How you can save money on living costs whilst giving back to your community

Increasingly high housing expenses for those renting in both London and the wider UK have been exacerbated by Covid-19. With many people now experiencing a housing situation where their only extra room is a communal kitchen, a growing number of sharers are having to face, head on, the challenges of working full-time from home in a space-poor environment, with very little free time.

At Dot Dot Dot, our prices start at £335 a month for a 1-bed flat that also has access to a study, living room, kitchen and garden. With our couples rates, this same flat would cost £218 per person. We believe that when people are freed from the constraints of high costs in the private rental sector, they benefit from regained time and a sense of energy to focus on what really matters to them. So read on to find out how you can save money on living costs whilst giving back to your community at the same time.  

We exist to provide housing that makes it easier for people to do more good. That is why we only work with property guardians who want to support good causes they care about. By providing you with well-managed and affordable homes, we can help you avoid some of the challenges that come with finding a place to live. So you can spend more of your time and energy giving back.

Our dedication to turning empty properties into affordable homes for community-minded people helps to organically produce hubs of social value. Over the last nine years, in exchange for a monthly housing cost that’s roughly half the market rate, Dot Dot Dot guardians have made good use of hundreds of empty buildings, and volunteered over 100 years worth of effort to good causes. We only house guardians who are up for supporting a cause that they care about and so if you volunteer already or have always wanted to but haven’t had the opportunity, then we could be the perfect fit for you. 

Hear from Dot Dot Dot guardian Dawn on how she saves money whilst enjoying giving back:

“My niece told me about a friend who was a property guardian – I researched different organisations and used Dot Dot Dot, which offers affordable properties and in return asks guardians to commit to 16 hours of volunteering a month. I ended up with a little four-bedroom townhouse in Abbey Wood in London. It’s a lovely place with a garden, a balcony off the kitchen, a workshop and a music room. It costs £560 a month to live here. Bills are extra and come to about £200 a month. I really like the community aspect of being a property guardian. So far, I’ve run a mosaic course in a residential home and helped out with some gardening locally.” – Dawn, Dot Dot Dot guardian. This article was originally published on The Guardian. 

To find out more about how to become a Dot Dot Dot property guardian, check out our guardian website page or complete an application form today. You can also head over to our Instagram to follow our Summer Series, where we’ll be telling our guardians’ volunteering stories every week.