Co-living REPORT
The final living frontier: explained
Studio Norm at Wembley ARK
Modern, cosy interiors help residents to feel right at home
By re:shape
Communal dining at The Collective Old Oak
Spaces to savour moments together
What's Inside the Full Report?
- Introducing Co-living
- What is Co-living?
- The Case for Co-living
- Who Lives in Co-living?
- Developing Co-living
- Designing Co-living
- Operating Co-living
- Investment in Co-living
Introducing Co-living
What is evident is that Co-living is not simply a passing trend, but a transformative housing model that has the potential to REDEFINE how we live, now and in the future.
Co-living offers a compelling solution to some of the most pressing challenges in the housing market, including the rising cost of living, changing lifestyles, and the appetite for higher quality, more flexible living arrangements. In recent years, co-living has become increasingly popular in the UK, with many new co-living spaces opening in major cities like London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Communal Kitchen at The Collective Old OakWhere residents can cook, eat, drink and socialise
The Exchange at The Collective Old Oak
A co-working space where ideas and collaboration thrive
WHY
Harris Associates
and VervLife?
Harris Associates, the innovative investment agency, specialises in the living sectors. Since inception in 2002 Harris Associates boasts a rich history of advising on cross-sector property transactions exceeding £18 billion globally.
The firm operates across the Office, Student Accommodation, Co-living and BTR markets in the UK, delivering bespoke and creative strategies to maximise value for clients. Harris Associates stands out as one of the few investment agencies in the UK with a specialised co-living team.
Having provided guidance to investors on a global scale, Harris Associates has expanded its international presence through a strategic partnership with Edmund Tie, a prominent investment agency boasting a team of 400 professionals in Asia. This alliance empowers Harris Associates to effectively facilitate the flow of Asian capital into the United Kingdom.
With a legacy of executing market-leading sell-side strategies and a forward-looking vision, Harris Associates is at the forefront of reshaping the real estate landscape. Harris Associates is the winner of Property Week's Investment Agency of the Year 2023 and Co-Star's Top Investment Agency 2023.
VervLife is the largest co-living operator in the UK and currently manages over 1,600 co-living studios with more in the pipeline.
Notable co-living assets operated for investor and developer clients include The Collective Old Oak, The Collective Canary Wharf and Wembley ARK.
As a trusted consultant and partner to clients, VervLife is the primary source of operational data on domestic co-living and has a comprehensive view of the drivers of operational efficiency, member experience and revenue.
As experts across the operational journey, VervLife know how to make their client’s investments and assets outperform through their intelligent, creative advice from the earliest phases of a project and into operational management.
VervLife are advocates for the rental revolution.
WHAT is
Co-living?
Co-living is a rapidly growing format of rented residential accommodation in the UK.
Some see it as an evolution of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation or houses of multiple occupation (HMOs). What is clear is that what we refer to as “Purpose-Built Co-living” or “Purpose-Built Shared Living” (PBSL) is becoming a defined typology with its own unique identity.
Co-living adds diversity to the UK’s housing mix whilst playing an important role in addressing prevalent social issues such as increases in the cost of living and rising levels of loneliness within the population.
Co-living in the UK is typically characterised by smaller sized units in buildings with a comparably large square footage of amenity space. They offer all-inclusive monthly fees which include utilities, WIFI, access to all amenities and the private living accommodation, which is usually a studio with an en-suite bathroom and a kitchenette. Amenity space provision varies scheme-by-scheme, but commonly includes lounges, co-working spaces, gyms, cinema or media rooms, terraces and large shared kitchens.
Studio Norm at Wembley ARKConsciously designed spaceBy re:shape
WHY
Co-living?
There are a multitude of misconceptions and questions around co-living, particularly related to who lives in co-living spaces, how these buildings operate, and what investment opportunities are available.
Harris Associates, alongside VervLife, have united their expertise in co-living investment and operations to answer the question on everyone’s minds: “Why Co-living?”.
The data in this report has been drawn from VervLife's UK co-living portfolio comprising of over:
All data is presented aggregated and unattributed for client confidentiality purposes.
