How to live in a luxury home on a low income

Fancy living in a top-spec London flat? Want to hang your hat in the charming former vicarage of an exclusive village? Sunbathe in a private garden overlooking the Thames?

Well, there is a way to pay a fraction of the market rent while living in a high-end home. Property guardians look after empty residential and commercial buildings. They move into the property and continue working in their day job, but also ensure the building is safe, secure and well-maintained.

How much can you save on rent?

According to property guardian recruiter Ad Hoc, rents start from just £35 a month including bills. Typically, guardians will pay between £150 and £500 a month.

That’s a potentially massive saving compared with average UK rents. Figures from Gumtree show that the average UK rent is now £665, but in London it’s typically £1,516. Even if you only want a one-bedroom flat, you’ll typically pay more than £1,200 a month in the capital.

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Guardians who want to pay as little as possible may need to camp out. The less homely the property, the less the rent is likely to be. For example, if a guardian is being asked to sleep on a put-up bed in an empty office block, they’ll pay much less than if they’re being asked to house-sit some pop-star’s pad.

On top of the cheap rent, bills are usually included, although many don’t have telephone or internet connections.

Is this just for Londoners?

Last month a report from the Evening Standard showed that £3 billion-worth of London mansions (700 of them) are lying empty, having been bought up by overseas investors.

So it’s easy to see why there’s demand for property guardians in the capital. However, guardians are recruited across the UK, especially for people who don’t mind camping in an unusual setting such as a church, sports hall or even office block.

Why use a property guardian?

So why would anyone want to move a guardian into their property while it lies empty? A vacant property risks being targeted by vandals, thieves and even squatters – there are regular new stories of London mansions being taken over by squatter communities.

Just having someone onsite to make sure maintenance needs are noticed and acted on can stop a building falling into disrepair while its owners are away.

Of course, owners could pay for round-the-clock security, but many choose the cheaper option of a live-in guardian to keep the building safe and their insurance premiums low.

Some property guardians are more like security guards than residents. They may work in pairs to ensure there is a round-the-clock presence, particularly for homes that belong to popular celebrities or contain rare and expensive fittings.

These guardians are more likely to be specialists; for example Vigilance Properties, recruits its guardians from among former Gurkhas, giving owners reassurance that their property is well guarded.

However, you don’t have to be ex-army to subsidise your rent this way. If you’re a single professional with no live-in dependants and no criminal convictions then can enjoy vast discounts on rent by becoming a property guardian. But there’s a big catch…

What’s the catch?

Charming homes for a fraction of the cost? Artificially low rent in popular cities such as London? There’s obviously going to be a catch.

The main issue is that the guardians have no security of tenancy. They are there to keep the building safe, not to be tenants, and so they can be unceremoniously turfed out when the owner wants their keys back.

Being made homeless without much warning is quite off-putting for most people, although most guardianship agreements will give tenants several weeks’ notice.

On top of that, the guardian has responsibilities that a tenant wouldn’t have. They can’t just decide to move out; they will usually have to give at least two weeks’ notice.

Most companies won’t recruit couples, or guardians who have families or pets; and most are also keen to recruit professionals. That means this simply isn’t an option for many people.

And of course, guardians can’t simply treat the property exactly like their own home. Most guardianship agreements ban parties, for example, and may limit access to parts of the property. Guardians usually need to be non-smokers and the owner pay prefer to recruit someone who works full time.

According to Camelot Vacant Property Management, guardians are usually young professionals and keyworkers looking for “a low-cost living solution”. So if your lifestyle suits these short-term housing arrangements then this can be a handy way to save a fortune in rent.

Would you consider being a property guardian? How affordable is your rent? Have your say using the comments below.