Property Guardian Providers Association (the PGPA)

Report: "Through the roof: Recent trends in rental price growth" The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank focused on improving the living standards of those on low-to-middle incomes. This week they published the above research, stating: 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 – 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 – 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘺 13 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 ...𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 – 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 – 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵. Property Guardian companies have also had to increase their license fees in recent years, primarily because of the surge in record energy prices and other costs, but the fees remain extremely competitive in comparison to the private rental sector. As such, guardians save thousands of pounds in accommodation costs: they tell us that the most common benefits of such savings are: "𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲" "𝗜 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀" "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀"  #propertyguardians #rentcrisis #housing #PGPA #affordableaccommodation  

How the UK could follow the lead for more affordable accommodation Property Guardians in the UK are a relatively recent element of property management, predominantly active in the last 5 years, but still with only around 10-12,000 guardians keeping temporarily vacant properties secure in return for low cost accommodation. By contrast, in the Netherlands, Europe’s most mature property guardian market, has been developing since the 1990’s and has over 25,000 guardians in a country with a population of 17 million. If the UK’s growth in the property guardian sector was to mirror that of the Netherlands, that would equate to guardian numbers of approximately 100,000, or ten times that of the current sector. At a time when there is an acute housing shortage, the UK government should be encouraging a well-run, managed property guardian model here too. #housingshortage #affordableaccommodation #rentcrisis #propertyguardians #pgpa

𝗣𝗚𝗣𝗔 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿   The PGPA sets safety for guardians as the top priority for all its member companies. It benchmarks and measures best practice as follows:    ·        Independent inspections and audits ·        Compliance with the Tenancy Fees Act, electrical and gas safety regulations ·        Ring-fenced guardian fees ·        The only independently run redress scheme for both property owners and guardians ·        Members arrange Direct Partnerships with Fire Service Authorities   It is worth noting too, that part of the differentiator between the private rental sector and the property guardian model, is that, in exchange for a license fee significantly less than the private rental equivalent, guardians do not have exclusivity to their rooms – to ensure they meet the licence agreement, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (typically monthly) to ensure bedrooms are kept free from smoking and with no cookers. In this regard, guardian properties are likely to be safer than other forms of accommodation. #safetyisnotanaccident #propertyguardianmodelpractices #pgpa

Average monthly rents soar by another 9% Skynewsuk.com reported more bad news for enters last week as the Office for National Statistics released their latest figires on price rises. Private rent has rocketed again, with the average increase to monthly payments hitting 9% across the UK - despite inflation sitting at 3.4%. And while average rents went up to £723 a month in Wales - a 9% rise - and £944 in Scotland - a 10.9% rise - the average each month in England reached £1,276 - up 8.8%. Generation Rent UK, a campaign group representing renters, says the market is "completely out of control". Its policy and public affairs manager Conor O'Shea says: "Why are rent rises bigger than inflation? Because they can be. Landlords are being told and encouraged to put the rent up by whatever they want as there are so many people desperate for a home." There is an ongoing call for more houses to be built - and social housing in particular - but what could be done now to help those seeing their wages increasingly eaten up by putting a roof over their heads? There IS a solution, that is fast, comparatively simple, environmentally sane, and safe - turn some of the hundreds of thousands of homes sitting empty long term, and some of the 20 million square foot of vacant offices, public buildings, commercial and retail spaces, into affordable accommodation. How? • Local Authorities Housing Officers and Planning colleagues need to talk to each other! ENCOURAGE owners of vacant properties to enable them to deploy property guardians, keep the buildings free from vandalism and neglect, stop DISCOURAGING them by disjointed thinking: one department has a housing shortage, the other wants to put up a barrier asking for change of use for temporary accommodation. • The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities needs to get real! Housebuilding will take years to impact on the housing crisis. SUPPORT the property guardian model - re-write your property guardian guide, prompt local authorities to encourage vacant property owners towards 'meanwhile use', set up a next step agency, JUST DO IT! • Property owners, housing associations, local authorities - set an example - go turn your vacant stock into something worthwhile: safe, affordable accommodation. #rent #propertyguardians #affordableaccommodation #housingcrisis

