Common Living
Common Living is a U.S. coliving operator founded in 2015, managing 17,500 units under development across 22 cities and serving individual renters and property developers with deposit-free housing enabled by an Open Banking underwriting partnership with Obligo.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Common Living does
Common Living is a community-driven residential coliving company founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York City. The company operates and develops coliving properties across 22 U.S. cities, with 17,500 units under development and 2,000+ beds currently operated across 54 properties in partnership with Obligo. Common serves two primary customer segments: individual renters seeking flexible, community-oriented housing, and landlords and property developers seeking a turnkey coliving operator that can deliver improved applicant-to-lease conversion and Net Operating Income gains.
The company's core technology is an Open Banking-powered underwriting integration with Obligo, which enables deposit-free renting as a value-added amenity. Through this integration, 84% of renters qualify for deposit-free options, and Common has demonstrated a 5% increase in applicant-to-lease conversion ratios across its portfolio. The technology stack includes financial screening capabilities that help the company maintain regulatory compliance with varying state-level deposit restrictions, including New York's one-month rent cap. Common's proprietary differentiation centers on this deposit-free amenity rather than in-house AI or ML capabilities.
Common Living generates revenue through two primary streams: recurring rental income from coliving unit operations across its portfolio, and property management services provided to landlords and developers under recurring fee or revenue-share arrangements. The go-to-market is sales-led, targeting property developers and landlords as institutional partners while marketing the deposit-free amenity to individual renters. The company has raised approximately $113.35M in cumulative disclosed funding from investors including Maveron, 8VC, Norwest, Kinnevik, Wilshire Lane Capital, Hanaco Venture Capital, and others, with founder Brad Hargreaves serving as CEO. Notable acquisitions include Skylight (2016) and Starcity (2021), reflecting a programmatic consolidation strategy in the coliving sector.
Common Living firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Common Living
- Website
- https://common.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Common Living is a U.S. coliving operator founded in 2015, managing 17,500 units under development across 22 cities and serving individual renters and property developers with deposit-free housing enabled by an Open Banking underwriting partnership with Obligo.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Common Living is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Common Living business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Coliving Unit Operations: Common Living operates coliving properties, generating revenue through rental income from tenants across its portfolio of units in 22 cities.
- Property Management Services: Provides property management services to landlords and developers, likely generating fees or revenue share arrangements.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Common Living product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Common Living operates coliving residences and provides property management services for furnished shared housing across 22 U.S. cities. The company leases individual rooms and shared suites to residents on flexible terms and partners with landlords and property developers to operate and manage coliving inventory, including a deposit-free renting amenity powered by Open Banking underwriting through its partnership with Obligo.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Coliving Residences Furnished private and shared suites in coliving properties across 22 U.S. cities, leased directly to individual residents on flexible terms with community programming.
- Property Management Services Operating and management services delivered to landlords and property developers for coliving buildings, including tenant screening, leasing, and ongoing operations under partnership/management agreements.
- Deposit-Free Renting Amenity (powered by Obligo) A deposit-free renting option for qualifying residents, delivered via Open Banking-powered financial screening and limited payment preauthorization that preserves landlord accountability while allowing 84% of applicants to skip a traditional security deposit.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5% increase in applicant-to-lease ratio
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Common Living
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Common Living technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Common Living partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ObligocoreCommon Living partnered with Obligo in February 2019 to offer deposit-free renting as a value-added amenity. The partnership uses Obligo's Open Banking-powered underwriting to enable 84% of renters to qualify for deposit-free options. The solution expanded to over 2,000 beds across 54 properties, helping Common Living achieve a 5% increase in applicant-to-lease ratio and boosted Net Operating Income while ensuring regulatory compliance with deposit restrictions across U.S. states including New York's one-month rent cap.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Common Living competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Roam: Roam is a global coliving/co-living operator offering furnished shared residences with flexible terms — comparable product, renter value proposition (community + convenience + flexibility), and managed-unit economics.
- Bungalow: Bungalow is a U.S. coliving operator offering private bedrooms in shared homes with community features and flexible leases — directly comparable to Common's core coliving model and target renter persona.
- Ollie: Ollie is a coliving and serviced-apartment operator in major U.S. cities with professionally managed shared apartments — overlapping target customers, geographies, and operating model with Common Living.
- Upsuite: Upsuite is a tech-enabled coliving and furnished rental operator focused on flexible urban housing for professionals, sharing Common's multi-city U.S. footprint and managed-shared-apartment product.
- Tripalink: Tripalink operates coliving properties in U.S. college and urban markets targeting younger renters with shared-amenity housing — directly comparable renter segment and managed-portfolio approach to Common.
Broad incumbents
- Sonder Holdings: Sonder operates a broad portfolio of serviced/extended-stay apartments and short-term rentals with a tech-enabled management layer — overlapping hospitality-meets-residential positioning with Common's hybrid coliving/extended-stay model.
- Greystar Real Estate Partners: Greystar is the largest U.S. multifamily property manager and operator with a national footprint; comparable as a broad incumbent in residential property management, though without Common's coliving specialization.
- Willow Bridge Property Company: Willow Bridge (formerly Pinnacle) is a large national residential property management firm — comparable as a broad incumbent operating apartments across U.S. markets that competes for landlord partnerships in the same asset class.
Regional players
- Habyt: Habyt is a European coliving and flex-living operator with managed shared apartments across multiple cities — directly comparable operator model with geographic concentration outside Common's U.S. markets.
- The Collective: The Collective is a UK-founded co-living operator with branded residences and shared amenity models; comparable product design and operator playbook, though primarily UK/Europe-focused versus Common's U.S. base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Customer concentration
Common Living social profiles
Digital presenceCommon Living financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Common Living leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Common Living funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors17 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Common Living M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Common Living
What does Common Living do?
Common Living operates coliving residences and provides property management services for furnished shared housing across 22 U.S. cities. The company leases individual rooms and shared suites to residents on flexible terms and partners with landlords and property developers to operate and manage coliving inventory, including a deposit-free renting amenity powered by Open Banking underwriting through its partnership with Obligo.
Is Common Living a public or private company?
Common Living is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Common Living founded?
Common Living was founded in 2015. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Common Living based?
Common Living is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Common Living make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Coliving Unit Operations are the primary driver. The others are property Management Services.
Who are Common Living's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Roam, Bungalow, Ollie, Upsuite and Tripalink. Broad incumbents are Sonder Holdings, Greystar Real Estate Partners and Willow Bridge Property Company. Regional players are Habyt and The Collective.
Does Common Living have an API?
No public API is recorded for Common Living.