Addressing the issue regarding Co-living Service GmbH & Co. KG (also known as Co-liCo)

Important note: This article was published on 29 October, 2022. The aim was to provide initial information regarding the ‘Co-liCo Incident’ to our customers, who are directly impacted by this event, as soon as possible.

In the early morning of Saturday 29th of October, hundreds of HousingAnywhere customers, who booked a place to stay at Co-living Service GmbH & Co. KG (also known as Co-liCo), got struck by a message that their bookings will be postponed for an indefinite period of time due to the change of the company’s management. Following that message, Co-liCo stopped responding to any communications and closed down the website, suggesting that they have no intention to resolve nor explain the situation via open communications.

Co-liCo had been using our platform for successful bookings since 2021 as a legitimate company, therefore we were also in shock to find this incident. For unknown reasons, the company stopped honouring its commitment overnight, causing a lot of distress to our customers. The HousingAnywhere team got immediately alerted by this event as some of the customers were to move-in on the very day and many more got highly distressed by potential loss of their new homes and the payment made in advance.

First and foremost, we are deeply sorry that this situation happened to HousingAnywhere customers, who trusted us in finding their new homes. While this should not have happened in the first place and no words can fully recover our customer's distressed situation, we wish to use this page to transparently update everyone that may have been impacted by this situation on the actions that are being taken to resolve this situation as soon and as thoroughly as possible.

Immediate appeal to the customers:

1. Customer contact points: support@housinganywhere.com or other contact details (phone lines are open during our operating hours).
2. All our customers who we have identified to have been impacted by this event: We have sent personal messages in the last 24 hours. This statement will also reach you via your email. If you have not received any, please reach out to us or simply respond to the email you will receive.
3. Our customers whose move-in date is between 29th October (the date the incident has been reported) and 4th November: We are currently in contact with local hotels to arrange an alternative accommodation for a week, to start with. The costs of arranging this alternative accommodation will be fully covered by HousingAnywhere. We have sent you personal messages so please contact us, if you feel that could be an option for you. If your move in date is further in the future, please kindly bear with us as we hope to provide you with more information throughout the week as we have more updates.
4. Refunds of payments made to HousingAnywhere: All the payments you made to our platform when booking will be fully refunded. The refund process is set up as we speak. Please kindly bear with us as the process can take a few days.
5. Refunds of payments made directly to Co-liCo: HousingAnywhere is committed to supporting our customers in recouping any payments that you made directly to Co-liCo. Unfortunately, we do not have direct control over the payment you made to Co-liCo, however, we will be actively pursuing legal actions and are in touch with local law enforcement.
6. Anyone who is currently staying as a tenant with Co-liCo: We advise you to refrain from paying any rent or fees to Co-liCo, if Co-liCo remains unresponsive.
7. Anyone who has any information about Co-liCo and/or this situation: Please contact us as your input will be highly valuable to speed up our investigation.

Other actions taking place:

1. We strongly urge anyone who is involved in this event, whether voluntary or forced, to come forward as soon as possible. Effective immediately, we are pursuing legal advice and actions to resolve this case further.
2. An official letter will be sent to the local police stations to express our willingness for a full cooperation and collaboration.
3. A dedicated incident response team at HousingAnywhere is placing this event as of the utmost importance and looking into the case in multiple angles to investigate this further.

Important note: This article was published on 29 October, 2022. The aim was to provide initial information regarding the ‘Co-liCo Incident’ to our customers, who are directly impacted by this event, as soon as possible.

With sincere apologies,

Djordy Seelmann CEO HousingAnywhere

Note to press

For further information and/or collaboration for further investigation, contact press@housinganywhere.com