Cohabs Aims to Build a Better Tomorrow

This is the true story of seven strangers who pick to live in a house, to find out what happens when people start getting real. That might sound like the opening of MTV’s hit series “The Real World” but it’s also what Cohabs will bring to the United States, when the doors to its first US house officially open in Brooklyn, minus the reality show cameras of course.
Cohabs is an extraordinary shared living experience with 33 meticulously crafted houses and 550 rooms overseas in Belgium. The growing global brand, which exemplifies the future of urban living, is now coming to New York City with three beautiful and fully furnished houses opening in the next year. The first US Cohabs residence opens in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on November 1st. Cohabs will then open houses in Harlem near Columbia University and in East Williamsburg in 2021.

This first gorgeously designed 6,000 square foot community-driven home is divided into two units with 7 bedrooms and tons of living space across three floors. The house will play host to intimate breakfasts and dinners for tenants with the goal of cultivating a strong and dynamic community between cohabitants.

Cohabs aims to create a global community through a shared living experience. Cohabs allows their residents to choose what level of coziness they're looking for in a bedroom space with options ranging from ‘cozy,’ to ‘spacious. Monthly rates begin at $1160, which includes a fully furnished home, all utilities, WiFi, use of all of Cohabs communal rooms and access to the Cohabs global community via an app. Lease terms offered are three months, six months and one year to provide flexibility during uncertain times.

One current resident in Belgium, Utsarg Sajjan shared his view of Cohabs, “When you arrive in a new country, finding a place you can call home and finding people you can call your own are the two most difficult things to find. With Cohabs, everything is in place from day one. From a warm community welcoming you at the house, to a hassle free paperwork process to get through the formalities, from a cozy cinema room to unwind at the end of a tiring day, to Saturday night dinner parties, from weekend getaways with housemates to events within the Cohabs community. This makes it the perfect place to be. It's a home away from home and a community turned into a family.”

Youri Dauber, Malik Dauber and François Samyn are the co-founders of Cohabs. These successful young entrepreneurs previously launched two startups together, which both sold to large companies. In 2012 the Dauber brothers and Samyn launched Soccha, which offered responsible outsourcing services in Madagascar. They quickly grew Soccha to a 100+ person business and sold it to one of the biggest data and press monitoring companies in the Benelux in 2014. Their most recent startup created prior to Cohabs was Drawbotics, which offered marketing tools and virtual home staging for real estate professionals.

Cohabs was started in 2016 to revolutionize shared accommodations. The founders' mission for Cohabs is to build a better tomorrow by improving the way we live today. By owning, building, renovating and operating their coliving spaces, they ensure that each Cohabs house is purposefully designed from the ground up to create memorable moments in life, while limiting any negative environmental impact to their surroundings.

Lionel Jadot is a partner and Chief Design Officer for Cohabs. Cohabs’ design aesthetic is based on recycling and upcycling. Jadot avoids buying new furniture from traditional retailers, instead favoring second-hand finds perfect for upcycling. He thinks about the theme of the house while being in it, making Cohabs as unique in its architecture as it is inclusive with its residents. The goal is to solely create small units to build a strong sense of community throughout. The first US Cohabs residence will feature a private rooftop, gym, laundry room and storage space in addition to two communal kitchens with state of the art appliances, two bright living rooms and two lounges.