Tim Lowe is a 26-year-old graduate surveyor. Over the summer he is moving every three weeks to test out renting options on a tight budget in London. Here he reports back on his first stay – as a live-in guardian in Gospel Oak
I am nearly a month into my summer odyssey around London – relocating every three weeks as I search for places to live in Zone 2 on a budget of just £500 a month including all bills. The time has now come to make my first move. And so, as promised, here is a write-up of my debut experience.
As my time as a live-in property guardian in Gospel Oak, NW3, draws to a close, I look back on my stay with mixed feelings. It has been, at times, hugely enjoyable. Running to work every morning, living two minutes from arguably the best park in London [Hampstead Heath] and spending time with a diverse range of housemates have all been highlights. But it has also demonstrated the pitfalls of such schemes: being a licence holder rather than a tenant, living in a windowless bedroom, sharing one shower with 16 others, and an ever-increasing rodent population.
One of my biggest apprehensions before moving was who I would be sharing with. But I got lucky. From the moment I arrived, I was made to feel welcome. All of my fellow guardians work. Young professionals, entrepreneurs, musicians, writers, models, wine merchants and interior designers – individuals, all roughly the same age, united in their quest to find affordable accommodation in a central location.
Having a communal living area meant evenings were a great way of meeting new people, including Twiggy Garcia. This DJ, producer and modern-day Che Guevara was responsible for attempting to perform a citizen’s arrest of Tony Blair for war crimes while waitering in a Shoreditch restaurant earlier this year.
My arrival at the property felt like a throwback to university halls combined with a decaying office block. I was shown a selection of rooms by the owner of the Live-in Guardians organisation and decided on the one furthest from the communal area. I lasted three nights. Not only was the radiator stuck on 24/7, but I was woken at about 2am each day by clunking noises, which I believe came from the Kwik-Fit garage on the ground floor. My misery was compounded at 4.30am, when the sun would beat through my skylight.
With my girlfriend due to come round the following evening, something had to change. I found another room double the size, with two fully functioning skylights (with blinds) and no radiator. I even managed to acquire a selection of furniture from a former housemate. The only negative was a constantly slamming door, thanks to the room’s proximity to the ladies’ bathroom. But this issue was quickly resolved when one of the girls came across a rat drinking from one of the loos at 3am. They now remain permanently vacant.
At £400 all in, you might think I had a good deal, but I question whether schemes like this are a viable long-term solution to the chronic lack of affordable rental options in central London. The operators of live-in guardian schemes are on to a winner. Without paying for the use of the building or its bills, and with guardians expected to fully furnish the place from scratch on arrival, their outgoings are small.
Also, because guardians sign a licence rather than a tenancy agreement, they waive the privileges and protections afforded to regular tenants. Terminations of contract are at the organisation’s discretion. Typically, the longest notice period is two weeks. Or one day, in the case of a former housemate who invited an entire pub back after a night out.
And the guardians themselves have a lot of things to adhere to. We are not allowed to have more than two guests over at any one time and because we are unable to liaise with the council we came across problems with bins being provided. Rubbish collection outside the building was also pretty lax, which I don’t think impressed our neighbours.
My main gripe was that no one came to fix the central heating, which had been left on permanently for three months. It was finally fixed just before I moved out. The heatwave may have been glorious but it resulted in the office (our home) being unbearably hot, forcing housemates into a permanent state of near undress.
Have London rents been pushed so high that this is now considered an acceptable standard of living? I don’t want to sour the experience because I did enjoy my stay and Live-in Guardians does allow people to live within tight budgets in amazing London locations.
For those who don’t own a house, this could be as good as it gets for the money you’re paying. And if you have a nice bunch of people to do it with, why not? Once you accept it, you enjoy the experience.
So what now? Well, last week I moved into my new pad, located in Camden, NW5, and owned by The Collective – a pioneering company that has embraced the PRS model and is keen to reach out to a younger audience. It was founded by 25-year-old Reza Merchant, and I am excited to see whether it can put forward an option that can be replicated across central London.
As for the Lowe Cost Living feedback, many thanks to everyone who has got in touch, especially Dot Dot Dot Property Guardians for the tea and the YMCA for inviting me to try out its Y-Cube concept.
I’m still hunting for schemes, so please get in touch with ideas. And to the man who e-mailed me saying he had a 100ft yacht in the south of France for £800 a night, it has to be below £500pcm (including bills) within Zone 1 or 2. If you can swing that, let me know.
• Follow Tim on Twitter @lowecostliving
The Lowe-down: Live-in Guardians scheme
- Location: Gospel Oak, NW3
- Nights stayed: 25
- Restless nights stayed: 7
- Cost of travel to work: Free
- Average travel time to work: Cycle 10 mins, run 25 mins, walk 60 mins
- Highest temperature recorded: 32°C
- Number of trips to Hampstead ponds: Daily
- Number of trips to Dirty Burger: 4
- Rat sightings: 0
- Reported rat sightings: 4
- Top moment: Sunrise on Hampstead Heath followed by morning swim in the ponds
- Low moment: First night. Didn’t sleep. Combination of heat/noise/light
Overall score out of 10: 6.5
Protectors of property
Live-in Guardians works with landlords of vacant properties in and around London. It provides working professionals, known as guardians, to move into the buildings to save owners money on security and business rates.
The company claims to be able to reduce costs by 80% through this method while offering guardians the chance to live in London for 40-50% below market rent, including all bills.
Guardians move in under a licence, rather than a tenancy agreement. This means there are no tenancy rights for the guardians, who must agree that the landlord can enter the property at any time and they have no legal right to live there. This results in less protection from eviction. Their presence is expected to ward off squatters, vandals and trespassers. The group manages properties from flats to offices, care homes ?to schools, and pubs to churches. For details, visit www.liveinguardians.com
