The archive · Consumer Apps · Strategic decision · 2015–2024
Common Living's co-living empire ends in Chapter 7 liquidation
The New York co-living pioneer grew from 2,000 to 7,000 rooms in two years, merged into Berlin's Habyt, then filed Chapter 7 when its economics cracked.
Common Living
What the business is
Common Living operates co-living buildings: it signs management agreements with landlords or runs its own properties, then rents furnished private bedrooms inside shared apartments instead of whole units.
Starting capital：At least $136M in venture funding by the end of 2022 per Bisnow (Urban Living News put the total at $113M across several rounds), with investors including Kinnevik, Maveron and LeFrak.
How it started
Brad Hargreaves founded Common in New York in 2015, helping pioneer the co-living model: leasing individual bedrooms in shared, furnished apartments rather than whole units, marketed as cheaper rent plus community.
What happened
Between 2020 and 2022 Common expanded its portfolio from about 2,000 to 7,000 units, largely by taking over failed co-living companies — including the June 2021 Starcity deal that added roughly 1,000 units across California, New York and Barcelona. Hargreaves stepped down as CEO in August 2022 and was replaced by Karlene Holloman. In January 2023 Common merged with Berlin-based Habyt, which operated in Europe and Asia; Habyt became the parent and the combined group claimed more than 30,000 units across 40 cities.
How it ended up
Common Living filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on 31 May 2024, estimating assets of $1M–$10M against liabilities of $10M–$50M and at least 200 creditors. Operations were suspended immediately; Habyt CEO Luca Bovone said the closure would make the rest of the Habyt group 'more financially agile' and profitable.
Background
Common Living, founded in New York in 2015 by Brad Hargreaves, helped pioneer co-living in the United States: rather than renting whole apartments, it leased individual bedrooms in furnished shared units, usually through management agreements with landlords. The pitch was cheaper rent plus built-in community for a generation priced out of solo apartments.
Between 2020 and 2022 Common grew from about 2,000 to 7,000 units, much of it by absorbing co-living companies that had failed during the pandemic — the June 2021 Starcity deal alone added around 1,000 units across California, New York and Barcelona. Hargreaves stepped down as CEO in August 2022, and in January 2023 Common merged with Berlin's Habyt, which operated in Europe and Asia and became its parent.
The expansion never reached profitability. On 31 May 2024 Common filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware, estimating $1M–$10M in assets against $10M–$50M in liabilities and more than 200 creditors, and suspended operations immediately. Habyt CEO Luca Bovone, who was listed as Common's manager on the petition, cited pressure from interest rates, tightening margins and rising operating costs, and said the liquidation would make the rest of the Habyt group profitable.
Common's end followed earlier co-living collapses — London's The Collective filed for bankruptcy in September 2021 and Germany's Quarters filed for Chapter 7 in January 2021 — leaving the model's central question unanswered: whether renting bedrooms instead of apartments is a sustainable business or just a phase of cheap credit.
What has to be true
- Common's thesis depended on a rent arbitrage that narrowed precisely when the company was biggest: interest-rate pressure and rising operating costs squeezed margins across its 7,000-unit portfolio.
- Growth came from rescuing failed rivals during the pandemic, when demand for shared apartments was weakest — buying scale at the moment the market was telling co-living its economics were broken.
- The merger into Habyt outsourced its survival: Bovone tied the filing to the structure of Common's contracts and said it lacked liquidity without ongoing support from its parent.
- A $136M war chest financed buildings, not a path to profit; the liquidation statement conceded Common 'was not able to achieve profitability' after a decade and national expansion.
What can be applied
Buying growth does not buy time: Common reached 7,000 rooms and a transatlantic merger without ever hitting profitability, so when rates and costs rose, the liquidity it needed was gone.
Aftermath
As of June 2024 Common Living was being wound down under Chapter 7, with its assets sold to repay creditors. Habyt said it would keep operating in Europe and Asia plus a small number of US properties, and Bovone told Bisnow the liquidation would leave the Habyt group profitable. Common's roughly 130 employees lost their jobs as operations were suspended, and tenants with active leases were told they would be contacted about the closure. The bankruptcy added Common to a graveyard of co-living pioneers that already included The Collective and Quarters.
Sources
- Co-Living Firm Common To Shutter After Aggressive Expansion Ends In Bankruptcy
- Coliving pioneer Common ceases trading
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card