India’s residential real estate sector is witnessing a major shift in recent years, driven by changing lifestyles, rapid urbanisation and the growing mobility of students and young professionals. Traditional housing models are increasingly giving way to managed and flexible accommodation formats that focus not just on providing a place to stay, but also on convenience, community and experience. In this evolving ecosystem, Curated Living Solutions (CLS) has emerged as a significant player in the alternative housing segment.
Promoted by Bhaskar Raju of the Bengaluru-based DivyaSree Group, CLS is a premier alternative housing platform, managing more than 13,000 beds pan-India. The company specialises in developing and managing institutional-grade rental housing, including student housing, co-living and worker housing under its brands and has presence in 10 cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hubli and Dehradun. Founded in 2019, the company is planning to ramp up its portfolio to about 25,000 beds in the next 2-3 years and 50,000 beds over the next five years, while aiming to own at least half of these assets.
About 60 per cent of the company’s present portfolio is student housing, which remains its core business, while about 30 per cent is co-living, catering primarily to young professionals moving into large cities. These are city-centric assets in metro locations. The remaining 10 per cent is industrial or worker housing, which was added post-Covid.
“CLS was established with a vision to create professionally managed housing formats for millennials and urban migrants who increasingly prioritise flexibility, convenience and social engagement over conventional rental models,” says Jai Kishan Challa, CEO, CLS. “The company’s operating philosophy centres around delivering value-added living spaces that combine technology, hospitality and community-driven experiences.”
“We position ourselves as more than just an accommodation provider,” he adds. “We follow an integrated owner-operator model that allows it to participate across the housing value chain – from development and operations to brand building and service delivery. Our approach reflects the broader transformation underway in India’s housing market, where professionally managed rental assets are becoming increasingly important”.
Institutional renting
A significant development for the company happened recently when HDFC Capital Advisors entered into a partnership with CLS to set up India’s first large-scale institutional rental housing platform with an initial corpus of Rs1,000 crore. The initiative aims to develop, own and operate professionally managed rental assets across co-living, student housing and worker accommodation categories.
The platform will focus on the development, ownership and operation of institutional-grade rental housing assets to meet the growing demand for professionally managed rental accommodation across major urban centres. The partnership seeks to leverage long-term demographic and urbanisation trends, including workforce and student mobility and evolving lifestyle preferences, while supporting the transition of India’s rental housing market towards organised, institutionally owned formats.
“India’s urban rental housing market is at an inflexion point, shaped by a young and mobile population, and rental housing is essential to enhance mobility, particularly for students, young professionals and migrant workers,” affirms Vipul Roongta, CEO, HDFC Capital, commenting on the partnership. “Divyasree Group and CLS have strong governance and execution track records, and this partnership will focus on the development of scalable, professionally managed rental housing assets across top urban centres in India.”
“By combining HDFC Capital’s long-term capital with CLS’s operating expertise, the platform will focus on developing and owning high-quality rental housing assets with a clear emphasis on safety, functional design and sustainability,” says Raju, promoter, CLS and DivyaSree Group.