Supporting the Growth of Co-Living in the UK

We’re proud to have supported the newly launched report from Conscious Coliving: Building Homes, Supporting Urban Regeneration and Fostering Communities through Co-Living – a major new publication developed as part of the Why Co? advocacy campaign.

This cross-industry collaboration brings together the perspectives of over 40 co-living operators, developers, consultants and residents to explore co-living’s potential in the UK – not as a niche tenure, but as a scalable, future-ready housing model that can deliver meaningful social, environmental and financial value.

The report outlines a clear opportunity: with a growing number of single-person households, students, key workers and urban professionals driving demand, the UK co-living sector currently faces a supply-demand gap of more than 30:1. Today, just 11,000 operational co-living beds exist to serve a target market of 3.7 million renters – with the majority concentrated in London. This shortfall points to significant untapped potential in regional cities such as Birmingham, Sheffield, Bristol and Glasgow.

Alongside data from CBRE / Experian, the report includes in-depth case studies, typology definitions, and insight into co-living’s ESG impact – from energy efficiency to community wellbeing. Some schemes are shown to be up to four times more energy-efficient than traditional one-bedroom flats, and resident surveys indicate notable reductions in feelings of loneliness – reinforcing co-living’s potential to create more socially connected, sustainable urban communities.

At TFP, we’re pleased to have contributed to several of the featured schemes – including Folk Living Florence Dock and Sunday Mills, and Wembley Ark. Through thoughtful FF&E specification, we support the creation of shared living environments that balance practical performance with long-term social value – spaces that enable connection, comfort and low-impact living through design.

With co-living continuing to evolve as part of the wider housing mix, we see a growing opportunity to contribute to homes that are both resilient and enriching – designed not just for how people live now, but for how they’ll want to live next.

Core partners and contributors to the report include:

Assael Architecture, Bridges Fund Management, the British Property Federation, Cascade Communications, CBRE UK, HUB, Rund, Shoosmiths, The Furniture Practice, urbanbubble and VervLife.

You can explore the full report via the WhyCo campaign page:

https://www.consciouscoliving.com/why-coliving