A Great New Choice for City Living
Communal living is a new concept that has been tried and tested across the US and Europe. It has now begun in London and is on its way to other cities around the UK. This new living idea is an alternative to renting alone or staying in a house share. Communal living aims to bring like-minded people together and provide them with modern shared spaces to relax, work, and socialize.
With more young people renting and working in cities, this idea is an attractive opportunity for generation rent and could work well in many cities.
Individuals will have their own private space in the form of a bedroom, often with a small kitchenette and en-suite. They will then have access to many shared spaces including restaurants, bars, spa, swimming pool, dining room, library, lounge area, and cinema room, all within their communal apartment building. It can be described as a luxury version of student halls.
This accommodation provides people with a range of different spaces to relax, work, eat, drink and meet new people. It works particularly well in cities as many people will move on their own to obtain work in the city and may have few friends to begin with. This option provides them with a room and a great opportunity to get to know people.
The Collective Old Oak in London is a co-living building and has over 500 rooms for rent. Prices range from £230-£360 per week. Whilst the cost may seem high for a room, it is the facilities and modern feel that people are paying for.
This development has lounge areas, kitchens, dining rooms, library, roof terrace, secret garden, gym, cinema room, restaurant, bar and a spa. This is a brilliant range of facilities in one building, and as the development is new, they are all beautifully designed and extremely modern. Frequent events and parties are also held to get the residents engaging with each other.
Tenants View
Many young professionals will see this as an appealing alternative to a house share as it enables them to network with other working people, have access to far more shared spaces, and live in a modern, vibrant building that is full of life.
In addition, renting a room in a communal living development is quick and simple. The Collective Old Oak allows tenants to choose and reserve a room online, and then send essential documents to them within ten days. This means the hassle of viewing flats and house shares is eliminated and the process of renting a room/flat is much speedier. This is great for people who need a place to stay as soon as possible.
Another benefit is that tenants can avoid the potential pitfalls that come with renting in the city where rooms are in demand. Tenants can evade rogue landlords who may provide low-quality housing for a high price and tenants who they do not get along with.
One resident who moved into the London development last year lived on her own previously and so did not want to go into a house share. She said “The Collective gives me the best of both worlds. I can get as involved in the community activities as I want or if I’m not feeling it at the time I have my own little sanctuary.”
Landlords View
Although communal living is a great idea, it could present problems for landlords in the future. Currently, there are only a few developments in the UK but many more are in the planning stages. Once these developments start increasing landlords could see a decline in their rentals in major cities, as more tenants may opt for communal living.
This will mean that landlords will need to be more competitive to attract new tenants. Providing affordable rent and adding modern features and decor to their properties could be the best way to compete with communal living.
As so many millennials move to the city in search of work, landlords should still have plenty of tenants to rent to, but they need to be aware of the appeal of communal living and that it is likely to increase.
New Developments
Company Moda Living have upcoming communal developments in London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. These will consist of apartments and shared spaces. The Manchester development named ‘Angel Gardens’ will have 466 apartments and 20, 000 square foot of communal space.
These developments could provide a perfect transition for graduates leaving university who still want that sense of communal living and are not ready to rent or buy a place of their own.
Communal living has already proved popular in the US and Europe and works well for young professionals especially. We expect that it will become increasingly popular in the UK as the developments expand.
Sources
independant.co.uk
thecollective.co.uk
modaliving.co.uk
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