Housing is very much on the agenda right now which is exciting for those of us working in the Living Sector.
The day after the Labour Party conference where Housing was front and centre, we hosted the launch of the BPF's new Report on Co-Living at our London Office which included a panel discussion.
Against a somewhat difficult economic backdrop where delivery of any housing, but particularly central London housing, has been impacted by a perfect storm of high interest rates, high build costs and planning delays, Co-Living is the exuberant and optimistic younger sibling to the more established BTR and Purpose Built Student Accommodation markets. Whilst they are "hanging tough" in this environment, these trickier times appear to be creating an opportunity for co-living which is more likely to deliver on viability tests and higher unit numbers.
AG Planning Partner Marnix Elsenaar, and chair of the BPF's Co-Living Working Group, introduced the Report and reflected on the journey to date. He noted some have described Co-Living as "student accommodation for grown-ups" or a "form of BTR" but that it's now very much finding its own niche. He added that we're now in the "second generation" of developments and that a typical Co-Living development would include individual units of between 16-27 square metres including a kitchenette and ensuite bathroom plus imaginatively designed communal kitchens and live/work areas.
The Report contextualises Co-Living and looks forward to the baby of the Living Sector (as Nick Whitten of JLL called it) unlocking much needed housing. Demand far exceeds supply and SpareRoom data from September highlighted that in London alone there were 22,549 people looking for rooms with only 10,833 rooms available.
It's interesting to identify who lives in a Co-living scheme and it's not quite who you think. Jermaine Browne (from Re: Shape Living) and Jane Crouch (from Fresh) both confirmed that this is not the confines of the young with Co-Living developments attracting a range of ages.
The key components that make it desirable are:
Affordability – cheaper than BTR and not much more expensive than an HMO. Perfect for Key Workers.
Quality – renters of the past could never have imagined having access to spaces like we now see in Co-living schemes. As brilliantly explained by Jermaine Browne, his younger self dreamt of a penthouse flat and in his Wembley scheme all residents can have a piece of that dream as the amenity space is housed on the top floor with epic Wembley and London views.
