One of the things that is growing in popularity as property and rentals become more expensive and lifestyle demands change are coliving projects. Traditionally in Spain only students lived in shared apartments and the quality of those apartments was pretty average as owners thought that students would trash the places through a lack of cleaning and general maintenance. As a student in Spain back in the day I can confirm that they were probably right.
As we mentioned in a post back in 2021 post the initial Covid surge, cohousing was becoming more common, but now there is a huge rise in coliving and today we are going to look at why there is this drive towards coliving, the drawbacks and the possibilities and opportunities for you if you are interested in getting into the coliving space. We will also look at some properties that allow you to develop a coliving space always assuming the required licences are available or already in place.
The Drive Towards the Coliving Lifestyle
Coliving is considered an interesting way of living as it seen to encourage more communication, more connection and it is seen to be a more social way of living. However, not all of the reasons are positive for the drive towards coliving. One of the most important reasons that people are moving towards coliving is the unaffordability of traditional housing models. Renting a whole apartment is unaffordable for many people, especially younger people in the big cities where most of the jobs they take are congregated and rental prices are higher but salaries aren't high enough to afford a whole place.
Traditionally people in this situation, usually students, would rent a room either in an homeowner's place with the owner or in a shared property with a shared kitchen and living room or they would simply continue to live at home with their parents as many people will only look for jobs or universities near to their home. This has changed in Spain as jobs and university education have grown in importance and have moved people away from rural areas into larger cities and conurbations. This requires people to move to these places and as a result of this and also the influx of digital nomads, international students and more, rental prices have spiked, especially in the post Covid, remote working era.
Equally, because of this demand many of the places used for coliving have followed the traditional model but with one big change. Because we are all addicted to our screens and our social circles are smaller as a result, many typical setups now don't have a communal living room as that is now also a bedroom, it earns more money for the landlord. People live in their individual units and pass as ships in the night in the kitchen, but this kitchen gets used less and less as more people order in food to avoid having to cook, clean up or even interact with the other tenants. Many kitchens only have a microwave, toaster and maybe a kettle or airfrier. Rooms are rented individually not as previously to groups of friends and therefore the level of coliving is negligible. There was an article in El Pais about the issues with shared flats this week.
The Coliving Dream Model in Spain
When people think of coliving they think of a large space with common areas and workspaces where younger people work, collaborate, mingle, swap ideas and mostly do yoga eighty seven times a day. Most colivings are not this but are still advertised as coliving places. In order to be able to create an ideal coliving space that attracts people to live there you need a property that lends itself to the concept and that usually means space. Coliving.com has a list of the 203 best colivings in Spain and it is noticeable as you move around the map on their page that the numbers of coliving places that are good are unevenly distributed through the country and pricing is all over the place. That's the good thing about getting involved in coliving projects, there are plenty of potential market niches available.
Legalities of Coliving Projects
The most important issue when thinking of owning or opening a coliving project is what are the legalities involved and unfortunately we cannot give one single "this is how" answer as licences, legal requirements and property requirements differ in each town and sometimes within areas. Here are the basics though.
- If you intend to rent for periods under a month then that is not coliving it is holiday rental and will need a tourist licence
- You can own a coliving as a self employed owner, under a limited company basis or as a cooperative (The three most common ownership routes) You need to decide the best for you.
- In Spain, establishing a co-living space necessitates a thorough legal review of municipal housing laws to confirm compliance and feasibility. Don't just jump out of the aeroplane and try to build the parachute on the way down. Make sure you can do what you want before buying.
- If renting to 5+ unrelated people, the property may be classified as a "pensión" or "casa de huéspedes", requiring additional permits. The solution is easy if in doubt, keep the place to 4!
- Valencia has not yet implemented specific regulations for co-living. In the absence of dedicated legislation, co-living may currently be classified under residential community use (vivienda colectiva) rather than touristic/commercial use (uso terciario-hotelero). This interpretation appears consistent with upcoming regulations in Madrid.
- Understand the difference between coliving, cohousing and flex living. Cohousing is described below and is thought of as a more long term living style. It is typical of senior living communities, another thing which still hasn't gained traction here in Valencia.
