Loneliness in Britain isn’t occasional – it’s persistent, widespread, and costing us billions. New research from Vann Vogstad & COHO in “The Loneliness Report” a national study on loneliness and the role of shared living reveals that 57% of people experiencing loneliness feel it at least once a week, with 16% feeling lonely every single day. For those aged 26-35, the demographic LOFT has spent two decades serving through student accommodation and co-living spaces, 1 in 5 feel lonely daily despite often being surrounded by people.
This isn’t just a mental health crisis. It’s a design challenge – and one that LOFT.uk‘s “People First Design” philosophy is uniquely positioned to address.
The Living Situation Problem No One’s Talking About
What struck me most about COHO’s findings wasn’t the prevalence of loneliness – we’ve known it’s widespread. It was the root causes. While mental health issues (11.5%) and anxiety (8.3%) top the list, there’s another critical factor: living situations.
Around 15% of lonely people cite living with parents (12.1%) or living with incompatible housemates (4.5%) as major contributors to their isolation. Think about that. These aren’t people living alone in empty flats. They’re surrounded by others but feeling profoundly disconnected.
You can be lonely in a crowded house if you don’t feel connected to the people around you. You can be isolated in a city full of people if your living environment doesn’t facilitate genuine human connection. This is the paradox of modern housing – and it’s exactly what LOFT has been working to solve for over 150,000 properties.
Why Most Shared Housing Fails
Having furnished Student Accommodation, Co-Living schemes, and Build-to-Rent developments across the UK, I’ve seen firsthand why some shared spaces create community while others compound isolation.
Poor communal spaces – kitchens too small to gather in, living areas that feel like corridors, spaces that are functional but not inviting. When communal areas feel like obstacles rather than opportunities, residents retreat to their rooms.
Incompatible housemates – throwing strangers together based solely on budget creates tension, not connection. The research confirms this: 4.5% cite living with people they don’t get along with as a loneliness driver.
Lack of professional management – when maintenance goes unaddressed and conflicts between residents are ignored, shared housing becomes a last resort rather than a choice.
The default view of HMOs and shared accommodation is often that they’re poorly managed, that they drain communities. But that’s not an inevitability – it’s a design failure.
The “People First Design” Difference
At LOFT.uk, “People First Design” has never been a marketing phrase. It’s the operational principle that’s guided every property we’ve furnished since 2003. It’s the reason we achieved a 98% waste diversion rate and partnered with Reuse Network – because we recognise that furniture isn’t just functional, it’s foundational to how people experience their homes and connect with others.
When we approach co-living and PBSA projects, we design for human behaviour, not just spatial efficiency:
Scale matters – communal kitchens need room for multiple people to cook simultaneously, not just technically sufficient counter space. Dining areas need to accommodate actual group meals, not just provide the minimum required seating.
Comfort drives usage – a sofa isn’t just somewhere to sit, it’s where conversations happen. The right furniture creates natural gathering points. The wrong furniture creates barriers.
Quality signals care – when the furniture is durable, comfortable, and thoughtfully selected, residents feel valued. That matters more than most landlords realise. Our “FLEX Living” collection for co-living and student markets was developed precisely because quality furnishing in shared spaces directly impacts how residents interact with their environment and each other.
Maintenance continuity – our installation teams don’t just deliver furniture and leave. We maintain relationships with clients long-term because wear-and-tear in communal spaces needs addressing before it becomes a barrier to use.
The Economic Case for Getting This Right
COHO’s research reveals the financial toll of loneliness: 56% of lonely people have paid for private treatment, with costs ranging from under £100 to £10,000. Another 12% are relying on the NHS. That’s 1 in 8 lonely people adding pressure to an overstretched system for a condition that’s as much about environment and circumstances as it is about mental health.
Meanwhile, only 18% of people have recognised shared housing as a potential solution to loneliness. That gap exists because shared housing has a reputation problem – one created by poorly designed, inadequately managed properties.
This represents both a crisis and an opportunity. Quality shared living addresses multiple challenges simultaneously: loneliness, housing affordability, supply constraints, and pressure on healthcare services.
For councils assessing HMO applications, the question shouldn’t be “how do we limit these?” It should be “are we approving homes that will help the people living there?” Proper communal areas, thoughtful design, and professional management separate spaces that create community from those that contribute to isolation.
