Coliving Guide / Glossary
Coliving Glossary
The terms that run this sector, in plain English — from RevPAB to master leases. Cite freely with a link back.
Coliving
Coliving is a housing model where residents rent a private, furnished bedroom and share communal spaces such as kitchens and lounges, with utilities, Wi-Fi and often cleaning bundled into one monthly payment. It differs from a traditional flatshare in that the home is professionally managed, move-in ready, and typically offered on flexible lease terms.
RevPAB (Revenue per Available Bed)
RevPAB measures how much revenue a coliving operation generates per bed it could rent, calculated as total revenue divided by the number of available beds over a period. Unlike revenue per occupied bed, it accounts for empty beds — making it the cleanest single metric for comparing coliving performance across properties and time.
Occupancy Rate
Occupancy rate is the percentage of a property's rentable beds or units that are actually occupied over a given period. In coliving it is the primary health metric: revenue scales almost linearly with occupancy, while most operating costs stay fixed.
All-Inclusive Rent
All-inclusive rent is a single monthly price covering the room plus utilities, internet, and often cleaning or amenities — the standard pricing model in coliving. It simplifies budgeting for residents and removes bill-splitting friction inside shared homes.
HMO (House in Multiple Occupation)
An HMO is a UK regulatory classification for a property rented by three or more unrelated people who share facilities like a kitchen or bathroom. Most UK coliving properties qualify as HMOs and require licensing from the local council, with rules that vary significantly by borough.
Build-to-Rent (BTR)
Build-to-Rent refers to residential developments built specifically for renting rather than sale, typically owned by institutional investors and professionally managed. Coliving is often treated as a sub-sector of BTR focused on shared living with smaller private units and larger communal areas.
Flexible Lease
A flexible lease lets residents commit to shorter or adjustable terms — monthly, semester-based, or rolling — instead of a standard 12-month contract. Flexibility is one of coliving's core selling points for students, interns and relocating professionals.
Master Lease
A master lease is an agreement where a coliving operator rents an entire property from its owner, then subleases individual rooms to residents. The operator carries the occupancy risk and keeps the margin between the head rent and room revenue, without needing to own the building.
Cost per Lease
Cost per lease is the total marketing spend required to produce one signed lease, calculated across the full funnel from ad click or enquiry through tour and application. It is the coliving equivalent of customer acquisition cost, and the honest way to judge whether a marketing channel is working.
Tour Show-Rate
Tour show-rate is the percentage of booked property tours where the prospect actually turns up. It is one of the highest-leverage numbers in coliving marketing: automated reminders and easy rescheduling can recover a large share of otherwise lost tours.
Resident Churn
Resident churn is the rate at which residents move out and must be replaced. High churn quietly destroys coliving economics because every departure restarts the marketing funnel — which is why onboarding, community and renewal programs matter as much as acquisition.
PMS (Property Management System)
A PMS is the software that runs a rental operation day to day: listings, bookings or applications, payments, and resident communication. Coliving-specific PMS platforms add room-level (rather than unit-level) management and community features.