- Until the graph below changes the demand for coliving will continue to rise. It shows the net creation of households in Spain and that it runs far in front of new builds.
Cohousing Communities
Cohousing communities are resident-driven developments where individuals purchase or rent private homes while sharing communal spaces. Unlike coliving, cohousing emphasizes long-term living and collaborative community management, with residents actively involved in design and governance.
These communities offer greater autonomy, featuring self-contained homes or apartments complemented by shared amenities such as gardens, coworking areas, communal kitchens, and event spaces. Geographically, cohousing tends to thrive in suburban or rural settings, whereas coliving is more common in large towns and cities, catering to shorter-term, flexible stays.
Cohousing is a more difficult project if done where you need to change the cadastral references of the property to give individual ownership and separate cadastral reference numbers. Again make sure that it can be done before purchasing.
Coliving as an Owner
As mentioned above one of the traditional coliving routes in Spain was owning a place and renting out rooms to help cover the mortgage and day to day costs. That's still possible of course but if you are looking to get into coliving as an owner it's more normal to buy a property and then modernise it, making individual units either as self contained parts with their own kitchen and bathroom facilities or renting rooms with a shared kitchen and living room, basically acting as a traditional landlord but for various tenants.
As an owner your main question should be do I want to live on site with other people and run the place or do I want my own place and to run the coliving space remotely? (even if you live next door or on site)
As mentioned above we think that the best way to do this is in a large property allowing you to have space to provide common rooms, shared living and working areas and other activities otherwise it's just a shared apartment or house. We have identified excellent potential properties to do this both in the city of Valencia and the suburbs around at a variety of price ranges from under 200k up to more than a million depending on what your project or budget requires. We have detailed just a selection of a few below that might be starting points for your own coliving project.
Multi Home Project or Coliving Space
"REDUCED BY 200K FOR QUICK SALE"
Well hello there! If you’ve got this far its because you’re looking for an absolutely enormous property to develop, maybe for your ever expanding Amish family, or maybe you want to open a Kibbutz, or crowd fund a Hipsters Yoga Retreat, Boutique Hotel, Luxury Dog Kennels, Spanish Cricket HQ, Retirement Home or any other venture that requires space and potential, oh yeah, a coliving space of course. Where better to do that than in the rather pleasant town of Serra with its spectacular views and cool, clean, fresh pine scented air in the Sierra Calderona?
This impressive looking property has a whopping 700m2 to play with, 400m is currently liveable space and the rest is covered terraces, with plenty of rooms, nooks and crannies to develop and extend your vision, combine that with the impressive 7500m2 of extremely private and multi tiered plot of urban land which would allow additional homes to be added, a huge pool, obligatory fronton court and you have almost endless possibilities, set in the foothills you can wander down to the town for the day to day stuff and what you save on the petrol can be spent on the Menu del Dia at the restaurants, bars and tascas.
So if you’re starting a project or looking to wind down, kick back and relax, this place may be just what you were looking for, time to take the first step towards your future.
Perfect Palace with Potential
Including this again as it's just amazing and could work as a brilliant coliving space as long as the licences are forthcoming and you have a bit of imagination.
We often say that you get much more for your money in the pueblos surrounding Valencia than in the city, however, you don’t usually get THIS much. Essentially a Palace with a restaurant, pillars, a courtyard and living quarters for under 500k. Look at the pics to see what I mean but let me just say this is a great deal for someone. It’s currently a commercial space but a change of use to residential is possible and you could live in something quite unique and amazing. I really couldn’t love this place more.
In total you get over 500m2 of property over two floors with roof terrace and barbecue area and other covered terraces too You can enclose certain areas and make some fantastic rooms because we can’t really say how many bedrooms etc there are because here we are talking about spaces and potential allied to your vision and a nice bit of work with an architect. Obviously it is currently a restaurant with a licence in place so the kitchens are huge and the salons are also huge. It’s a challenging project for someone to live in but what a project! ??
Glass roof filling the place with light
Excellent Roman style columns
Arches all over
Open and closed terraces
Huge spaces
Central Location
I mean what’s not to like?
