Picture this: you move to a new city for work. Instead of spending weeks hunting for an apartment, negotiating with landlords, buying furniture, and setting up utilities, you move into a fully furnished private room with a community of like-minded professionals already waiting to welcome you. Your rent covers everything: WiFi, cleaning, utilities, and access to shared lounges, coworking spaces, and a rooftop terrace. Within a week, you have friends, a routine, and a home.
That is coliving in a nutshell.
Coliving is one of the fastest-growing housing models in the world. The global coliving market was valued at approximately $7.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $16 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.5%, according to Grand View Research. What was once considered a niche experiment for digital nomads has matured into a legitimate real estate asset class, attracting billions in institutional investment and millions of residents across 70+ countries.
But despite its rapid growth, many people still ask the most basic question:
What exactly is coliving?
This guide answers that question comprehensively. Whether you are a prospective resident exploring your housing options, an entrepreneur thinking about launching a coliving space, or an investor evaluating a new asset class, this is the definitive resource on coliving in 2026.
What Is Coliving? A Clear Definition
Coliving (also written as co-living) is a modern housing model where residents rent private bedrooms or micro-studios within a larger shared property while having access to communal spaces such as kitchens, living rooms, coworking areas, gyms, and outdoor terraces. Rent is typically all-inclusive, covering utilities, WiFi, furnishings, regular cleaning, and community programming under a single monthly payment with flexible lease terms.
Think of it as the intersection of three things: the privacy of your own apartment, the amenities of a boutique hotel, and the community of a close-knit neighborhood. Professionally managed operators handle maintenance, events, and day-to-day logistics, so residents can focus on their lives rather than household chores.
The RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), in their research report on coliving and the common good, draws a key distinction: unlike flat shares and other types of shared living arrangements, coliving explicitly seeks to promote social contact and build community. This intentionality is what separates coliving from simply having roommates.
The Core Elements of Coliving
While coliving spaces vary widely in size, price, and style, most share these defining characteristics:
- Private spaces: A personal bedroom (often with an en-suite bathroom), sometimes with a kitchenette. This is your retreat, private, comfortable, and fully furnished.
- Shared communal areas: Kitchens, lounges, dining areas, coworking desks, laundry rooms, gyms, rooftops, gardens, and sometimes cinemas or recording studios.
- All-inclusive pricing: One monthly fee covers rent, utilities, high-speed internet, furnished interiors, cleaning, and maintenance. No surprise bills.
- Flexible lease terms: From month-to-month to one year. No multi-year lock-ins. Ideal for people in career transitions, relocations, or exploring a new city.
- Intentional community: Organized events, community managers, and curated social programming, from yoga and movie nights to networking sessions and skill-sharing workshops.
- Professional management: Unlike a DIY roommate arrangement, coliving spaces are managed by dedicated operators or property management companies.
A Brief History: From Boarding Houses to Modern Coliving
The concept of people living together in shared arrangements is as old as civilization itself. Monasteries, kibbutzim, communes, and boarding houses have existed for centuries. What is new is the professionalization and commercialization of this model for urban dwellers in the 21st century.
In the early 20th century, America had a thriving ecosystem of boarding houses and Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels that served a similar function: affordable, furnished, community-adjacent housing for workers and migrants. Mid-century zoning laws gradually made these models illegal in many cities, pushing housing toward single-family homes and conventional apartments. Our deep dive on coliving as the future of housing in the USA explores this history in detail.
The modern coliving movement began to take shape around 2010-2015. Startups like Common, WeLive, and Ollie in New York, along with The Collective in London, launched large-scale coliving buildings with hundreds of units, venture capital backing, and slick branding. In parallel, smaller, more intimate coliving houses emerged in cities like San Francisco, Berlin, and Bali, often started by entrepreneurs who simply wanted a better way to live and work alongside like-minded people.
The term "coliving" itself started gaining search traction around 2016 and has been climbing steadily since. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 briefly slowed growth but ultimately reinforced the value proposition: people who lived in coliving spaces during lockdowns consistently reported feeling less isolated and better supported than those living alone. A survey by LifeX found that over 90% of their members said coliving made the pandemic period easier to endure.
