Coliving: high-priced shared accommodation that is taking advantage of the shortage of student accommodation

Coming from the United States, this revisited concept of shared housing seems to be beginning its expansion in France, since 14.300 beds were planned in 2023, compared to around 2 opened in 600, according to data from the Xerfi firm which has published several studies on the subject in recent years.

Mainly concentrated in Ile de France, coliving attracts private investors and is expanding into metropolises where the rental market is under pressure. This is the case in Lyon, which worries some elected officials in the Metropolis.

Mathis Etienne, a 22-year-old law student, rents one of the seven suites of the “patios de Berthelot” in a central district. He pays 825 euros per month for a 15 m2 studio, an amount higher than the prices applicable in Lyon where rents have been regulated since 2021.

For comparison, in Lyon, a student studio costs on average 592 euros per month including charges, a shared room around 529, according to the peer-to-peer rental site LocService.

This gap does not pose a problem for Mathis Etienne, originally from Niort. “I have a father who earns a very good living,” he admits, explaining that he was attracted by the services offered, in particular the gym and the television room. “In the residence, there are no students in very complicated or precarious situations,” he admits.

Here, roommates, all students, have access to cleaning service in common areas, a Netflix subscription and can participate in activities such as cooking classes or wine tastings.

It is in particular with this offer of services that the furnished rooms of the residence escape rent control.

Legal vagueness

In a city where there are six requests for a shared room offer, elected Renaud Payre (United Left), vice-president of the Lyon Metropolis in charge of housing, fears that some will be forced to adopt this formula, for lack of any other solution.

“We cannot impose services on students,” he believes.

Coliving accommodation straddles the gap between classic rental and hotel residences. “It’s almost like a mini-hotel, and that’s the whole legal debate,” explains Laurent Bildaut, real estate and urban planning lawyer at NovLaw Avocats.

Thus, “fire safety standards, etc., are not the same for accommodation as for an establishment intended to receive the public, such as a hotel”. And the concept arouses debate: "you have certain cases where rent control is applied and others where, as we are not in housing strictly speaking, coliving escapes it", explains the lawyer.

Faced with this legal uncertainty, Mr. Payre believes that “it is time to set rules”. His fear? “Price inflation” of rents if residences of this type multiply. His position: “we do not want co-living in the city of Lyon and the Lyon Metropolis”.

These reluctances do not block real estate programs. A residence of 94 apartments opened in July 2023 in Bron, in the outskirts. Another should see the light of day at the end of 2024 in the heart of Lyon, after long negotiations led by the developer Bouyges Immobilier who obtained “exceptional” authorization from the Metropolis, according to Renaud Payre.

And there is no shortage of customers. “We received 150 requests for seven places”, underlines the owner of the “patios de Berthelot”, Julien Grisard. Its Labelleville agency will open a new residence in January 2024 in Villeurbanne and is offering advertising inserts in the local press to attract tenants but also investors.