For developers and operators, this isn’t philanthropy – it’s sound business strategy. The operators who understand that shared living is addressing a genuine social need will differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.
What LOFT® Brings to Co-Living Operators
Our work with major partners like Grainger, Get Living, Unite Students, and developers like Berkeley Homes and Cortland has taught us that successful shared living requires:
- Deep understanding of sector-specific needs – student accommodation requires different solutions than young professional co-living, which differs again from senior housing. Our recently restructured sales approach around sector specialisation reflects this reality.
- Supply chain resilience – our manufacturing relationships in China, and current exploration of Brazilian suppliers, mean we can deliver at scale without compromising on quality or timeline. When you’re furnishing a 200-unit co-living scheme, consistency matters.
- Installation excellence – furniture that arrives but isn’t properly installed creates immediate barriers to community. Our teams understand that we’re not just delivering products, we’re creating environments.
- Sustainability credentials – our 98% waste diversion rate and End Furniture Poverty partnership matter because residents increasingly care about the values reflected in their living spaces.
- Long-term partnership approach – as we’ve grown to 150+ employees across Manchester, London, and international offices, we’ve maintained the principle that our success is measured by our clients’ and their residents’ satisfaction, not just transaction volume.
Designing for Connection in 2026
The co-living and shared accommodation sector stands at a crossroads. COHO’s research makes clear that loneliness is a persistent, measurable crisis with significant economic and health costs. It also makes clear that living situations play a more substantial role than most people realise.
At LOFT, we’ve spent 23 years understanding how people interact with their living spaces. From our early days furnishing student HMOs in Fallowfield to our current work on projects like The OWO Residences by Raffles, the fundamental insight hasn’t changed: furniture isn’t just functional, it’s social infrastructure.
As we target £25M revenue for FY27 and expand Loft Living Global across Germany, UAE, and Australia, we’re not just scaling a furniture business. We’re scaling an approach that recognises quality shared living can genuinely address isolation, improve wellbeing, and strengthen communities.
The question for operators, developers, and landlords isn’t whether shared living can help solve Britain’s loneliness crisis. COHO’s research proves it can. The question is whether you’re designing and managing properties in ways that create connection rather than compounding isolation.
That’s where People First Design makes the difference.
Loneliness in Britain isn’t occasional – it’s persistent, widespread, and costing us billions. New research from Vann Vogstad & COHO in “The Loneliness Report” a national study on loneliness and the role of shared living reveals that 57% of people experiencing loneliness feel it at least once a week, with 16% feeling lonely every single day. For those aged 26-35, the demographic LOFT has spent two decades serving through student accommodation and co-living spaces, 1 in 5 feel lonely daily despite often being surrounded by people.
This isn’t just a mental health crisis. It’s a design challenge – and one that LOFT.uk‘s “People First Design” philosophy is uniquely positioned to address.
The Living Situation Problem No One’s Talking About
What struck me most about COHO’s findings wasn’t the prevalence of loneliness – we’ve known it’s widespread. It was the root causes. While mental health issues (11.5%) and anxiety (8.3%) top the list, there’s another critical factor: living situations.
Around 15% of lonely people cite living with parents (12.1%) or living with incompatible housemates (4.5%) as major contributors to their isolation. Think about that. These aren’t people living alone in empty flats. They’re surrounded by others but feeling profoundly disconnected.
You can be lonely in a crowded house if you don’t feel connected to the people around you. You can be isolated in a city full of people if your living environment doesn’t facilitate genuine human connection. This is the paradox of modern housing – and it’s exactly what LOFT has been working to solve for over 150,000 properties.
Why Most Shared Housing Fails
Having furnished Student Accommodation, Co-Living schemes, and Build-to-Rent developments across the UK, I’ve seen firsthand why some shared spaces create community while others compound isolation.
Poor communal spaces – kitchens too small to gather in, living areas that feel like corridors, spaces that are functional but not inviting. When communal areas feel like obstacles rather than opportunities, residents retreat to their rooms.
Incompatible housemates – throwing strangers together based solely on budget creates tension, not connection. The research confirms this: 4.5% cite living with people they don’t get along with as a loneliness driver.
Lack of professional management – when maintenance goes unaddressed and conflicts between residents are ignored, shared housing becomes a last resort rather than a choice.
The default view of HMOs and shared accommodation is often that they’re poorly managed, that they drain communities. But that’s not an inevitability – it’s a design failure.
