{"id":14583,"date":"2018-02-06T17:28:14","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T17:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=14583"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:59:09","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:59:09","slug":"where-guardians-dwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=14583","title":{"rendered":"Where \u00e2\u20ac\u0098guardians\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 dwell"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Walk past a boarded up or disused building in London and you may spot a sign informing passers-by that the property is \u00e2\u20ac\u015bprotected by live-in guardians\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Used primarily to deter squatters and would-be burglars, live-in guardians pay property management firms reduced rents to stay in an array of different buildings, from Victorian schools and closed-down hospitals to tower blocks marked for redevelopment and former offices.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While living cheaply in an unusual place may seem like an attractive proposition to some, the reality of life as a live-in guardian is much less appealing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Often living in substandard environments, with effectively no legal protections and the potential for being moved out at a moment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s notice, people are increasingly forced to live as property guardians to avoid homelessness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to the London Assembly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s housing committee, up to 7,000 people are property guardians in what would otherwise be empty buildings, with the number expected to rocket as the housing crisis<\/a> deepens.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A survey<\/a> of 210 property guardians in London, commissioned by the committee and conducted by the University of York, found 95 per cent were doing it because of the cheap rent. Many stated that they had no choice but to live that way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Either guardianship or homelessness’ \u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was either guardianship or homelessness.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another commented, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bLondon prices are impossible and I feel trapped in this situation.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The housing committee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s report<\/a> said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe growing cost of accommodation in the capital is clearly pushing more people to become guardians out of necessity.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The report noted the sector \u00e2\u20ac\u015bhas the potential to grow dramatically\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and that 21 out of the 31 firms advertising live-in guardian services had been established since 2009.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Around 10 per cent of the property guardians surveyed said they could be evicted without the legal 28 days\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 notice, while 37 per cent reported problems with mould and condensation. Around a quarter said repairs and maintenance were not carried out, with some reporting rats in their properties.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One guardian explained, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur roof has leaked in heavy rain since we moved in. The guardian company know this, and have never fully resolved the matter. Currently we have a serious problem with rats getting into the property, via broken sewerage, and broken doors.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Head of Unite Community<\/a> Liane Groves said the rise in legal guardianship is a direct result of an out of control housing market.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe increase in legal guardians, most of whom are working people that can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford the capital\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s extortionate rents, along with rocketing numbers of evictions, rough sleepers and families living in temporary accommodation, is another indictment of this government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s abysmal housing policy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Groves said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMore and more people are being denied a basic human necessity: having a secure roof over their heads. Only with rent controls, regulations on private landlords and a nationwide programme to build significant numbers of council houses can this crisis be brought to an end.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walk past a boarded up or disused building in London and you may spot a sign informing passers-by that the property is \u00e2\u20ac\u015bprotected by live-in guardians\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.   Used primarily to deter squatters and would-be burglars, live-in guardians pay property management firms reduced rents to stay in an array of different buildings, from Victorian schools and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[109,265,179,131,44],"wps_subtitle":"New \u00e2\u20ac\u0098slum\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 explosion as homelessness crisis hits","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14583"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14583"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26406,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14583\/revisions\/26406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}