Would you live in a disused care home, pub, or bank if it meant paying significantly less rent? As the cost of living continues its relentless march upward, a growing number of people are becoming property guardians - occupying vacant buildings to keep out squatters, vandals, and general decay, in exchange for a 30-50% discount on rent.

Katrina, 29, a postgraduate student, has spent the last 10 months in an Edwardian mansion in Hampstead that served as a care home until 2015. She pays £580 a month for her room - about £400 below the London average - and shares the space with around 50 other guardians. The mansion has grand staircases, chandeliers, and a 1.7-acre garden, but also mushrooms growing on the walls and falling balcony stonework. "It's somewhere between living in university halls, a block of flats, and a fancy squat," she says.

But guardians have fewer rights than private tenants. They hold a "licence to occupy" rather than a tenancy, meaning deposits aren't protected, repairs aren't guaranteed, and landlords can visit anytime. Eviction can happen with just 28 days' notice. Katrina admits the arrangement is precarious - the building was bought by a developer planning to turn it into flats - but says, "If anyone doesn't like that, it's not for them."

David Hale, 32, has been a guardian for nearly a decade, now living in a former primary school in Brixton with his wife. They pay £1,500 a month for a "massive" space - saving about £1,000 compared to similar private rentals. But they're saving to buy a home: "We wouldn't want to share toilets and bathrooms forever."

The Property Guardian Providers Association (PGPA) estimates there are 10,000 to 15,000 guardians in the UK, mainly aged 20-35, and says applications have surged as rents soar. They argue guardianship helps ease the housing crisis by using vacant buildings - over a million homes and tens of millions of square feet of non-residential property stand empty. But housing charity Shelter counters that it shows people are being forced "further and further afield just to keep a roof over their heads." Chief executive Sarah Elliott says, "For most, this isn't a good alternative to an affordable, stable home."

Tips for prospective guardians: be flexible, choose an established company, read your licence carefully, know your rights, and embrace community living. Just don't expect to stay forever - or to have a landlord who fixes the mushrooms.