By 2024-2025, coliving had matured from a startup experiment into a recognized real estate asset class. Knight Frank's 2024 Co-Living Report documented a 65% increase in coliving bed delivery in the UK alone, with over £1 billion invested since 2020. The sector had clearly graduated from niche to mainstream. For a forward-looking perspective, read Mayank Pokharna's reflections after a decade in coliving.
How Does Coliving Work in Practice?
If you have never lived in a coliving space before, here is what the typical experience looks like from start to finish:
Finding and Booking
Most coliving operators have websites where you can browse available rooms, view photos and floor plans, check pricing, and book directly, similar to booking a hotel. Some spaces have an application process with a short interview or questionnaire to ensure community fit. Platforms like Coliving.com aggregate listings from hundreds of operators across 380+ cities worldwide. You can also browse the Everything Coliving directory of top coliving spaces curated by our team. The process is designed to be frictionless: no brokers, no lengthy credit checks, and often no security deposits (or much smaller ones than traditional rentals).
Moving In
On move-in day, your room is ready. Bed, desk, wardrobe, linens, kitchenware, it is all there. You receive a welcome packet or app login with house rules, event calendars, WiFi passwords, and contact information for your community manager. Some operators like CasaMia in Singapore or Enter Coliving in Barcelona go further with onboarding events, welcome dinners, and "buddy systems" that pair new residents with existing ones.
Day-to-Day Living
Daily life in a coliving space blends independence with optional social interaction. You go to work (or work from the in-house coworking area), cook in the shared kitchen or grab food nearby, and come home to common spaces where you might join a group dinner, a workshop, or simply hang out in the lounge. If you prefer solitude, you retreat to your private room. The balance between community and privacy is central to good coliving space design.
Most spaces have regular cleaning services (typically weekly), professional maintenance teams, and digital platforms for submitting requests, paying rent, and RSVP-ing to events. Community managers organize programming, anything from pizza nights and pub quizzes to professional networking events and wellness sessions. The community manager role has become one of the most important positions in the coliving industry.
Moving Out
When your lease ends (or you give the required notice), you simply pack your personal belongings and leave. No furniture to sell, no utility accounts to close, no walls to repaint. This ease of transition is one of coliving's strongest appeals, especially for people who relocate frequently.
How Much Does Coliving Cost?
Coliving pricing varies dramatically depending on city, room type, and operator quality. Here is a general overview of monthly all-inclusive coliving rates across major global markets:
The key value proposition is that coliving's all-inclusive nature means the advertised price is your total housing cost. With traditional rentals, you need to add furniture costs (often $3,000–$5,000 upfront), monthly utilities ($100–$300), internet ($50–$100), and cleaning services ($100–$200) on top of rent. When you factor everything in, coliving frequently comes out 20–40% cheaper than renting a comparable studio apartment in the same neighborhood. For a deeper comparison, see our dedicated article on coliving vs traditional renting.
Who Lives in Coliving Spaces?
The coliving demographic has broadened significantly since the early days of the movement. While it once skewed heavily toward 20-something tech workers, today's coliving residents span a wide range of ages, professions, and life situations.
Young Professionals (Ages 22–35)
This remains the core demographic. According to the Coliving Report 2025, 95% of coliving residents are under 35, with the sweet spot being ages 26–32. These are people in their first or second job, often in a new city, who want an easy, social, and affordable housing solution without the hassle of furnishing an apartment or finding reliable roommates. In the UK specifically, Knight Frank data shows 72% of coliving residents are aged 26–40.
Digital Nomads and Remote Workers
The rise of remote work has been a major catalyst for coliving. Digital nomads, people who work remotely while traveling, are a natural fit for coliving's flexible leases and built-in community. Destinations like Bali, Lisbon , Mexico City, Chiang Mai, and Tenerife have thriving coliving ecosystems catering specifically to this group, offering coworking spaces, fast WiFi, and curated networking events. The rise of destination and rural coliving is expanding this further into countryside and coastal locations.
Relocating Professionals and Expats
Moving to a new country for work is daunting. Coliving removes the hardest parts: finding furnished housing, navigating unfamiliar rental markets, and building a social network from zero. CasaMia in Singapore, for instance, hosts over 500 tenants from 70+ nationalities. The typical coliving resident is someone who arrives in a new city and wants to be settled, physically and socially, within days, not months. See our city guides for Barcelona, Lisbon, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Students and Interns
Students represent nearly 30% of the global coliving market by end use, according to Grand View Research. Coliving offers them furnished, all-inclusive housing near their universities without the complexity of traditional student accommodation.
