Fratries: inclusive shared housing promoting community living

What is the purpose of Fratries? 

The project was launched in 2021 with one central goal: to enable young people with mental disabilities or autism spectrum disorders to live in a normal environment. To achieve this inclusive approach, we offer them the opportunity to join Fratries co-living spaces: fully furnished shared flats located in the heart of large cities, where young working people with and without disabilities live together. This should be a decisive lever in facilitating their integration into city life, both personally and professionally.

The design of each house is based on extensive collaboration with young people with disabilities and their families. This involves understanding their needs, their desires and the support they require, which will be provided by a dedicated team of professionals. The land will be purchased by one of our partners, a socially responsible investor who will also finance the renovation work, before offering it to us at a socially responsible rent that will enable young people with disabilities to pay an affordable rent in line with their income. Young people without disabilities will rent at market rates.

The Covivio Foundation supports Fratries. How did this partnership come about? 

Covivio is a leading real estate player that conducts in-depth research into the transformation of building uses. We have common interests and a shared vision of real estate issues. It was therefore quite natural for us to approach a group from which we had a lot to learn.

How does the Covivio Foundation support Fratries?

Firstly, it is financial. Our projects can begin two or three years before the shared accommodation opens, and most of the preliminary stages need to be financed (project engineering, construction work, pre-recruitment). This is where the Covivio Foundation comes in. For example, it has contributed to investments in a Fratries house project in Colombes (92) and to the financing of new houses in Bourg-la-Reine (92) and Paris (75). This is a valuable commitment for us, especially as it is a long-term commitment (currently until 2027). It therefore provides us with financial stability.

We also benefit from the expertise of Covivio employees in various fields (real estate, IT, etc.), particularly through skills sponsorship. This knowledge sharing has enabled us, for example, to successfully secure our IT network.

What are Fratries’ next major projects? 

We are working on opening new shared houses between the end of 2025 and 2026. Three deliveries are currently underway in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, in Bourg-la-Reine (92) and in Nantes. Our goal is to offer three to five additional co-living spaces each year. To achieve this, we decided in 2024 to create a property company. This will enable us to finance the acquisition of new houses and thus accelerate our roll-out, while ensuring the sustainability of our model. An initial round of fundraising has already taken place, with a second round to be carried out by the end of 2025.

Another long-term goal is to demonstrate, through our approach, that living together is possible and accessible to all. We want to convince real estate and co-living players that our inclusive model can be replicated and that they can adopt it to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in their property portfolios.