What is Property Guardianship?

A property guardian is someone who has agreed to pay a lesser rent to live in an empty property. Their role is to protect and preserve it, usually in higher cost parts of the country. Although a key role of property guardianship is to protect the property, this is just a deterrent and guardians do not act as security.

Why do people choose to become a property guardian?

There are many different reasons why people choose to become a property guardian. The main one is due to the price of living in big cities such as London. According to a study by The London Assembly,  the average property guardian license fee in London was £475 per month. This is considerably lower than that of the Private Rental Sector.

What is the difference between property guardianship and tenancy?

Usual renting rights do not apply for Property Guardians as they are classed as a licencee not tenants. Tenancies for renters are commonly known as Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST), and are usually fixed contracts for  6 – 12 months. This differs between a property guardians licence as they do not have a fixed term contract and it can be terminated whenever with 3o days notice.

Legal Differences 

  1. Property guardianship is a non-exclusive occupation of a premises meaning that the owner of the property or the property guardianship company can enter without prior notice. 
  2. Shorter notice periods – Guardians are only given 28 days notice period to leave the premises.

If the owner wants to take the property back, guardianship companies will usually try to rehouse the occupants, but this is not guaranteed.  

What type of properties are available?

The majority of properties requiring guardians are commercial but residential homes may also be available. The property must;

  • Be wind and water proof
  • Not be derelict or an abandoned property
  • Have basic water and electricity facilities

These properties can be old schools, nursing homes, health centres. disused shops as well as residential homes.

Conditions of being a property guardian

For Global Guardians you must be;

  • Over 21
  • In Full Time Employment
  • No pets and no children allowed in the properties
  • No DSS accepted

Full conditions will be in the licence agreement.

 

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