Senior Adults (An Emerging Segment)
One of the most exciting developments in coliving is its expansion to older adults. Senior coliving provides private suites with shared living areas, addressing both the housing affordability crisis and the epidemic of loneliness among older populations. Operators like Primus in India (which raised $20 million in seed funding) and community projects like Senior Women Living Together in the US are pioneering this growing niche. Explore our directory of top senior coliving companies worldwide. With populations aging worldwide, senior coliving is projected to be one of the sector's fastest-growing segments through 2030.
Families
Though still uncommon, a small but growing number of coliving spaces are designed for single-parent families or young couples. These typically feature larger private units with shared childcare areas, playrooms, and family-friendly communal spaces.
Why Is Coliving Growing So Fast? The Five Driving Forces
1. The Global Housing Affordability Crisis
Housing costs have far outpaced wage growth in virtually every major city. In the United States, 75% of Gen Z respondents now prefer renting to buying. In Australia, over 350,000 people live in group households out of necessity. Coliving offers a practical solution by using space more efficiently and distributing costs across residents. It enables people to live in neighborhoods they could not otherwise afford while maintaining a high quality of life.
2. The Loneliness Epidemic
The US Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health crisis. Over one-third of American adults report chronic loneliness. Among young urban professionals, the exact demographic most attracted to coliving, the isolation of living alone in a large city is particularly acute. Coliving directly addresses this by designing spaces and programming around human connection. Research suggests that 64–67% of coliving residents report feeling significantly less lonely after moving into a coliving space, according to IKEA's Life at Home Report and coliving industry surveys.
3. Remote and Hybrid Work
The permanent shift toward remote and hybrid work means millions of people are no longer tethered to a specific office location. This has created a massive pool of location-flexible workers who value coliving's built-in coworking infrastructure and flexible leases. You can work from Barcelona for three months, then move to Lisbon, then Bali, all within the coliving ecosystem, without ever signing a traditional lease.
4. Changing Attitudes Toward Ownership
Younger generations are increasingly choosing access over ownership, in transportation (ride-sharing over car ownership), entertainment (streaming over physical media), and now housing. The idea that everyone must aspire to own a detached suburban house is fading. Coliving aligns with this shift by offering a lifestyle-first approach to housing: pay for the experience and convenience, not the mortgage and maintenance.
5. Institutional Investment and Professionalization
What was once a scattered landscape of small operators is rapidly professionalizing. Coliving attracted an estimated €2.6 billion in deployable capital as of 2025, according to Savills. In the UK alone, 45% of institutional investors surveyed plan to invest in coliving by 2028. Major transactions, like Cohabs raising $450 million, Colonies securing €1 billion from Ares Management, and Greystar acquiring 2,000 beds in Spain for €300 million, signal that coliving has crossed the threshold from experimental to investable. Read our comprehensive roundup of recent coliving investments for the full picture. This capital inflow is fueling better buildings, better technology, and better resident experiences.
Coliving vs. Other Housing Models: How Does It Compare?
To understand where coliving fits in the housing landscape, it helps to compare it to adjacent models:
The key differentiator of coliving is the combination of community intentionality and professional management. A flat share may be affordable, but nobody is organizing networking events or maintaining shared spaces to a professional standard. A serviced apartment may be convenient, but it lacks any sense of belonging. Coliving occupies the sweet spot.
Types of Coliving Spaces
Coliving is not a monolithic category. The market has diversified into several distinct models. The top 16 coliving trends for 2025 captures how quickly this segmentation is evolving.
Urban Purpose-Built Coliving
Large-scale buildings (50–500+ units) designed from the ground up for shared living. Think The Social Hub in Amsterdam, or the 705-bed The Collective Old Oak in London. These feature hotel-quality finishes, extensive shared amenities (gyms, cinemas, restaurants), and professional on-site teams. This is the institutional investor's preferred format.