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 - 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 People from all walks of life choose to become property guardians because it is the best option available to them. Other options (live far away, work harder, pay a larger proportion of salary as rent, have less space) are less appealing than guardianship, and is a result of wider forces that combine to create the housing crisis in this country. Our member companies seek to provide safe, secure, real options as one alternative to the private rental sector, enabling people to live and work in London and other UK cities, and at the same time allowing empty buildings to be used until required for development. Property guardianship is not suitable for everyone, but our goal is to make it work well for all stakeholders. Choose trusted providers VPS Guardians Live-in Guardians Ad Hoc Property Management & Security #licensedoccupation #affordablehousing #securevacantproperties #propertyguardians #facilitiesmanagement #rentcrisis

𝗥𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 Property portal Zoopla (part of Houseful) has found that towns within commuting distance of major cities have seen some of the biggest rent rises of the last three years. The cost of new lets rose by more than a third in areas such as Bolton and Newport between 2020 and 2023. Because some landlords had left the sector, while buy-to-let investors were not taking on as many properties, this lack of supply has been key to soaring rents across the UK. And yet....there remains over 20 million sq ft of vacant residential, office spaces, public and commercial units across the UK, with much of that 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀. Landlords, property and facilities managers should be encouraged to enable these properties to be put to good use whilst awaiting redevelopment funding or planning. Instead, they are discouraged to do so, through a mix of poor planning decisions, and bureacracy, such as some local authorities requiring 'a change of use' application, even though an office block, for example, is not intended for a permanent change of use. As a consequence, properties that could provide accommodation in city centres are being left empty. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀. So please, if you're a local authority planner, a housing officer, a politician or any other stakeholder with an interest in finding a quick, and relatively painless solution to the housing shortage - do something today to help make it happen! #propertyguardians #meanwhileuse #affordablehomes #housingsupply

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 An unprecedented supply crisis is unfolding as rents are sharply raised or landlords sell properties because of rising mortgage rates and higher taxes. The shortage has been compounded by a return to cities after the pandemic and by the fact that fewer can afford to buy a home, reported in today's The Times HomeLet, the UK’s largest tenant referencing agency, last week stated a fourfold increase in fraudulent tenancy applic­ations over the past two years, as people desperate to find a home doctor their bank statements or job records. And yet there are 600,000 residential properties sitting empty, and well over 20 million square foot of non-residential commercial and local authority real estate vacant across the UK. Members of the Property Guardian Providers Association (the PGPA) work on behalf of both landlords and for people seeking affordable accommodation, ensuring properties, both residential and non-residential, are kept secure, meet safety regulations, and that the guardians can properly meet their license fees. Property and facilities managers with vacant stock on their hands can significantly manage down the risk of squatting, vandalism and theft, by contacting one of our property guardian providers, VPS Guardians, Live-in Guardians or Ad Hoc Property Management & Security - and help meet the growing demand from the private rental sector. #makeuseofvacantproperty #affordableHomes #propertyguardians #licensedoccupation

𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 A key difference between tenants in the private rental sector and the property guardian model, is that licensed properties have regular inspections, often monthly or more. Members of the PGPA, Ad Hoc Property Management & Security, Live-in Guardians and VPS Guardians, not only carry out regular inspections, but also carry out detailed fire risk assessments to check the premises and exit plans. Vacant properties that sit empty whilst awaiting planning, redevelopment, or funding for future use, attract vandalism, theft, weather damage and arson. Arsonists often target empty buildings, which can contain combustible materials, such as old furniture, rubbish and debris, further exacerbating the spread of fires in vacant structures. In 2023, the fire services attended over 100 deliberate fires 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 in or by properties Properties occupied by licensed guardians are far more secure and safer than empty buildings, and in many cases, other types of accommodation too. #propertyguardians #safetyfirst #housingshortage

This case study demonstrates the positive impact on keeping vacant properties safe and secure through licensed occupiers, which helps keep the local community and environment safe and secure also, with less chance of vandalism. But there are additional local benefits too - local shops, pubs, and other amenities will see an uptick in business as guardians move into an otherwise empty property. #propertyguardians #affordableaccommodation #helpforthehousingcrisis #realestate #security

Like all our members, Ad Hoc Property Management & Security are a people focused guardian company, whether they are licensees, staff or property owners. #pgpa #peoplefirst #propertyguardianmanagementdonewell