Óscar Raynaud

About the author

Óscar Raynaud is Head of Living at UrbanPay, where he works with coliving, flex living and student housing operators across Spain, France and the UK on how they collect rent, verify residents and sign contracts at scale. Based in Madrid since 2020, he has spent his career at the intersection of real estate and operations. He writes about what makes shared-living businesses work, for the people running them.

Articles (44)

• 9 Oct 2026What Institutional Capital Now Expects from Build-to-Rent OperatorsWhat institutional investors expect from build-to-rent operators in 2026: affordability discipline, retention, collection data, sustainability and reporting.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Verification of Payee One Year On: What Changed for Rent Paid by TransferOne year after Verification of Payee became mandatory, what it means for rent paid by bank transfer: no-match warnings, SPV and brand names, and how operators fix it.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Universities and Operators: Sharing the Student Housing ProblemHow universities and student housing operators partner: nomination agreements, referral deals, leases and campus concessions, and what each side needs.Read
• 9 Oct 2026When Fixed Terms Disappear: Tenancy Reform and Student HousingHow tenancy reform changes student housing: periodic tenancies, PBSA exemptions, possession grounds, rent in advance and booking windows, with England's Renters' Rights Act as the case study.Read
• 9 Oct 2026The Ideal Tech Stack for a Student Housing OperatorThe ideal PBSA tech stack for new and switching operators: student housing systems, booking channels, access, resident apps, accounting, and where UrbanPay fits.Read
• 9 Oct 2026The Student Housing Gap: Why Demand Keeps Outrunning BedsEurope's student housing shortage in 2026: provision rates by market, why supply lags demand, what governments are doing and what it means for PBSA operators.Read
• 9 Oct 2026When the Guarantor Pays: Verifying Parents and SponsorsIn student housing the payer is often a parent, sponsor or company. How operators verify guarantors and sponsors, handle cross-border cases and sign guarantees.Read
• 9 Oct 2026PBSA Beyond the Capital: The Case for Smaller University CitiesWhy investors and operators are looking at student housing in smaller university cities: lower provision, less competition, different demand and leaner operations.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Student Housing Goes Core: Why PBSA Became an Institutional FavouriteWhy purpose-built student accommodation became a core-like asset for institutional investors: undersupply, income visibility, yield compression and what operators must deliver.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Choose an Operating Model with InvestorsLease, management contract, hybrid lease or joint venture: how living operators choose an operating model with investors, and who carries which risk.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Operational Due Diligence: Why Investors Now Audit the Back OfficeWhy investors now audit a living operator's back office: the collection data, arrears, verification records and controls they check, and how to be ready.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Mid-Term Rental, Coliving or Serviced Apartment: Choosing the Flex ModelMid-term rental, coliving or serviced apartment? How the three flex living models compare on stay length, legal regime, services, margin and operations.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Mid-Term Rentals Under Scrutiny: Documenting the Temporary ReasonMid-term and temporary rentals face tighter rules across Europe. How operators document the temporary reason, the legal basis and registration so contracts hold up.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Living Is Europe's Biggest Real Estate Sector: What It Means for OperatorsLiving drew €29.9bn in H1 2026, 26% of European real estate investment. What the numbers say, where capital is going, and what it asks of operators.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Build a Living Operator's Tech StackHow to build a tech stack for coliving, flex living and student housing: the layers you need, one system of record, clean integrations and what to buy versus build.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Lease Renewal Season: Keeping Good Tenants When Contracts EndHow residential operators handle lease renewals in 2026: a 90-day timeline, rent reviews within the rules, light re-verification and e-signed amendments.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Start a Student Housing BusinessHow to start a student housing business: reading the supply gap, choosing city and model, and building a September move-in that runs itself.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Scale a Coliving Portfolio from One Building to TenHow to scale a coliving business: prove building one, standardise before you replicate, structure entities and build a back office that survives building ten.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Raise Capital for a Living PlatformHow living operators raise capital in 2026: separating platform and property money, what investors check, the main deal structures and a data room that holds up.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Price Rooms in Coliving and Flex LivingHow to price coliving and flex living rooms: anchor on the alternative, build a clear all-inclusive price, grid by stay length and keep the cost of collecting low.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Launch a Flex Living OperationHow to launch a flex living operation: choosing the resident, the legal basis for stays, unit design, pricing and a back office built for monthly turnover.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Launch a Build-to-Rent SchemeHow to launch a build-to-rent scheme: pre-letting, a weekly lease-up funnel, fast applications and a back office that takes the building to stabilised occupancy.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Convert an Office Building into Rental HousingOffice to residential conversion in 2026: why the numbers work now, a feasibility checklist, choosing coliving, PBSA or apartments, and planning operations early.Read
