Luke Williams has lived in a Masonic lodge in Hampstead Heath, a former 17th-century workhouse in Cambridge and a school in Kilburn. He currently resides in a disused office block in the heart of east London’s Whitechapel.
If these don’t sound like appealing places, perhaps this will seal the deal for you: Luke pays 30 per cent less than the average monthly London rent of £2,268 for his enormous two-bedroom open-plan apartment with all bills included for £1,600 a month.
At a time when private rental rates are sky-high – up by 29 per cent over the past five years, according to the rental website SpareRoom – what is his secret?
Luke is a property guardian – someone who lives in a vacant property to keep it in good condition and safeguarded from squatters or vandals. It is a clever rental hack that has saved the 46-year-old more than £23,400 over the past three years.
This money-saving trick is becoming increasingly popular – with the likes of chefs, prime-time TV actors and even ex-professional footballers moving into these quirky homes.
Luke, originally from Bristol, says: ‘It started in 2018 when I was looking for somewhere to rent in Cambridge. I was viewing tiny rooms that cost £800 a month and wanted more space.
‘Then I saw a listing for a guardian property. It was vast, with oak-panelled walls, stone staircases and stained-glass windows – and it was £500 a month.’
Luke Williams in his two-bedroom open-plan apartment in a disused office block in Whitechapel, east London, for which he pays £1,600 all bills included, 30 per cent less than the average monthly rent in the capital
Luke previously lived in this a Masonic lodge in Hampstead Heath, north London
Luke is a Live-In Guardian, a solution for owners of large, disused buildings as well as renters struggling with rising costs
Guardianships are a solution for owners of large, disused buildings as well as renters struggling with rising costs.
For the owner, having a tenant in situ reduces the risk of break-ins, stops squatters from claiming rights over an abandoned space and means there is someone on site to report issues – such as leaks, which could cause costly damage if left.
Said Hamed, from Live-in Guardians, a property management company that specialises in guardianships, says: ‘Vacant properties often result in anti-social behaviour, complaints from neighbours and do not help the local community. Plus, owners might be spending thousands a month on traditional security.
‘By renting it out, owners are getting free security and providing affordable housing – it’s a win‑win for everyone.’
Landlords must provide a habitable building that meets the same living standards as any other private rental. However, invariably, they will be a bit quirky.
Live-in Guardians manages more than 60 properties across the UK, worth a combined £500million, including a police station at Catford in south-east London, a pub in Bedford and an NHS care unit in east London. Luke’s current home was once used by the hospital on the other side of the road.
There are whiteboards lining the walls, scrawled with medical terms and stats. He could take them down but he says they add to the look of the place.
In the Masonic lodge, where he lived for six months while the owners secured a buyer, one room was off-limits because it was used to store thrones and artefacts. The workhouse in Cambridge where he stayed for 14 months has since been converted into a luxury hotel.
Some sites have solo occupants, others are split into self-contained units, while others have communal areas or shared facilities such as showers and toilets. Applicants must be over 21, in full-time employment and provide a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. Children and pets are not allowed.
The rental system is becoming increasingly popular. There are 15,000 property guardians in the UK, up from 5,000 in 2017, according to estimates. While most tenants are in their 20s and 30s, the oldest currently with Live-in Guardians is 71. Many are key workers, such as nurses and police officers, but the rising cost of living has made it an increasingly attractive option for young professionals.
Mr Hamed says: ‘We have had chefs, someone who worked for the UN, a person who won a BAFTA, actors on TV shows and even ex-professional footballers.’
The idea of being in charge of a disused building, whose presence is meant to ward off squatters, implies there may be extra responsibilities. Mr Hamed insists that is not the case. He says: ‘We don’t expect people to be chasing burglars – it is security through occupation. Look after the property and let us know about health and safety issues or damage.’
Units are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis but priority is given to existing guardians who are moving as they have been given notice at another site.
Which brings us to the downside. Tenancies are on a 28-day rolling contract, meaning guardians can be given a month’s notice to leave. This lack of security is enough to put off many would-be renters.
But Luke, a programme manager for a tech company, has been in his current place for almost three years. He says: ‘The notice period is not as scary as it sounds – just make sure you have money in reserve in case you do need to move. For me, it’s such good value for money. Anywhere else in London, I would be sitting in one room with my laptop on my knees, but here I have a dedicated office.’
Despite quirky properties, central locations and potentially famous neighbours, the main draw is the price. The average rent for a guardian property is £675 a month including bills – less than half the national average of £1,368.
Live-in Guardians uses a formula based on the cost per square foot in the area and says it is about 50 to 60 per cent cheaper than a rental property on average.
In Tower Hamlets, where Luke lives, a typical rent for a two-bedroom flat is £2,353, meaning he is saving more than £650 a month while not factoring in the amount he would also spend on bills.
He says: ‘I have friends who love the places where I live, and others who don’t like the idea of a 28-day notice period and couldn’t do it.
‘For me, there is a huge financial aspect but there is also the weirdness of it – I love the off-beat spaces. It’s allowed me to live in places I would never have been able to afford otherwise.’