The CASE for Co-living:
A sector poised for GROWTH
The UK housing market is still significantly undersupplied
340,000*
New homes need to be built by 2031 to meet demand, but this target is not expected to be met.
* The National Housing Federation
The number of renters in the UK has increased significantly in recent years. This trend is driven by factors such as increasing house values and relatively stagnant wage growth, which have accelerated in the last year as interest rates have risen and home ownership has become even more unaffordable.
Between 2000 and 2022, the number of private renters in England increased by:
100%*
* Data from Statista: Statistics on the number of private rented households in England.
Communal space at The Collective Old Oak
The vibrant and cultural residents events programme supports a sense of community
The UK is experiencing significant socio-demographic changes that support the case for co-living across the UK, including an increase in single-person households, rising social isolation, and a growing number of discerning young renters.
8 million*
people are living alone. Single-person households are becoming more common in the UK.
* Data from Statista: Statistics on people living alone in the UK.
The Collective Old Oak
Resident events foster a strong sense of community
Members Lounge at The Collective Old Oak
Nurturing a profound & authentic sense of togetherness
The rise in single-person households, particularly in cities, is contributing to growing social isolation and loneliness.
50%*
of adults (25.99 million people) in the UK reported feeling lonely occasionally, sometimes, often or always.
* Data referenced from the facts and statistics section on "Campaign to end loneliness".
The Collective Old Oak
Resident events foster a strong sense of community
The Collective Old Oak
Nurturing a profound & authentic sense of togetherness
The Collective Old Oak
The Secret Garden: a hidden oasis
All these factors serve to fuel the demand for co-living, which offers renters well-designed, professionally-managed spaces with flexible contracts, all bills included and opportunities
to connect with others.
The Collective Old Oak
Resident events foster a strong sense of community
The Collective Old Oak
Nurturing a profound & authentic sense of togetherness
The Collective Old Oak
The Secret Garden: a hidden oasis
Oasis Studio at Wembley ARK
A relaxing place to live
By re:shape
The number of renters in the UK has increased significantly in recent years. This trend, driven by factors like increasing house prices and comparatively stagnant wage growth, has accelerated in the last year as rising interest rates have made home ownership even more unaffordable.
Between 2000 and 2022, the number of private renters in England increased by:
100%*
* Data from Statista: Statistics on the number of private rented households in England.
Communal space at The Collective Old OakThe vibrant and cultural resident events programme supports a sense of community
The UK is experiencing significant socio-demographic changes that support the case for co-living across the UK, including an increase in single-person households, rising social isolation, and a growing number of discerning young renters.
8 million*
people are living alone. Single-person households are becoming more common in the UK.
*Data from Statista: Statistics on people living alone in the UK.
The Collective Old Oak
Resident events foster a strong sense of community
Members Lounge at The Collective Old Oak
Nurturing a profound & authentic sense of togetherness
The rise in single-person households, particularly in cities, is contributing to growing social isolation and loneliness.
50%*
of adults (25.99 million people) in the UK reported feeling lonely occasionally, sometimes, often or always.
*Data referenced from the facts and statistics section on "Campaign to end loneliness".
The Collective Old Oak
Resident events foster a strong sense of community
The Collective Old Oak
Nurturing a profound & authentic sense of togetherness
The Collective Old Oak
The Secret Garden: a hidden oasis
All these factors serve to fuel the demand for
co-living, which offers renters well-designed, professionally-managed spaces with flexible contracts, all bills included and opportunities
to connect with others.
The Collective Old Oak
Resident events foster a strong sense of community
The Collective Old Oak
Nurturing a profound & authentic sense of togetherness
The Collective Old Oak
The Secret Garden: a hidden oasis
Oasis Studio at Wembley ARK
A relaxing place to live
By re:shape
WHO lives in Co-living: The RESIDENT breakdown
There is a prevailing stereotype of the profile of people that live in co-living communities and it is often assumed co-living spaces attract only recently graduated young professionals.
Whilst there are many residents of this profile living in co-living spaces, co-living attracts a far broader and diverse base of residents, and this is only increasing as buildings evolve in their design, development and geographic locations.
The Average Age of Residents Staying in Co-living Buildings
Percentage breakdown of residents in co-living buildings managed by VervLife
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