• 9 Oct 2026The Ideal Tech Stack for a Flex Living OperatorThe ideal flex living tech stack for new and switching operators: long-stay PMS options, channels, revenue management, access, accounting and where UrbanPay fits.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How to Digitise Tenant Onboarding from Booking to KeysHow to digitise tenant onboarding: remote identity checks, eIDAS e-signature, first payment and access, in one flow that finishes before the resident arrives.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Digital Identity Wallets and the Future of Tenant OnboardingThe EU Digital Identity Wallet arrives by the end of 2026. What it means for tenant onboarding, who must accept it and when, and how living operators should prepare.Read
• 9 Oct 2026How Collection Costs Show Up in GOP and Asset ValueHow rent collection costs flow into GOP, NOI and asset value in living real estate, with a worked example for a 300-unit building and what operators can control.Read
• 9 Oct 2026The Ideal Tech Stack for a Coliving OperatorThe ideal coliving tech stack for new and switching operators: coliving PMS options, channels, access, community apps, accounting, and where UrbanPay fits.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Why Residents Leave Coliving, and What Keeps Them LongerWhy coliving residents leave and what keeps them longer: price at renewal, maintenance, community fatigue, friction, and moves within your own portfolio.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Coliving and Regulation: How the Rules Are Catching UpColiving regulation is tightening in Europe: rent control, room rentals, bundled services and registration. What is changing and what operators should document now.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Coliving KPIs That MatterThe coliving KPIs that actually drive performance: occupancy, revenue per available room, length of stay, churn, cost per turnover and cost to collect.Read
• 9 Oct 2026The Ideal Tech Stack for a Build-to-Rent OperatorThe ideal build-to-rent tech stack for new and switching operators: BTR property management systems, maintenance, resident apps, access and where UrbanPay fits.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Invoicing Companies, Not Just Residents: B2B Billing in Flex LivingHow flex living and coliving operators bill companies: verifying corporate payers, contracts, invoicing, e-invoicing rules and collecting from business accounts.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Automated Rent Reconciliation: What "Matched to the Room" Really TakesWhat automated rent reconciliation really requires: payment requests per charge, structured references, known payers, entity-aware ledgers and exception rules.Read
• 9 Oct 2026AML in Rental Housing: Preparing for the New EU RulebookWhat the EU anti-money-laundering rulebook applying from July 2027 means for rental housing operators: who is in scope, sanctions duties and practical screening.Read
• 9 Oct 2026Affordable Rental Housing at Scale: Making Regulated Rents WorkAffordable rental housing is drawing record institutional capital. How operators make regulated rents work: eligibility checks, low cost to collect, tight arrears.Read
• 7 Sept 2026Short-Term Assignments and ColivingShort term corporate housing in coliving: why three-to-twelve-month project assignments fit the model and how fast operator onboarding must be to win them.Read
• 7 Sept 2026Where Remote-Worker Demand Moves NextColiving in Malaga, Valencia and other secondary cities: why remote-worker demand is leaving the capitals and what opening there means for the back office.Read
• 7 Sept 2026How to Start a Coliving Business in 2026How to start a coliving business that lasts: lessons from the sector's shakeout, real estate discipline, differentiation and a back office built in early.Read
• 7 Sept 2026The 5 C's of Coliving for OperatorsWhat makes coliving work for members and for the operator running it: comfort, convenience, cost, care and community, seen from the operator's side.Read
• 7 Sept 2026Digital Nomad Visas for Coliving OperatorsDigital nomad visa coliving demand is growing. Who the new member is, how they pay from abroad, and how operators onboard someone with no local paperwork.Read
• 7 Sept 2026Coworking in Coliving: Build or Partner?Coworking coliving decisions for operators: when to build an on-site workspace, when to partner with a local operator, and how to bill day passes cleanly.Read
• 7 Sept 2026Sustainability in Coliving: 3 SDGs to StartA sustainable coliving operation starts with three UN SDGs: decent work, sustainable cities and responsible consumption, mapped to operator decisions.Read
• 7 Sept 2026Coliving for Corporate RelocationColiving corporate relocation is following the path coworking took. What relocating employees need, why lump-sum packages help and how to onboard them.Read