Converted Houses and Apartments
Smaller operators convert existing residential properties (typically 4–15 bedrooms) into managed coliving spaces. This is the most common format globally. It is lower CapEx, faster to launch, and often has a warmer, more intimate community feel. Many successful operators start with one converted house and scale from there. For a practical example, see our case study of converting a 3,100 sq ft house into 13 coliving units in just 42 days, or the step-by-step guide on how to convert a homestay or rental property into coliving.
Coliving for Digital Nomads
Focused on short-to-medium stays (1 week to 6 months) in popular remote-work destinations. These spaces emphasize high-speed WiFi, coworking areas, and adventure programming. Examples include Sun & Co. in Spain, Sende in rural Galicia, and dozens of operators in Bali and Thailand. Read more in our coverage of the rise of destination and rural coliving.
Senior Coliving
Purpose-designed for adults aged 55+, featuring accessibility standards (step-free access, safety rails), wellness programming, and social activities tailored to older residents. This is one of the industry's fastest emerging sub-sectors. Browse the top senior coliving companies worldwide.
Luxury and Boutique Coliving
High-end spaces with designer interiors, concierge services, premium locations, and curated resident communities. COCO Community in Paris is a prime example, offering luxury coliving in Haussmannian buildings with high-end furnishings and exclusive programming. Monthly rates can exceed €2,500.
Rural and Retreat Coliving
A growing niche moving coliving beyond cities into countryside, coastal, and mountain locations. These spaces emphasize nature, wellness, and slower-paced living, attracting remote workers who want to escape urban density without sacrificing community. The destination coliving trend is one of the most dynamic segments of the industry.
The Coliving Market in 2026: Key Statistics
Here is a snapshot of where the global coliving industry stands today:
- Global market size: Estimated $7.8–$15 billion (2024–2025), projected to reach $16–$32 billion by 2030–2034 depending on the research source.
- Growth rate: 13.5–15.4% CAGR depending on methodology (Grand View Research, Market.us).
- Average occupancy rates: 93% among established operators (Coliving Report 2025).
- Investment yields: 6–15% for coliving vs. 2–5% for traditional residential rental.
- UK market: 7,540 operational beds (5x since 2019), with 25,000+ in the pipeline. £1 billion+ invested since 2020 (Knight Frank).
- India market: ₹4,000 crore (2025), projected to reach ₹20,600 crore by 2030. Saw its first coliving IPO (Colstay / Hive Hostels).
- Operator growth: 51% year-over-year increase in units among surveyed operators (average portfolio grew from 632 to 955 units).
- Global reach: Available in 380+ cities across 70+ countries, with over 39,000 rooms listed on platforms like Coliving.com.
Is Coliving Right for You?
Coliving is not for everyone, and that is perfectly fine. Here is an honest assessment to help you decide:
Coliving might be a great fit if you:
- Value community and social connection in your living environment
- Are new to a city and want to build a social network quickly
- Work remotely and need a flexible, move-in-ready housing solution
- Prefer an all-inclusive monthly cost with no hidden fees
- Do not want the hassle of furnishing an apartment or managing utilities
- Are in a transitional life stage (new job, new city, post-breakup, post-graduation)
Coliving might not be ideal if you:
- Strongly prefer complete solitude and silence at home
- Have a family with young children (though family coliving is emerging)
- Need a large personal space or specific customization of your living environment
- Have pets (many coliving spaces do not allow them, though some do)
Not sure if you are ready? The Coliving Readiness Index is a comprehensive assessment tool designed to help prospective operators and residents evaluate their fit.
How to Find the Right Coliving Space
If you have decided to explore coliving, here is how to find the right space for your needs:
- Define your priorities. Is community your top priority, or convenience? Do you need a coworking space? How important is location relative to your office or the city center?
- Browse aggregator platforms. Sites like Coliving.com, NomadList, and the Everything Coliving directory [everythingcoliving.com/top-coliving-spaces] list spaces across dozens of cities with reviews, pricing, and photos.
- Check operator reputation. Read reviews on Google, Trustpilot, and social media. Look for operators with consistent 4+ star ratings. Ask about occupancy rates, high occupancy (above 90%) is a signal of resident satisfaction.
- Visit or do a virtual tour. If possible, visit in person. Most good operators offer tours. Pay attention to cleanliness, noise levels, the vibe of communal spaces, and how the community manager interacts with residents.
