A new shared living concept aims to offer renters a modern alternative to traditional HMOs in the capital.

The development – earmarked for a site in Lambeth – will have individually leased rooms and shared communal areas within each home.

Pocket Living’s Together concept is two-, three-, or four-bedroom flats with each tenant having a lease on their bedroom but sharing the kitchen and lounge, meaning a maximum of three or four sharers to each living space. Meanwhile, the co-living concept - launched in the UK in recent years, typically has separate contained studio flats with communal amenities.

Pocket Living’s first project has planning consent for a building which will house 150 renters and the firm says it has identified a pipeline of potential sites which could lead to a steady stream of Together homes targeted at city dwellers, including key workers.

Ambition

A spokesman tells LandlordZONE that its ambition is to roll out developments based upon demand, anywhere where similar housing challenges present themselves. He adds: “Rent is to be confirmed nearer to development completion but will be at market rate.”

Pocket Living explains that the concept was launched in response to the growing affordability crisis and rise in loneliness for renters, with inspiration drawn from international sharing models seen in the United States, South Korea and New Zealand.

Positive

It offers renters the positive benefits of shared living, such as enhanced community and the ability to make new friends, along with increased affordability over renting a single apartment, all within a safe well-managed environment, according to CEO Paul Rickard.

“It will give key workers and young professionals access to affordable, high-quality homes that offer both independence and community,” says Rickard. “This pilot is the first of its kind.”

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