You may have seen the signs on buildings around town that say the premises are protected by property guardians. What exactly does this mean? if you have a vacant business premises, can you apply to get property guardians to live in your property and keep it safe? Here is a little more information on the increasingly popular trend of property guardianship for residential and commercial property.
What Exactly are Property Guardians?
Property guardians protect Vacant Property by living in the building for a low rent while maintaining the basic functions of the building and acting as a physical deterrent to squatters or intruders. Live-in property guardians can be used in a variety of different buildings from churches to schools, houses to old police stations. There are many benefits of property guardians, and many businesses choose this option to help protect their valuable vacant property.
What Are Empty Buildings Such a Headache?
Businesses rapidly find that looking after a vacant building is a big strain on time, money, and resources. You must pay for expensive security measures, monitor the building for damage and dereliction, and protect the building against intruders. It is time consuming and expensive to do all these things.
Benefits of Property Guardians for Looking After Vacant Buildings
Property guardians are well-vetted by agencies that deliver their services, and are reliable and trustworthy. You gain considerable cost savings when you use a guardianship scheme, as you will no longer be liable for the costs relating to property management and to dealing with the issues caused by antisocial behaviour and vandalism.
Guardians offer effective security for unoccupied buildings. Intruders are much less likely to target a building with guardians, as it is effectively still occupied. With guardians being young professionals and a number of different guardians in the property at the same time, the building is usually occupied by someone all day and all night. If you want this kind of occupation from security guards you will have to pay a massive fee. Plus, guardians look out for any signs of property dereliction and damage, meaning you can fix problems before they become expensive.
By using a property guardianship scheme you could save on your business rates, on the cost of security, and on the cost of boarding up your building – which can be considerable. A property guardian contract is also more flexible than a traditional rental contract as you can get the property back with just a month’s notice in many cases. Plus, the look of the building is instantly changed from empty to occupied.