// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
'I pay £580 a month to live in a disused care home': Property guardians show us around
Katrina Woolley has been living in a former care home for 10 months
Would you live in a disused care home, pub or bank in exchange for a heavily discounted rent?
As cost of living pressures persist, a growing number of people are applying to become so-called property guardians - living in vacant residential or commercial buildings to protect them from squatters, vandalism and disrepair.
They typically pay 30-50% less rent than private tenants, sometimes with bills thrown in, In exchange for looking after the buildings.
However property guardians also have significantly fewer rights than private renters and can be evicted with just 28 days' notice.
Katrina, 29, has spent the last 10 months living with around 50 other people in an Edwardian mansion in Hampstead, London, which was used as a care home until 2015.
One of the communal living areas in Katrina's 50-person house share
The postgraduate student, who says she could not afford to rent privately in the capital, currently pays £580 a month for her room including bills and council tax, about £400 below the London average, external.
Katrina says guardianship gives her the chance to live in an unusual property and describes the mansion as an "incredible" and "romantic" place despite it being "quite run down".
Set in 1.7 acres of gardens, the building has grand staircases, south-west-facing balconies and chandeliers in some rooms, but it does have some downsides: "We've had mushrooms growing on the walls, leaks, parts of the balcony stonework have fallen off," says Katrina.