Benifaio is a small town of some 12,000 people to the south of Valencia near to the Albufera lake. From this property to the railway station is a five minute walk and the train takes you into Valencia in half an hour. Driving it’s around the same time. There are buses available too.
So the question is what would you do with this place? Keep it as a restaurant, some other form of business project, live in it. It’s up to you but it’s a really beautiful place just waiting for someone to pour some love into it now. The restaurant was going downhill in 2017-2019 according to Trip Advisor reviews then like for so many others Covid killed it off. The licence remains in place if you want it. But you could do something much more interesting.
Country Manor on an Urbanisation
Perfect for coliving, even better for possible senior living with its potential to build extra units on the land, this huge plot and huge house is in San Antonio de Benegeber, but on the border with l’Eliana. Very easy access to the city by car (15 mins) or bus, and the town centre of L’Eliana is about 1.5 kms away. Although you should allow a minute or just to get out of the property. It is nearly 5000m2. A colleague of mine said “I’d knock it and build ten houses”, and while that’s obviously a terribly cold and capitalist way to think, you know what, you could skim enough for 2 or 3 plots off and not notice, and that would recoup half the cost.
The garden contains a beautiful swimming pool, a solarium, stables and a barbeque/paella room. Adjoining the house is a function room with capacity for 100 people and an industrial kitchen, ideal for events and large meetings. There is potential for some type of hotel/guesthouse business here too.
The house is also massive. 744m2. Its actually more a masia than a chalet/villa. It has six double bedrooms, all with built-in wardrobes and terraces, an attic with space for three additional bedrooms, three full bathrooms in the house and three more in the party room area. It also includes a library, office, a separate Valencian-style kitchen with fireplace, pantries, storage area, ironing room with a laundry reception system from any floor, and a cosy breakfast area next to the wine cellar. The living rooms, with fireplaces and terracotta floors, are decorated with Valencian ceramics.
Its just an outstanding property, and while the price isn’t within everyone’s budget, it actually is a bit of a bargain. Country manor meets urbanisation convenience. Not your run of the mill place, come and have a look.
Happy Family Home in L'Eliana
Or maybe happy coliving project: Original description follows.
The clocks change and the evenings draw in and soon it will be the most wonderful time of the year when large family gatherings will be upon us. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years Eve, Three Kings and what better way to spend those precious moments than in heated exchange discussing recent world events or bearing the awkward silences, bitter recriminations, finger pointing and harking back to simpler times like 2020. If you insist on getting all the clan together you might need some space to spread out, just in case Uncle Sam or Iaio Pepe has one too many and drags his soapbox out, and i can think of nothing better than a house split down the middle for when it all gets too much.
ELEVEN bedrooms, Four Bathrooms, Two Kitchens, Two Living Areas, Balconies, covered Terraces, and generously laid out on numerous levels for people to enjoy their own space and time for quiet reflection. There is also a useful basement for storage space and garage, some of which you might wish to soundproof for a good old scream when a pillow just isn’t enough.
Big space, good plot, great area and we highly recommend a viewing if you want to reunite your nearest and dearest, and if there’s still no good intentions or new resolutions you can draw a line in the sand in the garden or even install a fence, but it’s unlikely you’ll find anyone to sit on it nowadays.
Send Us Your Requirements
If you are looking to buy a place for a coliving project or your own place to avoid having to experience coliving, then fill in the form on the following post and let us know what you are looking for. Just click on the image below.
Property of the Week
Superbly located in the heart of Cabanyal this 5th floor apartment, a stone's throw to the Beach (If you have a decent throwing arm), Tram, Metro, Food Market, Hipster Haunts, Coffee Shops and an excellent choice of Restaurants that cater to all budgets.
Two Bedrooms, One Bathroom, Independent Kitchen with Laundry Area and a light and airy Living Space with Balcony, watch as the world goes by and the sun goes down over the Plaza Cruz de Canyemelar in this fashionable Maritime Barrio.
So haw you, drap doon fae a donder and grab some cargo, Taps Aff or Chebs Oot, whitiver floats your boat. (Can you guess the nationality of the owner via this and the title? Thought so!)
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