The “People First Design” Difference
At LOFT.uk, “People First Design” has never been a marketing phrase. It’s the operational principle that’s guided every property we’ve furnished since 2003. It’s the reason we achieved a 98% waste diversion rate and partnered with Reuse Network – because we recognise that furniture isn’t just functional, it’s foundational to how people experience their homes and connect with others.
When we approach co-living and PBSA projects, we design for human behaviour, not just spatial efficiency:
Scale matters – communal kitchens need room for multiple people to cook simultaneously, not just technically sufficient counter space. Dining areas need to accommodate actual group meals, not just provide the minimum required seating.
Comfort drives usage – a sofa isn’t just somewhere to sit, it’s where conversations happen. The right furniture creates natural gathering points. The wrong furniture creates barriers.
Quality signals care – when the furniture is durable, comfortable, and thoughtfully selected, residents feel valued. That matters more than most landlords realise. Our “FLEX Living” collection for co-living and student markets was developed precisely because quality furnishing in shared spaces directly impacts how residents interact with their environment and each other.
Maintenance continuity – our installation teams don’t just deliver furniture and leave. We maintain relationships with clients long-term because wear-and-tear in communal spaces needs addressing before it becomes a barrier to use.
The Economic Case for Getting This Right
COHO’s research reveals the financial toll of loneliness: 56% of lonely people have paid for private treatment, with costs ranging from under £100 to £10,000. Another 12% are relying on the NHS. That’s 1 in 8 lonely people adding pressure to an overstretched system for a condition that’s as much about environment and circumstances as it is about mental health.
Meanwhile, only 18% of people have recognised shared housing as a potential solution to loneliness. That gap exists because shared housing has a reputation problem – one created by poorly designed, inadequately managed properties.
This represents both a crisis and an opportunity. Quality shared living addresses multiple challenges simultaneously: loneliness, housing affordability, supply constraints, and pressure on healthcare services.
For councils assessing HMO applications, the question shouldn’t be “how do we limit these?” It should be “are we approving homes that will help the people living there?” Proper communal areas, thoughtful design, and professional management separate spaces that create community from those that contribute to isolation.
For developers and operators, this isn’t philanthropy – it’s sound business strategy. The operators who understand that shared living is addressing a genuine social need will differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.
What LOFT® Brings to Co-Living Operators
Our work with major partners like Grainger, Get Living, Unite Students, and developers like Berkeley Homes and Cortland has taught us that successful shared living requires:
- Deep understanding of sector-specific needs – student accommodation requires different solutions than young professional co-living, which differs again from senior housing. Our recently restructured sales approach around sector specialisation reflects this reality.
- Supply chain resilience – our manufacturing relationships in China, and current exploration of Brazilian suppliers, mean we can deliver at scale without compromising on quality or timeline. When you’re furnishing a 200-unit co-living scheme, consistency matters.
- Installation excellence – furniture that arrives but isn’t properly installed creates immediate barriers to community. Our teams understand that we’re not just delivering products, we’re creating environments.
- Sustainability credentials – our 98% waste diversion rate and End Furniture Poverty partnership matter because residents increasingly care about the values reflected in their living spaces.
- Long-term partnership approach – as we’ve grown to 150+ employees across Manchester, London, and international offices, we’ve maintained the principle that our success is measured by our clients’ and their residents’ satisfaction, not just transaction volume.
Designing for Connection in 2026
The co-living and shared accommodation sector stands at a crossroads. COHO’s research makes clear that loneliness is a persistent, measurable crisis with significant economic and health costs. It also makes clear that living situations play a more substantial role than most people realise.
At LOFT, we’ve spent 23 years understanding how people interact with their living spaces. From our early days furnishing student HMOs in Fallowfield to our current work on projects like The OWO Residences by Raffles, the fundamental insight hasn’t changed: furniture isn’t just functional, it’s social infrastructure.
As we target £25M revenue for FY27 and expand Loft Living Global across Germany, UAE, and Australia, we’re not just scaling a furniture business. We’re scaling an approach that recognises quality shared living can genuinely address isolation, improve wellbeing, and strengthen communities.
The question for operators, developers, and landlords isn’t whether shared living can help solve Britain’s loneliness crisis. COHO’s research proves it can. The question is whether you’re designing and managing properties in ways that create connection rather than compounding isolation.
That’s where People First Design makes the difference.
