After a mobilization of local residents against the Habyt company, Place de la Réunion in 2022, it is the Brussels start-up Cohabs which is currently developing coliving in the 20th arrondissement. Investigation into a mode of housing which is the subject of debate.
Coliving, a literal translation of cohabitation? Not quite. Certainly, it is indeed a shared housing, organized between individual spaces (bedroom, sometimes an en-suite bathroom) and common spaces (laundry room, dining room, gym). But not only. “Our role is to take care of the roommate experience”, explains Kevin, marketing manager at Cohabs.
Concretely, the start-up buys properties and renovates them, under the watchful eye of interior designer Lionel Jadot, responsible for decorating all of the start-up’s properties. “The accommodations are specially designed to live together” continues Kevin. For example, common rooms are preferably located on the ground floor, in busy areas, to facilitate meetings.
Cohabs makes a point of creating a “community”. The tenants – who also call themselves “members” – have a mobile application allowing them to communicate with each other. The organization of activities of all kinds, ranging from sports tournaments to wine tasting, also creates opportunities for meetings between members of the different houses.
A common terrace in one of the coliving houses
The other advantage of Cohabs? A turnkey housing solution. Aurore, a Cohabs member for three years, says: “I am a pastry chef. In the restaurant industry, the recruitment process goes quickly. When I got my job in Paris, I had a week to find an apartment, with a file that wasn’t necessarily solid. Cohabs was the easiest choice.” The start-up covers most of the household costs (water, electricity, wifi, heating, insurance), as well as certain services (cleaning, shopping, Netflix subscription, etc.).
Coliving is growing in the 20th arrondissement
Like Aurore, more and more tenants are attracted by coliving in Paris. The 20th arrondissement is particularly fertile ground since the real estate market there is less expensive than in the central arrondissements, and therefore more profitable for start-ups. “We are also looking for houses that have character. There are a lot of large old buildings in the 20th arrondissement,” adds Kevin.
Proof of this enthusiasm, Cohabs already has four accommodations in the 20th arrondissement, or around 70 members (rue des Cascades, rue des Pyrénées, rue des Montiboeufs, rue du Cambodge). A fifth should see the light of day on rue des Haies by the end of 2024. It will thus be added to Cohabs’ collection of 12 Parisian properties.
One of the co-living houses in the 20th arrondissement, comprising 12 rooms
The coliving model had already been talked about in the 20th arrondissement, at the time of the mobilizations against coliving by the start-up Habyt at Place de la Réunion. The main demand? Rents for co-living were significantly higher than those for traditional housing, thus pushing market prices upwards. Cohabs defends itself from this accusation: “Since its opening in Paris [2021], Cohabs follows rent control applied under the status of furnished accommodation.” In fact, Cohabs rooms rent between 1100 and 1300 euros per month. Habyt also seems to have aligned itself with the prices of its competitor since rooms at Place de la Réunion are rented today between 975 and 1150 per month.
Of course, coliving is a lucrative business since it makes it possible to maximize the rents paid individually by members (instead of a single rent that roommates can then divide between themselves). However, the costs (charges and services) covered by the start-up are not negligible. “Often my friends tell me that I’m crazy to pay so much but in fact I gain from it”, estimates Aurore.
Another fear of residents of Place de la Réunion in 2022 was of being kicked out of their homes in favor of coliving start-ups. To answer this, Cohabs told us that “many of the houses were no longer inhabited because they no longer met housing standards.” Cohabs strives to buy old buildings that are often unsanitary and energy-intensive (PPE scores between E and G) to improve their energy efficiency during renovation. “We are looking for goods to which we can add value,” highlights Kevin.
Who chooses coliving?
That being said, as our article already highlighted in 2022, not everyone can afford to pay more than 1000 euros per month for all-inclusive accommodation. The arrival of coliving on the real estate market in the 20th arrondissement therefore implies a certain gentrification Population. Cohabs describes its clientele as “young, ambitious professionals who want their daily lives to be made easier.” About half are expats looking for a temporary Parisian adventure.
Despite a 10-month turnover, Théophile, customer experience manager, displays his ambition to “create a cocoon” in the 20th arrondissement. Every month, he brings together the residents of the four houses to have a drink in an emblematic bar in the neighborhood. Aurore says: “I discovered lots of bars like that. For example, the literary bistro at the bottom of rue des Cascades, and the small square around the tree [place Henri Krasucki], I would never have gone there if Théo hadn’t taken us there. The other day I took my family there, they didn’t want to believe there were nice places like that in the 20th.” If on the coliving model it will be difficult to get everyone to agree, on the love of the 20th arrondissement, many of us should find ourselves there.
Pauline Gable
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Read also :
Meeting place: the installation of a coliving worries tenants
Porte de Bagnolet: a hotel and a youth residence in the Mercuriales towers (in 2027)
Rent control: the 20th arrondissement records the most reports
