Honora, 27, was recommended to try the ‘hack’ by a friend, and has never looked back
A woman lives in London for under £500 a month including bills – saving her over £5k a year – using a clever rental hack. Honora Pamplin, 27, lives in a spacious converted warehouse with four housemates in Walthamstow, east London. But she pays just £480 – plus £15 a month for wifi – by being a ‘property guardian’.
This is an individual – or group of individuals – who lives in a vacant property to keep it in good condition and safeguarded from squatters or vandals. Honora said her license comes with no additional responsibilities beyond being a responsible tenant – and includes all her other bills and council tax.
With the average price of a room rent in east London being £944, according to SpareRoom, she has saved £5k around since moving in last August. They have industrial aircon units and powerful heaters for when the weather gets too hot or cold and lots of space as well as two living rooms.
Honora, an events campaign manager, originally from Galway, Ireland, said: “My lease was coming to an end last summer when I came across the concept of property guardianship. A friend of a colleague said they had done it before so I went to view a place, almost out of curiosity.
“It was so cheap that it felt hard to say no – my friend and I said we’d give it a go for a few months. I’m still here now and I’ve had a great time – we have loads of space in a good location. I’ve managed to save far more money for a holiday and a house deposit.”
Honora was coming to the end of a tenancy with a friend in a two-bed flat in Walthamstow – where she had been paying £750 per month plus £200 bills. They decided to trial a property guardianship and moved into the ex-warehouse with four other housemates.
The group furnished it themselves – similarly to moving into any other unfurnished rental. She said: “The back part is a locked warehouse the company use to store furniture – and we live in the front half. We think it may used to have been offices but it has been converted into a kitchen, two living rooms, and bedrooms.
“It came with white goods and we furnished it using a mishmash of furniture from our previous places, as well as Facebook Marketplace. It’s not the most cohesive decoration but I think we’ve done quite well making it feel homey.”
A potential downside is that they could be asked to leave with as little as 28 days notice, if the owner wishes. However Honora said the property agent assured her they have no immediate plans to do that – and tenants usually stay a minimum of six months.
She said: “They keep in good contact with us too, so it doesn’t feel precarious.”
It naturally as an ‘industrial’ look – with exposed pipes on the ceiling – but she said they enjoy it. And because of its original purpose, it comes equipped with a full air conditioning system as well as heating – meaning they’re comfortable all year round.
Honora said: “I don’t know anyone in London who pays less than I do for their home.”
In addition, as someone who works in sustainability, she loves that being a property guardian is a way to repurpose buildings so they aren’t knocked down and rebuilt. Honora said she has been able to save the extra cash for a holiday and plans to continue saving for a house deposit while living there.
She said: “I understand maybe if you have a family you couldn’t commit to something like this in case you do need to leave. But if you’re in a more flexible situation it’s great.
“I’ve never had this much space or paid so little money for it.”