Cove Co-Living: Co-founder Luca Bregoli on simplifying renting

In a property market as hot as Singapore, who thinks of the renting tenants? Co-founder and COO of Cove Coliving, Luca Bregoli talks about digitising and streamlining the renting process and putting tenants at the centre of the business:

"Cove was born out of a vision my co-founders, Sophie Jokelson and Guillaume Castagne, and I had for making the rental process seamless, affordable and accessible. This stemmed from having rented multiple properties worldwide, allowing us to be familiar with the struggles faced by tenants and identify gaps within the market.

Additionally, we realised the great potential the rental industry possessed for growth and that the traditional offerings in the market were inadequate and not evolving with consumer needs and behaviour.

Consumer behaviours have changed over the years, with a greater emphasis on digitalisation, making the traditional rental processes outdated and clunky.

Lesser viewing appointments, lesser paperwork

Cove uses technology to simplify the rental process and allows the parties involved, tenants and landlords, to do away with the multiple appointments and tedious paperwork.

In addition, our user-friendly website, virtual reality tours and an all-in-one dashboard for landlords to access all the necessary information speed up the move-in process, which otherwise can be slow and daunting.

Cove coliving caters to individuals of varying ages and needs. We intend to provide flexibility and allow everyone to have their own space.

Younger Singaporeans More Attracted to Renting

However, with the rising prices of HDB flats, especially in the resale market, coupled with the supply being unable to keep up with demand due to delays in the construction of BTO (Build-to-Order) flats, renting is becoming a more attractive option for young Singaporeans.

Moreover, there is also the conventionally long four to five year waiting process for BTOs to be ready, even without construction delays.

Furthermore, the conventional and restrictive structure of the real estate market no longer attracts younger Singaporeans and South-east Asians.

An increasing number of younger generations are choosing to marry later, creating a demand to move out and rent before buying their own property. This was further exacerbated by the pandemic, where many Singaporeans were shown the importance of having a safe space to call their own.

One to three month rentals available

Cove offers short rental contracts between one to three months and monthly rolling contracts, which are essentially impossible to get in the current real estate market.

This is especially suitable for Singaporeans who do not wish to wait until age 35 to get their own home, or even those who don’t want to get married earlier, all for the sake of living independently.

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Most renters are young adults and students

Currently, Cove’s main consumer base is young professionals and students in Singapore and Indonesia.

We also have a fairly significant number of studios and one- and two-bedroom units that cater to people with higher budgets or families. We plan to expand our game-changing model across South-east Asia to offer better homes to thousands more of the region’s young urbanites.

For over four years, Cove has removed deterrents to renting by simplifying the tedious process and considering the costs incurred. With that in mind, Cove has used technology and a consumer-first approach to transform and make the experience more seamless and affordable.

No property agent fees

No agent fees are also payable to Cove, reducing the cost of finding an apartment.

Additionally, by putting tenants at the centre of the rental process, Cove has expanded its portfolio across Singapore, with more than 150 properties and a total of 3,000 rooms in both Singapore and Jakarta, growing more than 15 times the roughly 200 rooms it had in 2019.

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Cove aims to reimagine urban rental with tenants at heart.

We offer transparent pricing, online booking and comfortable spaces with every detail taken care of. Starting from $800 per month, Cove has three property tiers varying in the level of furnishing and services provided:

• Basics
• Classics
• Luxe

This allows us to optimise each pricing tier for what the tenant needs and wants and proportionate it to the price point. Tenants can also choose rooms or entire units accordingly.

Ultimately, Cove has poised itself as an all-in-one platform for tenants and landlords with a vision of solving the industry’s pain points, thus creating a smooth and enjoyable experience for all."

Luca Bregoli is the co-founder and COO of Cove, a one-stop rental platform founded in 2018 that aims to streamline and revolutionise the rental process to empower young urbanites in South-east Asia.