The shared-living dictionary: which term means what?

Cohousing, coliving, house-sharing, coloc, kangaroo housing… Search for a place for a while and you'll notice it fast: everyone uses these words slightly differently. What one site calls "cohousing" another calls "co-wonen." And "coliving"? That's really just a fancy word for something that's been around for ages.

We figured it out for you. Below you'll find every term lined up, each with what it actually means, the French variant where it exists, and what to watch out for. So you know exactly what you're getting into.

⚠️ First, this: four words to be careful with

These four terms cause the most confusion. Not because they're difficult, but because different sources use them differently.

Cohousing means something very specific to experts and the government (your own home plus shared spaces), but in property listings it gets used for just about anything. Always read the details.

Coliving sounds like a separate housing form, but legally it doesn't exist. On paper it's simply co-tenancy or colocation.

Samenwonen (cohabitation) is first and foremost a civil status (legal or de facto cohabitation), not a housing form. Don't confuse the two, because it affects your taxes and benefits.

Habitat groupé is sometimes an umbrella term for everything in Wallonia and Brussels, and sometimes specifically "cohousing." It depends on who's saying it.

🏠 The housing forms

Huisdelen

FR: colocation · EN: house-sharing

The most common form in the city. You have your own bedroom and share the rest with your roomies: kitchen, bathroom, living room. No self-contained home of your own, but your own space within a larger whole.

Also known as: woningdelen, woongroep, gemeenschapshuis, kotwonen, coloc, house share.

Watch out: this is the term with the most synonyms. In practice they all mean the same thing.

Woongroep

FR: colocation · EN: house share

Unrelated residents sharing one home together, often for the longer term, with a shared intention. In practice the same as house-sharing, but the word puts a bit more emphasis on the long-term, deliberate nature of it.

Watch out: some property sites use "woongroep" the other way around, for a home split into mini-studios. So always check what's actually meant.

Gemeenschapshuis

FR: colocation · EN: house share / community house

Almost the same as a woongroep, but more temporary in nature. Think of students or young professionals living together for a few years and running the household themselves. Often the first taste of shared living.

Cohousing

FR: habitat groupé / cohabitat · EN: cohousing

You have your own, fully self-contained home (with your own kitchen and bathroom), but you deliberately share a number of living spaces with your neighbours. Usually a shared kitchen where people regularly eat together, often around a central "common house." Larger projects, ideally 8 to 35 homes on one site.

Rule of thumb: if you share the kitchen, it's cohousing.

Watch out: this is the word most often used incorrectly. Many sources confuse it with co-wonen.

Co-wonen

FR: habitat groupé · EN: co-living (autonomous units)

Like cohousing, you have your own self-contained home, but you share only non-living spaces: the garden, a laundry room, storage. The kitchen and living room stay entirely yours. A lighter form of cohousing.

Rule of thumb: if you share only the garden or storage, it's co-wonen.

Coliving

FR: coliving · EN: coliving

A furnished private room in a home run by an operator, with everything included: furniture, internet, utilities, often cleaning and events. The modern, move-in-ready version. Flexible, low-hassle.

Watch out: coliving is a commercial term, not a legal one. On paper it's simply co-tenancy or colocation. French-language media sometimes call it "the upscale version of colocation."

Zorgwonen

FR: habitat intergénérationnel · EN: care housing

An official Flemish status. Two households in one building, where the subordinate home takes up at most a third of the floor area and at least one resident is 65+ or in need of care. Requires a notification to your municipality.

Watch out: "zorgwonen" is the legal term with clear conditions. If you don't meet them, it's called kangoeroewonen.

Kangoeroewonen

FR: habitat kangourou · EN: kangaroo housing

The informal version of zorgwonen. Two households, often two generations, living under one roof and caring for one another. No age or care requirement, no separate status.

Also known as: dubbelwonen, duo-wonen.

Hospitawonen

FR: (no fixed term) · EN: live-in landlord

Someone who lives in the home themselves rents out one or more rooms and shares at least one facility with the tenant. The classic live-in landlord principle.

Also known as: hospitahuur. In Leuven and Kortrijk: kotmadam or kotbaas.

Watch out: in Antwerp, specific rules apply around the maximum number of rooms.

Leefgemeenschap

FR: communauté de vie · EN: intentional community

The most intensive form of shared living. People live closely attuned to one another, often around a binding theme such as spirituality, religion or social engagement. Less common.

⚖️ The legal terms (not housing forms, but contracts)

These words aren't about how you live, but about your contract and who's liable for what. Important to know, because they determine your rights.

Medehuur

FR: colocation · EN: co-tenancy

The Flemish legal term for when several people rent a home together. The rules differ depending on whether you're married, in a legal cohabitation, or simply renting a house with friends.

Colocation

NL: medehuur · EN: co-tenancy

The legal term in Brussels and Wallonia. There, you opt into a separate colocation status, with a mandatory "pacte de colocation" between the housemates. In Flanders that mandatory pact doesn't exist.

Onderhuur

FR: sous-location · EN: subletting

When a tenant (the primary tenant) in turn rents out part of the home to someone else (the subtenant). In Flanders this is only allowed with the owner's consent, and the primary tenant remains fully liable.

Samenwonen

FR: cohabitation · EN: legal cohabitation

Watch out: this is first and foremost a civil status, not a housing form. You can be in a legal cohabitation (a declaration to the municipality) or a de facto cohabitation (simply living under one roof together). It affects inheritance rights, taxes and benefits, regardless of how you live.

Still have questions?

This vocabulary is a tangle, and that's not on you. Different organisations deliberately use different systems. Still unsure which form fits you? Then read our guide on the different ways of sharing a home.

Go to the guide: the different ways of sharing a home