- Understand the lease terms. What is the minimum stay? What is the cancellation policy? Are there move-in fees? Is renters insurance included or required? For an operator's perspective on structuring these, see the legal and regulatory guide [everythingcoliving.com/blog/legal-and-regulatory-considerations-in-coliving].
- Talk to current residents. The best indicator of a good coliving space is happy residents. Ask the operator to connect you with a current resident for a candid conversation.
The Future of Coliving
The coliving industry is still young, and its trajectory points firmly upward. Several trends are shaping where the sector goes next. For a comprehensive analysis, read our full article on the future of coliving.
Senior coliving is poised for explosive growth as aging populations seek alternatives to traditional retirement homes. Intergenerational models, where young professionals and older adults share the same building, are being piloted in several European cities.
Office-to-coliving conversions are gaining momentum as cities grapple with high commercial vacancy rates post-pandemic. Converting empty office buildings into coliving residences addresses both the housing shortage and urban blight. Projects are underway in Toronto, Sydney, Calgary, and several US cities.
Technology integration is accelerating, with AI-powered community management tools, smart home systems, and data-driven operations becoming standard. Operators are using technology not to replace human connection but to handle logistics so that community managers can focus on what matters: people. The Everything Coliving and Noseberry partnership is a concrete example of this AI-driven approach. For a roundup of available tools, see our comparison of coliving management software and property management software for coliving.
Sustainability is becoming a core differentiator. Coliving is inherently more sustainable than traditional housing, shared resources mean lower per-capita energy and water consumption. Progressive operators are going further with solar panels, zero-waste programs, and carbon-neutral building certifications.
Regulatory evolution remains a key challenge. Many cities still have outdated zoning laws that do not recognize coliving as a category. While some jurisdictions like Paris have moved to restrict coliving, others are updating their regulations to accommodate this growing housing model. Our legal and regulatory guide for coliving covers the compliance landscape operators need to navigate.
Final Thoughts
Coliving is not just a housing trend, it is a response to some of the defining challenges of our time: unaffordable housing, epidemic loneliness, the rise of remote work, and the desire for more flexible, connected, and meaningful ways of living.
Whether you are a resident looking for your next home, an operator building a coliving business, or an investor evaluating a growing asset class, the coliving sector offers real opportunities and real impact. The industry has moved past its experimental phase. The question is no longer whether coliving will work. The question is how big it will get. If you are considering launching a coliving space, the Coliving Guide walks you through every step of the process, and the world's top coliving consultants can help you accelerate your journey.
At Everything Coliving, we track this industry every week through our newsletter reaching 35,000+ subscribers across 80+ countries. If you want to stay informed on the latest coliving news, data, and opportunities, subscribe to the Everything Coliving newsletter and join the conversation. You can also explore our marketing agency services if you are an operator looking to grow.
FAQs
Q: What is coliving?
A: Coliving is a modern housing model where residents rent private bedrooms within a shared property while accessing communal spaces like kitchens, lounges, and coworking areas. Rent is typically all-inclusive, covering utilities, WiFi, furnishings, and cleaning. Professional operators manage the space and organize community events.
Q: How much does coliving cost?
A: Coliving costs vary by city. In major global cities, expect to pay $1,200–$3,000+ per month all-inclusive. This typically represents 20–40% savings compared to renting a comparable studio apartment when you factor in utilities, furniture, and services.
Q: Who is coliving for?
A: Coliving appeals to young professionals, digital nomads, remote workers, students, relocating expats, and increasingly, senior adults. The typical coliving resident is aged 25–35, but the demographic is broadening rapidly.
Q: Is coliving the same as having roommates?
A: No. While both involve shared spaces, coliving is professionally managed with intentional community programming, all-inclusive pricing, furnished rooms, and flexible leases. Traditional roommate situations are self-organized and lack these structured services.
Q: How long can you stay in a coliving space?
A: Most coliving spaces offer flexible lease terms ranging from one month to one year. Some spaces designed for digital nomads accept stays as short as one week.
Q: Is coliving safe?
A: Reputable coliving spaces have security measures including keyless smart locks, CCTV in common areas, and vetting processes for residents. The presence of a community manager and other residents also provides an additional layer of safety and accountability.