A contraction of the English words "collaborative" and "living," coliving consists of private rooms, shared spaces, and services to facilitate community living under one roof.
Housing of this type is flourishing, with 14.500 beds in operation in France in 2023, an increase of 70% in two years, according to the research company Xerfi, and 234 million euros invested in 2024 according to JLL, three times more than for senior residences.
For the Paris Region Institute, the rise of co-living is particularly relevant in the Île-de-France region, which attracts a large number of young workers and students, but where access to housing "has never been so difficult."
It was in a hurry, three days before starting a new job in the Paris region, that Zineb, 26, reserved a studio in a Hife coliving residence on the outskirts of Paris.
"I'm from Strasbourg. I looked for accommodation from May to start my job in September, but I couldn't find anything," the bank employee told AFP.
A friend told her about this 247-room co-living residence, often equipped with kitchenettes, which can be rented from a few days to several months and features a swimming pool, a gym, a coworking space, and other community living services.
"I'm not going to stay here forever, but for me, as a newcomer to Paris, it's a solution," Zineb continues. She pays €1.250 per month for a 22 m³ studio and access to 850 m³ of shared spaces.
Symptom of the crisis
Elsewhere, coliving can take the form of large houses divided into around ten rooms and shared spaces, or buildings with small shared apartments that all have access to shared services, but also large, classic furnished apartments sometimes rented without any real added services.
This is the case for accommodation in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, where rooms ranging from 9 to 16 m³, with a fitted kitchen and utilities included, are available for between 900 and 1.100 euros—well above the rent control limit.
Alerted by residents, Ian Brossat, PCF senator for Paris and former deputy for housing at Paris City Hall, denounced "family homes transformed into co-living, with two problems: the nuisances caused in the co-ownership and the exorbitant prices charged."
Certainly, the development of co-living "reveals the extent of the housing crisis," particularly among young people, concedes the elected official, "but this does not justify the fact that the rules put in place do not apply."
The Communist senator is therefore preparing a bill to define coliving, "classify it as housing" and thus require compliance with the rules specific to housing: rent control in the municipalities concerned and the creation of a proportion of social housing.
In addition to "almost systematic" rent supplements to exceed the ceilings, the Paris Region Institute has noted that the use of seasonal rental leases and serviced residences makes it possible to avoid rent controls.
Victor Augais, founder of La Casa, which manages around fifty co-living homes, welcomes the potential for standards to be met to ensure a certain quality of life, but he opposes "any blockage of co-living," which is one of the solutions to the housing shortage.
Conversely, Jean-Baptiste Mortier, head of The Boost Society, which manages the Hife and Kley co-living residences for young professionals and students, is protesting against Ian Brossat's draft text.
"The more we regulate rents, the less investment there is," he asserts, even though co-living addresses the housing access problem for young workers. As for the definition, "it's very complicated to legislate," due to the numerous co-living models and the different services that can be offered.