Facilities and property managers are turning more to property guardianship to keep vacant business properties safe and secure, according to a survey, carried out by the BIFM (British Institute of Facilities Management) and Orbis. It’s found 16 per cent of respondents reporting an increase in commercial squatting, and 7 per cent an increase in residential squatting, and over a quarter having been targeted by ‘urban explorers’. Almost half of the property managers surveyed believed that the problem of urban exploration is on the rise, with urban explorers or ‘place hackers’ exploring empty buildings and abandoned structures, sometimes trespassing on private property.
Property managers, to keep their premises protected from squatters, look to the use of property guardians and dog patrols, while alarms, CCTV, perimeter fencing, warning signs and screens, manned guarding and guardians are the favoured methods for keeping urban explorers at bay.
With 88 per cent of respondents looking at guardianship as a security measure against squatters and 61 per cent considering it to counter urban explorers, vacant property management contractor Orbis is urging FMs and property managers to take a measured decision on the security benefits of property guardianship. Guy Other, Orbis Chief Executive, said: “As a solution for keeping empty buildings secure and offering bargain rents, this could create a lose-lose situation, rather than the highly publicised win-win situation.”
“Despite the acknowledged economic benefits of guardianship, many guardians report on the lack of a code of practice for guardian companies; living in uninhabitable conditions rather than ‘decent homes’; having to use their own time and money to bring buildings up to a sanitary and safe level. And property owners, should be aware that, when looking to reclaim their property, the Protection from Eviction Act applies to anyone who is a ‘residential occupier’ of a building, and that includes property guardians. Owners and property managers must be mindful too that they are legally bound by the ‘Duty of Care’ to keep safe anyone who enters their premises.”
Peter Brogan, BIFM Research and Information Manager, said: “BIFM were very eager to obtain views from property and facilities managers about the empty buildings in their portfolio. Squatting in a residential building became a criminal offence three years ago and is still a major issue for the sector. This was confirmed further by the results of the survey with almost half of the property managers believing that the problem of urban exploration is on the rise.”
The survey also suggested that London property managers are experiencing the highest squatting rates (83 per cent), followed by the South East (78 per cent), Wales and the North West (75 per cent), and the Midlands (73 per cent). East Anglia (75 per cent), Scotland (67 per cent) and Northern Ireland (64 per cent) are experiencing the highest levels of urban exploration.
In the last BIFM and Orbis vacant property survey, in 2012, when squatting became a criminal offence in residential properties only, the biggest concerns raised by facilities managers were the security of empty buildings; loss of income; keeping buildings in a ready-to-let condition; and complying with insurance.
Picture by Mark Rowe, vacant property, central London.
