Interim planning guidance note on co-living accommodation

The council will take account of the following policy considerations among others when assessing proposals and planning applications for ‘Co-living’ development.

Demonstration of need

Co-living by its nature targets a specific and relatively narrow sector of the housing market, focused overwhelmingly on ‘affluent’ single people (or couples without children) in the 18 to 35 age range (Savills: Spotlight on UK Co-living – May 2022). It generally functions as a short term housing choice for many residents which can lead to a fairly transient population with a high turnover of units. It is a new form of housing for the city with only one development having so far gained planning permission (BH2019/01820 - 19 to 24 Melbourne Street) and this is not yet completed. Therefore, at present, it is difficult to assess the level of demand for co-living within the city itself or to understand its potential impact on the local housing market and community.

Whilst accepting there may be some local demand for purpose built ‘co-living’ reflecting the city’s demographics, large scale developments of this type of housing would not meet the requirements in Policies CP19 and DM1 in terms of providing a mix of housing sizes, types and tenures, or Policies SA6, CP14 and CP19 in terms of promoting sustainable neighbourhoods. For an application to be approved therefore developers will be required to demonstrate clearly what benefits of the scheme outweigh these policy considerations, particularly in terms of meeting an identified need in the city.

The council will therefore expect co-living proposals to be supported by detailed evidence on the level of need and demand for this type of development in the city. The needs assessment should identify the target groups which the development aims to attract and the scale of the potential need arising from these groups. It should also set out how the proposed development would meet the needs of the target group, including in terms of the affordability and nature of the accommodation.

Needs assessments should also examine the availability and potential affordability of alternative rental options (for example self-contained studios or flats, HMOs and flat shares) for the target groups, providing information on comparative rent levels and costs.

The information provided should set out a clear breakdown of rents and charges indicating where services and utilities are included in the standard rent/room rate.

Locational requirements

To meet the requirements of Policies SA6, CP14 and CP19, proposals for co-living should generally be directed towards locations with good accessibility to local shops and facilities, well served by public transport, and suitable to promote sustainable travel / lack of car dependency (ideally car-free).

Given there is a substantial identified need for C3 housing in the city, co-living development should not compromise the delivery of self-contained housing. The council will not support co-living development on sites identified for future C3 housing delivery (for example City Plan housing allocations or sites with extant permission for C3 housing).

At least until further evidence is available, the council would expect applications for co-living accommodation to be of a moderate scale (meaning no more than around 100 to 200 units). In considering the scale and potential impacts of individual proposals, the council will also take into account the potential for adverse cumulative impacts of co-living developments on adjacent sites or sites within the locality. This will allow the local demand for co-living to be tested and for potential impacts on the local housing market and local communities to be better understood.

To meet the requirements of Policies CP19, CP14 and DM1, applicants should also consider options for delivering co-living housing as part of a mix with self-contained housing thereby providing a better mix of housing sizes and tenures.

Character of the area

Co-living provides high density residential development usually well above existing densities in the surrounding neighbourhood. To meet the requirements of Policy CP14 requires a high standard of design that helps to maintain or create a coherent townscape and which will positively enhance the character of the neighbourhood and contribute to its sense of place.

It is important that co-living developments integrate with and contribute positively to the character of their surrounding neighbourhoods in accordance with Policies SA6, CP14 and DM18. These principles should fundamentally inform the design of the development through a range of approaches, including:

• providing active uses and public amenities at ground floor level and fronting the street/public realm;
• encouraging use of public amenities such as cafes/restaurants by the local community as well as residents;
• designing high quality public realm to be accessible and used by both the Co- living residents and the surrounding communities; and
• ensuring good accessibility/connectivity to the surrounding area for walking and cycling, and in terms of green infrastructure.

General design principles

For developments to function effectively as ‘shared living’, they should be clearly designed to promote a communal lifestyle. The private units should provide adequate functional living space but should be not be designed to be used as self-contained homes.

Because the private living units are below minimum residential space standards, the shared communal spaces are important in ensuring that the quality of the overall residential amenity is acceptable. Co-living developments should provide shared kitchen, dining and lounge areas on all floors, and provide other indoor communal spaces such as larger meeting rooms, workspaces, indoor recreational spaces and laundry (washing/drying) facilities. The communal spaces should be adequately sized and conveniently accessed to meet the requirements of the intended number of residents and should be designed and managed in a way that encourages social interaction. Where appropriate, communal facilities should integrate with the public realm and external spaces.

Residential density and standards

To comply with Policy DM1, co-living developments will be expected to meet M4(2) standards and to provide 5% units as ‘wheelchair adaptable’ under Building Regulations M4(3).

In order to meet residential amenity requirements under Policy DM20, the council will seek to ensure that all Co-living proposals provide an acceptable and functional layout and living space (c25 sq.m for single occupancy).

CPP2 Policy DM1 seeks the provision of private useable private outdoor amenity space in new residential development where appropriate to the scale and character of the development. Flatted scheme designs should seek to provide private balconies for the individual units. In addition outdoor communal areas should be provided as an integral part of the design (for example a garden, courtyards, garden/roof terraces) and these should provide good quality amenity space.

The council will provide further guidance on accommodation standards for co-living developments in due course.

Management

Co-living schemes should be operated under single management. Tenancies should be provided for a minimum of three months to ensure that the co-living development does not function as a hostel or hotel. Occupancy should be limited to persons aged 18+ and the units should not be marketed as student accommodation.

The council will expect details of a management plan to be submitted alongside any planning application for co-living, showing how the development will be managed and maintained. An agreed management plan will be secured through planning condition or a Section 106 agreement. The plan should cover matters such as security and fire safety, moving in and out arrangements, maintenance and repair, cleaning and servicing arrangements etc.

Affordable housing

Communal shared living does not in itself meet the requirements of affordable housing in the city as the residential units are not self-contained and do not meet minimum residential space standards. In addition, co-living does not offer stable long-term accommodation suitable for most households in affordable housing need.

Policy CP20 requires the provision of affordable housing as part of all developments of 5 or more dwellings (net). Although co-living developments are classed as ‘sui generis’ rather than Use Class C3, they still contribute towards the city’s housing target and as such would be expected to help address identified affordable housing needs in the city.

Policy CP20 requires developments of 15+ dwellings to provide 40% onsite affordable housing (applying the 1.8 units per dwelling ratio this would be equivalent to 27+ co-living units). It is accepted that the development economics of rented accommodation differs from housing for sale, however this is allowed for in Policy CP20 which gives flexibility for reduced affordable provision where justified with regard to policy criteria i) to v).

On larger sites the council would encourage co-living developments to form part of a wider mix of housing tenures and sizes which could include affordable housing in accordance with Policy CP20.

On smaller sites where co-living is the only housing tenure being proposed, affordable housing contributions should take the form of an equivalent financial contribution (commuted sum). The payment should be calculated based on the council’s most up to date Affordable Housing Commuted Sums report (available on the council website) based on the commuted sum payment for a 1 bedroom flat (having first applied the 1.8 Co-living units per dwelling ratio).