Getting on the property ladder in 2020 is no small feat. With the price of homes on the rise and wages stagnating, it’s not surprising that many young professionals are struggling to gain a foothold. Even with a university degree and/or skilled job, Millennials are far less likely to own a home than their parents at the same age.

Renting long term means sinking significant proportions of your income into housing, with limited ability to save or acquire assets. So how can young people get ahead in this economy? Enter property guardianship! Blue Door Property Guardians provides low-cost temporary accommodation to working professionals in exchange for live-in property security. Guardians get to live in central locations, where they’re working hard to get their lives established, and landlords get zero-cost live-in security for their property, saving thousands of pounds on traditional security measures, business rates, and other costs. It’s easy to see how this creative alternative to the rental market is a total win-win!

But Property Guardianship is relatively new in the UK, and for a while it went fairly unregulated. A few misconceptions emerged out of the ‘Wild West’ early days of property guardianship. We’d like to provide a little clarity on one of the main areas of confusion: the difference between a property guardian and a traditional tenant.

How does a Property Guardian Differ From a Tenant?

Social Responsibility

One of the biggest misconceptions about property guardians is that they are like tenants, except that they pay less rent. This couldn’t be further from the Blue Door Property Guardians ethos. Our property guardians are people who feel inspired to participate in the community-building project that property guardianship—when it’s done right—can be. When landlords give properties into our care, vacant buildings are put to use in socially transformative ways. The influx of young working professionals with shared communal values stimulates the local economy and sparks a flourishing of artistic and cultural activity. In our interview process, we select guardians who share this vision and wish to make an active contribution to the Blue Door community.

Lease vs Licence

A property guardian does not sign a traditional lease, but rather is licensed to occupy the property in their capacity as guardian of our client’s asset. Guardians understand that Blue Door Property Guardians is not a Letting Agent or landlord offering traditional tenancy agreements, but a professional guardian company offering a contracted licence for a non-exclusive living space at one of our managed properties.

Duration

A traditional residential lease has a set duration, anything from 6 months to a year or more. During that time, a tenant is liable for rent for the full period, and a landlord cannot take the property back until the lease has run its course. In contrast, a property guardianship licence has no set period. Our guardians understand that we protect our clients properties until such time as our clients are ready to put them to use again. Once our clients indicate that they wish to take the property back, our contract is terminated, and guardians have a 28 day notice period in which to move out. Guardians are aware that we will always try to offer them accommodation in one of our other locations, but that we can’t guarantee it.

Letting Agent vs Blue Door Property Guardians

Relationships between landlords and traditional tenants are either managed by the landlord themselves, or by letting agents on the landlords’ behalf. The agent will oversee the signing of the lease between the landlord and tenants. For the work of finding, vetting and managing tenants, the letting agent will charge a fee.

As clients of Blue Door Property Guardians, our landlords do not enter into an agreement with guardians, nor do they have any dealings with guardians whatsoever. The licence agreement that the guardians signs is between themselves and Blue Door Property Guardians. We are responsible for interviewing, vetting, inducting and managing guardians, and unlike a letting agent, we do not charge a fee. (In fact, our landlords incur zero cost in the process of securing a property!)

The Role of a Property Guardian

Traditional tenants are obliged to pay rent and maintain the condition of the property. The tenant has no responsibility to endeavour to protect the property from harm. Property guardianship is not just an exchange of rent for accommodation. The other, vital part of this relationship is property security. The licence agreement undertaken by a property guardian stipulates exactly what their role as guardian of a specific property entails. To ensure that our clients’ security needs are met, we start by finding the right candidates for the role. Potential guardians are interviewed prior to induction and walked through our formal contract and T&Cs to ensure they understand their responsibilities as protectors of the building. Many of these specifications apply to all the properties in our portfolio, but soundings with our clients help us develop the specific T&Cs attached to the contract for each individual property.

Access to Property

While a landlord needs a tenant’s permission to enter a property, our clients are able to access their buildings at any point—we just encourage you to give us a call one day ahead of your visit, so we can have someone there to welcome you. Blue Door Property Guardians also conducts regular inspections of the property to ensure that the building is well cared for, and that building security measures are being adhered to. We undertake regular checks of important health and safety fittings, like fire alarms and extinguishers, so landlords can rest easy.

Compliance

Before traditional tenants are allowed to move into a property, a landlord must demonstrate compliance with strict government requirements to ensure the health and safety of the tenant. When you put your property in the care of Blue Door Property Guardians, we take responsibility for getting the property ready for guardians, so you can forget much of the box-ticking that usually goes into preparing your property for occupation. All you need to do is ensure that the building is weather-proof and has a good supply of electricity and running water, and we do the rest.

Also Read: Top Ten Threats to Vacant Properties

If you came to this article unsure about the difference between tenants and guardians, we hope this has clarified the distinction! If you’re starting to think that guardians could be a good solution for you—and you’re excited by the prospect of helping young professionals get a head start—please get in touch (link to contact us page) or register your property (link), and we’ll call you back today.