I’ve got some exciting news! We have been named as a finalist for the ‘Best Co-Living Accommodation Award’ at this year’s Blue Bricks Magazine Property Awards, taking place next Thursday at the prestigious Titanic Hotel in Liverpool!
I am of course really pleased, and excited, and yes – I admit – I am a little bit hopeful too. This is one I would really love to win, because it is something I really believe in the importance of!
But truthfully, I am just looking forward to attending the awards ceremony and representing Ipswich on a national stage. I know everyone says that but its true.
In many ways, the nomination itself matters more than the trophy – because it is a vindication of what we are trying to achieve at LEA Property Solutions.
For me, working in the HMO space – that ‘shared-living’ or ‘co-living’ sector of the housing market, has never just been about renting rooms. As someone who started this business whilst living in shared housing myself, and indeed because I lived in shared housing, I have always cared about creating homes where people genuinely enjoy living together.
Increasingly, that has become focused on creating communities in these shared properties. It is as much about the people in these homes and how they come together, as it is about good maintenance and well-managed rent collection.
When people first look to move into a shared house, a lot of them are understandably focused on practical things. It’s about the location, the rent, the size of the room, what is included or otherwise.
Community is a priority for me, but I have to confess, I don’t always get that from the tenants, at the room-hunting stage! Secondary importance at best, and sometimes they look at me like I’m speaking in riddles when I try to talk about it.
Nevertheless, whether they think it matters or not, we do, which is why we will have been considerate when we have placed tenants in certain properties over others.
What’s interesting is that when I go back and speak to tenants a few months later, one of the things I hear most often is about the community in that property, not the property itself. It may be a full-on description of all the things they get up to with their fellow housemates, or it may be a simple expression of there being a ‘nice vibe’ in the house.
But one way or another, it becomes clear that it is the experience of living amongst the household there that is making it work for them, it isn’t the well-managed cleaning, good property maintenance or prompt treatment of issues when they arise. All those things matter, but it is the feeling they get living in these homes that is of most importance to them as tenants.
It happened again just last week when I was conducting an ‘annual landlord walkaround’ at our The Steam Packet Inn on the waterfront in Ipswich. Six out of the fifteen tenants (yes it’s one of our biggest house shares!) were there that day and all six agreed when one of the housemates used that phrase to describe what it was like to live there. ‘A nice vibe.’
And it says a lot.
The Steam Packet Inn is a standout example of modern co-living done properly, offering tenants not just accommodation, but an environment where people feel comfortable, supported and socially connected.
At LEA, we believe that this sort of sense of community is becoming increasingly important, especially as more people move away from traditional living arrangements and look for flexible, affordable housing options that still offer human connection.
We’ve always tried to encourage co-living in a positive way across our properties; it would be entirely counter-intuitive not to. Having happy tenants goes a long way towards smooth property management, not to mention reducing void periods for our clients.
Not everybody realises at first how much their living environment and the people around them can affect their happiness and wellbeing. But once they settle in, many tenants do come to really value that sense of community.
The wider industry is also beginning to recognise this.
Platforms such COHO, our CRM system and one of our online advertising portals, are moving towards matching prospective tenants not just with properties, but with compatible housemates too. In other words, helping to create stronger and more harmonious households from the outset.
Vann Vogstad, CEO of COHO, believes this represents the future of shared living. I asked him for a few words on it for this article, and here is what he said about it:
“I think we’re going to see a major shift in how people search for rooms over the next few years. Historically, shared living has largely been treated as a property transaction focused on price and location, but in reality, who you live with often has a bigger impact on your happiness than the building itself.
Technology is now making it possible to match people based on lifestyle, interests, routines and what they actually want from a home environment, rather than simply filling empty rooms. The future of co-living isn’t just about accommodation, it’s about creating compatible communities where people genuinely enjoy living together.
As shared living becomes more mainstream, I think platforms that focus on compatibility, community and long-term tenant experience will increasingly shape the sector… and in doing so it will be the catalyst for it to further grow.”
Honestly, I couldn’t agree more.
From my point of view, what good co-living looks like isn’t an accident. It comes from thoughtful management, from creating the right atmosphere and home environment, and understanding that people don’t just want a room – they want to feel a sense of belonging.
That is what I have set out to do at LEA Property Solutions, so to be recognised nationally for that is incredibly rewarding.
I’m really looking forward to attending the awards in Liverpool next week.
Wish us luck!