustice.