Episode 16 The Housing Enforcers

He could be down there for a while, without anybody knowing.

Everyone deserves a safe place to live.

Your home is falling apart, you're going to fall apart.

But with rents rising and demand increasing,

it's getting harder and harder to find a secure place to call home.

-It's a stinky little hole.

-It is indeed.

I'm Matt Allwright, and I'm back with the Housing Enforcers.

-It stinks.

-If I'm honest with you,

I'm not sure whether I would want Grace going into that house.

I'm on the front line with those fighting for the right to decent housing.

This place is a bit of a mess.

They usually urinate in that corner.

As local councils and housing associations battle problem

properties and slum conditions...

The smell in there, everything just reeks.

..as they deal with dodgy landlords...

Probably here is about as far as it's safe to go.

..nightmare neighbours...

-What, she's been kicking you?

-Yeah.

-Would you want either side evicted?

No, I wouldn't.

..and everything in between...

OK.

..to help those in need of a happy and healthy home.

Behind every door is a little bit of a detective story.

Today, a deserted house causing nightmares next door.

Oh, wow. This is the neighbour's house,

and then as soon as you go over the other side, it's gone back to

-nature, hasn't it?

-It has, yes.

I've actually rung the police just recently, you know?

Because there were people living in there.

I could hear them knocking about.

In Mid Suffolk,

an evicted tenant takes almost everything except the kitchen sink.

This isn't your typical eviction.

-No, it's not.

-They've ripped that out.

It's mad, isn't it?

And in Stroud, residents of a sheltered housing scheme face up to

the fact they're about to lose their home.

So, you know what's going to happen.

How does that affect you?

Well, when I first heard, I immediately went into panic,

what am I going to do?

If I can get another couple of years here, I'll be very happy.

It used to be so straightforward.

You leave education, you get yourself a job and then settle down

once you've found a house or flat.

Even though happily ever after wasn't guaranteed, you could usually

depend on getting an affordable and safe place to live.

Well, it's no secret that thanks to the housing crisis,

today things are a bit more complicated.

But there are men and women across the UK whose job it is to ensure

that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a safe roof over their heads.

Every day they're out fighting for your rights.

They are the Housing Enforcers.

It's no secret rising rents and increased house prices are making it

a real challenge for those looking to set their first foot on the

housing ladder.

But what about those at the other end of the journey?

Today, one in six people in the UK is aged 65 or over and finding

suitable accommodation for their changing circumstances is going to

be one of the biggest housing challenges we face.

It's something the local councils and housing associations take

very seriously. Here in Stroud,

housing officer, Dave Milner, has been working with residents at this

sheltered housing scheme.

He knows first-hand that the type of accommodation offered at Glebelands

is no longer suitable for many of their older people.

The real problem for our residents in this scheme is that as soon as

you come through the main entrance door, within a few meters,

you're faced with five or six steep steps.

Real access problems on this scheme. It's a sloping site.

Anybody with mobility issues, getting older,

has difficulties navigating round this scheme,

whether it's to go to the communal lounge or simply to get to their flat.

And even if they could overcome the obstacle course to get to their

homes in the first place, the problems don't end there.

This is typical bedsit flat in the scheme.

The fact that it's a bedsit is one of the main reasons

that it's hard to let.

You'd have your bed there and your living room here.

Very small. People can't have all their belongings,

because there just isn't the space. There's no storage space.

The kitchen is very small and you haven't really got a space for furniture.

Other issues we've got, though, in this particular flat,

rain water's got in, there's a roof leak, quite a substantial roof leak

that's damaged the lintels above the windows.

That would all have to be replaced.

It's also starting to cause cracking.

Not only do we have very few people who want to come into this kind of

accommodation, when they bring their support,

their carers or their parents, brothers or sisters,

people don't want their relatives to live in a space which is so small.

We've also got electric storage heaters,

so the property is very difficult to heat.

You can't really control when you've got heat and when you haven't.

The council's planning to replace Glebelands with a new,

state-of-the-art housing scheme,

more in tune with the needs of the growing ageing population.

It sounds good in principle,

but that does mean Dave has also had to tell existing tenants they are

going to have to leave their homes.

I'm joining him on a trip to visit one of the residents who was hit

hard by the news.

When the message that you're getting across is that you will

be leaving your home in four years' time,

there's no way to really sugar-coat that, is there?

That's a big change.

The hardest bit is this bit we're in at the moment.

Planning, communicating, consulting with everyone.

It's impossible to show someone what it's all going to be like.

I don't envy Dave's job, here.

Change can be difficult to accept at any age.

Fingers crossed for this meeting today.

OK, maybe it was just me.

But when Dave said we were going to meet an OAP in a sheltered housing

scheme, I wasn't quite expecting this.

As I'm about to learn, musician, Mike Taylor,

is anything but conventional.

This is heaven for me, you know that?

This is a studio environment.

-Heaven?

-Yeah.

-Heaven?

-Yeah, really.

You can just... You can fiddle away with guitars.

How long have you been here?

Two years, two and a quarter years.

And how is it working out for you?

I like it, I love it.

It's one of the best places I've ever lived, strangely enough.

I'm surprised, because, from a sheltered housing area, in my mind,

I imagine, frankly, people a little bit older than you are.

I don't know, that's a preconception of mine.

-I'm 69.

-Yeah, maybe.

But certainly not still in the throes of a

successful rock and roll career.

Charlie Watts is 75, 76.

He can still do the stuff with the drums.

They're not living in sheltered housing, but, you know...

No.

Mike's right, although he might not fit the stereotypical view

of an OAP, it's worth remembering his generation was in its 20s

through the Summer of Love and the birth of punk rock.

It's no wonder the future of sheltered housing is going to look a

bit different.

It doesn't mean being uprooted from your home isn't a shock, though.

So, obviously, you know what's going to happen with Glebelands generally.

How does that affect you?

Well, when I first heard, it was probably ten months ago.

I immediately went into panic, "What am I going to do?"

Fortunately, we've been kept fairly well-informed, as far as I can tell.

If I can get another couple of years here, I'll be very happy.

Even though Mike's home is due to be demolished,

you can sense he still feels very much part of the community.

The thing is, I do a lot of stuff in the garden, here, which I enjoy.

I've got loads of pots of flowers, I've been doing the borders,

all that kind of thing.

And you are doing it not just for yourself,

but for everyone else that's here?

Yeah, if everybody else can get a bit of enjoyment out of it.

How do you get on with the other residents here?

There's a lady down the end of the corridor, Jean, she's 95.

I'm very friendly with her.

I take her dinner sometimes.

Tomorrow, I'm going to do some pork chops, roast potatoes, you know.

-She also gets some fresh veg once a week.

-Right.

Working alongside housing officers, I've learned time and again that

your home is more than just bricks and mortar.

Today is no different.

This is in the old days.

This is before I came here.

-As you can see...

-Look at that.

Does it make you a little bit sad that it's got to close?

I know it's coming back in a different shape and different form.

But do you get the sense, with a place like this, that there is...

That people feel a sense of belonging and ownership, here...

..from the other guys you speak to?

Yes, I was saying about one of my neighbours,

right across the corridor from me.

She has been here 23 years.

She had a flat over there.

She can remember all of those times.

She was saying, "There was so much used to go on here."

You know, the meals, this, that and the other.

It's obviously sad when any community is dismantled,

especially one with such a lively past.

But with a rapidly ageing population to face up to,

councils like Stroud have to look to the future.

Here you are still, you know, you're part of a community, aren't you?

Breaking that community apart, it was clear just from talking to Mike,

that he has a lot to do with his neighbours and looks after them,

actually. You know, bring some food and that sort of thing.

That community's going to be taken apart.

I think if people are set in a certain way of living,

and you slightly adjust that, people get, as Mike said, panic, panic,

what's he going to do?

People start to get used to what's going to happen, and can see,

hopefully, the excitement and benefits going forward.

What we intend to do when we build new flats,

they'll be larger flats, they'll be a lot easier to heat and

maintain the heating in the winter.

-So, their bills will be...

-You know, energy bills will be a lot cheaper.

People will have more, hopefully, more disposable income to spend on

things like a new friend there, or whatever, you know.

Well said, Dave. I'm afraid, though,

there is only one way to finish this story.

I like that. That was nice.

Keep going.

So, Glebelands is going and I can't help but feel a little bit sorry

about that, because due to a combination of finance,

you know, brass tacks, and the way people think sheltered

accommodation should be run, this doesn't work any more.

I have a feeling that Mike will be fine.

I think Mike will be fine wherever he's living.

He seems like a very resilient character.

Lovely, lovely to meet him.

So, goodbye Glebelands.

SINGING

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

-Matt on guitar.

-Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mike on the mic.

For housing officers, evicting a tenant is very much a last resort.

But with all other avenues exhausted, it can be unavoidable.

And, with the current shortage of decent housing stock, it's vital

that these properties get back into circulation as quickly as possible.

In Stowmarket, housing officers Andrew Weavers and Rebecca White

are heading to the property of a tenant

who'd fallen seriously behind on their rent.

We've got an eviction on this morning in Stowmarket.

It's been a long time coming, they haven't paid their rent for a while,

-I gather.

-No, they've not paid since the 30th of March.

-Even then, it's not...

-You know...

There was no housing benefit or anything like that.

So, we've taken her to court and they've made an order for her to pay

her current rent, plus £6 a week.

We haven't had a penny since.

There's about £3,000 owing on this.

We don't know what condition the property's like.

The eviction is booked in for midday.

Our tenant popped in this morning and handed the keys back.

Oh, well, we'll see what happens then, shall we?

Three grand debt is a lot of money, isn't it?

It also means three grand less for the council to plough back into

essential services like social housing.

Unfortunately, situations like this are increasingly common.

Latest figures indicate around 40,000 tenants are evicted in

England and Wales alone.

It goes to show how important regular dialogue between tenant

and council can be.

For now, though, the team needs to get on with the task at hand.

We're just letting the bailiffs into the address.

I know we've had the keys back,

but we had the keys back literally 40 minutes ago.

So, we're just going to check to see if there's anybody the property.

Once we've got the all clear, the bailiff hands the keys over to

us and then we've got our chance to go in and have a look.

-They're happy.

-They're happy, are they?

-I'll start to change the locks.

-There's a skip out here,

so they've obviously cleared the property.

That's unusual. Normally we'll go in and will do and infantry and there's

a lot of stuff lying around.

It looks like they've probably done a bit of clearance.

But what the condition is like, whether they've caused any damage,

we don't know. As soon as we get the all clear,

we'll go in and have a look.

Andrew might be expecting the worst.

Well done. Good man, top man. Thank you.

But he's in for a surprise.

-That's unusual, isn't it?

-It's really unusual.

-Wow!

It's absolutely...

-Bare.

-Bare.

The place has been cleared out, from top to bottom.

We very rarely, when people do do runners,

they don't actually clear everything out and empty it out,

which is really, really unusual.

It's quite nice, to be honest, to get it back in this condition,

because we could get this turned over pretty quickly

and get a new tenant in. Even had a copy of their tenancy agreement

on the side, here. In section two, it talks about rent and other charges.

They must have had a little read through this before.

The discarded agreement is a stark reminder of what can happen when

rental arrears get out of hand and communication breaks down.

Some people get themselves in a muddle in other areas of life.

Some people have got multiple debt.

I think one of the first things they do is probably run away from it.

But if she owes us the amount of money she owes us, it's highly

likely that there will be money owing elsewhere, won't there?

That's what we tend to find.

Despite the outstanding rent,

the property has been left in a decent state,

although they really have taken everything.

They've ripped that out.

Obviously put their own fire surround in there, didn't they?

They were still sort of doing DIY, look.

That's all fairly new, isn't it?

It's mad, isn't it?

It's becoming clear to Andrew that this tenant was

keen to cover their tracks.

This isn't your typical eviction, really, is it?

-It's not.

-She's obviously been a bit canny.

She's come into the office, given us the keys,

we've asked her for her forwarding address and to sign...

..that we've got the keys back.

She's gone and looked at them and decided not to fill out that form,

or give us any indication where she's gone.

We'll just have to try and track her down.

The tenant may have gone to ground, but the council will still try to

recover the rent arrears, if need be, through the courts.

And Andrew soon finds evidence of where some of that money may have gone.

That's what's been ripped out, look.

That's not cheap either, is it?

-No.

-So, you can see where people would rather spend their money on

their home than actually pay for it.

That's fairly new, isn't it?

With the property cleared,

Andrew and Rebecca now need to think about the next occupants.

Well, the next stage is to get the place inspected,

get it back up to habitable state and get the new tenant in there.

This has made life a lot easier for me.

At least there's nobody here stopping us.

We often have people that will smash things on purpose,

throw rubbish in their properties, just make life generally difficult for us.

But this is the cleanest eviction I think I've done in many a year.

It's also been a lesson in how not to be a social housing tenant.

People don't talk, and they run away from their problems.

They could easily talk to us about things.

We could've, you know, quite easily met them here and had a chat about

how they can give their keys back or, indeed, stay.

Gone through the bins, and they've recycled their bailiff appointment.

At least they've recycled it.

There it is, look. There's the claimant's name,

with Suffolk District Council.

-Let's go.

-Let's go.

Another one bites the dust.

Since that visit, the council maintenance team has been back to

the property and carried out repairs.

The fireplace has been bricked up and plastered,

with the rest of the flat also brought back to a lettable standard.

The council is now trying to trace the former tenant so they can

arrange to hand them the bill for all that work.

In the meantime, the flat has been re-let to another tenant.

Not having any neighbours to worry about might be some people's idea of heaven.

But living next door to an empty house can bring with it another

set of problems.

A home that's been left to rot can blight an attractive street,

damage properties nearby and attract antisocial behaviour,

meaning even an empty house can be a neighbour from hell.

In Croydon, Francis Burton is the council's empty property officer.

His sole responsibility is to deal with the problem of the estimated

900 homes that are standing empty in the borough.

Today, he's been called out to a terraced property that is becoming a

major headache for the other residents of the street.

A couple of things happened with it in the past.

There are other areas of antisocial behaviour that we need to be on top of.

So when it gets reported, obviously a neighbour has seen something

they're concerned about, so I always tend to pop out within 48, 72 hours,

just to make sure nothing untoward is going on.

Despite the housing shortage, there are 600,000 empty homes in England

alone, with more than 200,000 of these officially classed as

long-term empty, meaning they've been vacant for six months or more.

There are loads of reasons why people abandon property,

but very often it's down to money.

If they can't afford the repairs, they get left to rot,

leaving people like Francis to literally pick up the pieces.

Like with many other areas of housing,

I'm finding that there's a degree of carrot and a degree of stick.

-That's right.

-Just finding exactly where in that spectrum, you know,

when do you start to enforce and use, you know, threats,

or whatever you want to call them?

And then when do you use encouragement and help to try and

get the same result, effectively?

Which is a house, a decent place for someone to live.

-That's the one we're going to.

-Look at that.

The boarded-up door and overgrown front garden are a dead giveaway.

I think I can tell which one it is.

Yes, it does stand out.

-Yeah.

-Very visible, this one.

There are signs that action is needed quite quickly on this one.

It's very overgrown at the front, isn't it?

That's right, yes.

I've seen worse sash windows,

but they're the sort of things that can give way.

-Structurally, I can't really see the sort of cracks that we see in other properties.

-No.

The guttering's gone, though.

And as soon as the guttering's gone like that...

-Yes.

-..you start to wonder what's happening inside.

-Yes.

-You can see why other residents on the street are concerned,

but it is a mystery.

The average price for a house on this street is a whopping £430,000,

so why would the owner turn his back on it?

This one feels closer to, erm, you know, to habitability, I suppose.

This feels like it would take a couple of good weeks

of solid labour, but you'd get there with this one.

Does that then change the way that we deal with it and what we're

going to... The next step with it?

It does open up additional possibilities.

You remember we talked about the three Es, the engagement,

the encouragement before enforcement.

I am aware that the owner of this one is difficult to get hold of,

but can be contacted, so, therefore,

we could encourage him but over the years, maybe the encouragement

has been given, so we've now reached a stage where,

because of the complaints are coming in, because people are reporting it,

we're then needing to go down the enforcement route.

As well as complaints about the state of the property,

there have also been reports from neighbours about noises coming from

the house which could mean squatters have moved in.

Fortunately, I have a brilliant idea to test this theory.

So, the next step, then, I mean, presumably,

a knock on the door won't hurt?

No, that's something that I do.

Obviously, something has happened recently to make somebody think,

"Oh, I need to report that property."

So, yes, we'll knock there.

There might be somebody that has broken in there,

living there illegally, so we start here.

You can tell Francis is impressed by my investigative skills.

But it is just a case of checking that there's nobody in there illegally.

Will the knock be answered?

-It's unlikely.

-No.

So I think we can safely say that that one's secure.

OK, so we struck out on that occasion,

but Francis' powers extend further than just a bang on the front door.

Councils are always keen to work with owners of empty properties to

bring them back in working order and create much-needed housing stock,

something that's even more vital in a place like Croydon.

But if an owner refuses to sort their property out,

the council can enforce a compulsory purchase order.

It's a last resort, but it can't be much fun living next door to this,

as we're about to find out.

Uncared for house.

-Yep.

-Cared for house.

Yes. And, obviously, the people living in this one, the value of

their property will be affected by what's going on next door.

We get a much better response from this door knock.

Hello, how are you doing?

I'm Francis, the empty property officer at Croydon Council.

-Oh, are you?

-Yes.

-OK.

I think we may have spoken once or twice before.

-Just talking about the property next door.

-Yeah.

The neighbour, Jim, says he thinks the house has been empty for almost

30 years and unsurprisingly, it's starting to attract rats and foxes.

He's also worried that the property has now become a magnet for

antisocial behaviour.

Jim believes people have been gaining access through the back

which would explain those reports of noise coming from the house.

So later on, we investigate.

There's a back door that's open, so maybe squatters?

Could be squatters.

And the abandoned house gives up some of its secrets.

He just left it. As if he lost heart with it.

I think what it was, he was emotionally attached to the house.

Defending our right to a safe place to live is the job of

housing officers right across the UK.

This is how they live.

-It's almost like he's declared war on everybody...

-Everybody.

..that's living here, it's not just you guys.

I'm working alongside the men and women that do exactly that.

Let's say whoever was here had their last couple of parties and then

decided to give it up.

Hitting the streets,

finding out what's happening on the front line...

This is a good example of a good old waste of council time.

..as we make sure a house is a fit place to call a home.

There's a strong smell of damp and you can notice it

as soon as you come in the property.

We're going to have no choice but to take them to court.

Job well done.

While most people agree the UK is in the grip of a housing crisis,

there is less consensus on how we can actually fix it.

One potential solution, of course, is to just build more homes.

And, in fact, latest Government figures show that in England last year,

the number of homes completed increased by 11%.

That sounds like good news.

But the same Government figures also show that the provision of

affordable housing has actually slowed.

So, although we are building more homes,

the majority are actually changing hands at market value,

rather than helping those out who are struggling to get their foot on

the housing ladder.

So when new social homes do become available,

the demand always outstrips supply.

Here in West Sussex, a new row of houses has just been completed,

and Sam Barcroft, lettings adviser from Hyde Housing Association,

is preparing them for new tenants.

The properties we're looking at today are all new-build properties,

so the people who will be looking at them are the first tenants for the

properties. Very exciting time.

Obviously, my job is a very nice job,

because we get to give people new houses, so yes,

should be an exciting day.

We've interviewed them over the telephone,

we've approved their application and we've come to show them the property

so that they can sign up for it if they do want to take it.

When a new property becomes available, tenants on the housing

waiting list enter what's known as the bidding process.

After you put your name down for a property,

the winning bid is decided on the tenant's needs,

and for Stephen and Samantha, this home is coming at just the right time.

Let me show you the property.

We're living in Bognor at the moment in a private rented house.

Private renting is just so expensive.

We've been bidding on the council since we've moved out from my mum's

about seven years ago, and I've just been bidding ever since

and this one just happened to pop up and we're very happy

that we've got a new house.

The couple will be moving in in just a few days' time,

along with their six-year-old son, Liam.

-He will absolutely love it, won't he?

-Yes.

-Definitely love it.

He can have a proper bedroom with lots of stuff that he wants on the walls!

Instead of somewhere you can't touch.

-It's like living in a hotel, isn't it?

-Yeah.

With an excited six-year-old desperate to move in, Samantha's

keen to make sure Liam's new bedroom is going to feel like home.

We want to put wallpaper on one wall, will I be able to do that?

-Yes.

-And he wants a light on this wall,

-will I be able to do that as well?

-Yes.

-It sticks to the wall.

-Yes, they normally stick on.

-Is that all right?

-Yes, that will be fine.

-OK.

-He's got it planned out, has he?

-Oh, yeah, yes, it's all planned!

It seems like Liam is going to get what he needs.

And outside, there's a nice surprise for Steve, too.

It comes, obviously, with the ginormous shed.

There you go. And there's a washing line in there.

I've got a washing line, as well. Excellent.

Yes, we have the hole for the washing line there for you, too.

That's plenty big enough for fishing gear.

Yeah, you haven't seen how much gear I've got.

So, this is your room!

And a bike for Liam.

-And a bike.

-Look at his face, he's chuffed to bits,

but it looks like Steve's plans for the garden might have to be put on

hold for a bit.

I'd have to wait so long before I can get permission to put a

bit of grass in or something?

Yes. So for the first year, you'll be what's called a starter tenant.

So it's almost like a probationary period.

So there would be things like major improvements and things like that

that you wouldn't be able to do for the first year.

But after that, then you'd just need permission from your housing

officer and they'll be able to do that.

I can stick my hanging baskets and that up, though?

-Yes, that's fine, and obviously...

-I've got about 30-odd tubs.

-Right!

And there are some water butts, so that will be handy for your watering.

So the outdoor renovations will have to wait at least a year,

until Steve and Samantha's starter tenancy period is over and they

become fixed term tenants.

There'll be some things that are your responsibility,

so if a cupboard handle came loose we'd expect you to just screw that

back on. If there was a drippy tap and it was just a washer,

we'd expect you guys to do that.

Obviously, if your heating wasn't working or something, that would be us.

All that remains is the final paperwork before this house

officially becomes a home.

So, yeah, if you're happy to, we can certainly do the paperwork.

-Yes.

-So just the top one and the top one for me, please.

-Both our names are on the rent book then?

-Yes.

-Ah.

Don't think you're getting out of it!

-See you later.

-You've got to do yours.

-Have I?

Yes, because it says, "Joint."

So the tenancies are fixed term for five years.

After the five years, if your situation is still the same,

we'll just grant to another tenancy for another five years, OK?

Obviously, if you want to move at a time, that's absolutely fine.

We can't ask you to leave for those five years or for the next five years, so...

And we'll give you the keys today and you'll be free to take

measurements and do all of that, so that's fine.

-I can still move in Saturday, then?

-You can.

-That's all right.

-You can. Yes, well, I'll leave you to it, then.

-Thank you very much!

That's OK, thank you.

And I'll find out about the parking and that for you, and the window.

-Yes, just let me know and...

-Yep.

After so many years of waiting, it looks like this couple are now

ready to settle into a place they can call their own.

Wow, it's a lovely house! It's really nice.

Didn't expect it to be as nice as it is, to be honest.

It's nice and big.

Put pictures on the walls and make it our actual home, home now.

We can think about living here and it'll be our permanent home until,

until, until we get older, I suppose.

Until Liam grows up and moves out.

Very impressed, aren't we?

Very impressed with it.

It's done very nicely. Very nicely.

Stephen and Samantha's new home looks set to kick start a new life.

It's really nice to be able to give people the opportunity to have

their own property that, you know, they're not scared of a landlord

about to kick them out or anything like that, and obviously,

the rents are a little bit cheaper for them too.

So it gives us really good job satisfaction to know that we've made

somebody's day.

Back in Croydon, residents have complained about a neglected empty

property which could also have been targeted by squatters.

But it is just a case of checking that there's nobody in there illegally.

We can't access the front of the house so neighbour Jim is allowing

emptied Empty Property Officer Francis and I the chance to take a

look around the back.

Well, we'll have a go.

Oh, wow. Well...

Yeah, there's kind of a limit to what we can see even when we're out here.

-That's right, yes.

-Look, this is the neighbour's house,

and as soon as you go over the other side, my God!

It's like a jungle.

Well, most times, these sort of things will be hidden from anyone

driving past or walking past.

You don't see what's going on in the back garden.

Oh, my goodness, it's gone back to nature, hasn't it?

It has, yes.

It looks like the jungle has had some recent inhabitants, too.

There's a back door that's open.

So there's like a lean-to here, we've got, Francis.

And then there's a back door to that that seems as though it's providing

access straight in, so maybe squatters.

Could be squatters, yeah, could be somebody just thinking

they'll take over the property, could be all sorts of things.

So that might be what prompted this latest report.

So it's good that we've come out, it's good that the neighbour was in, as well.

Yes, squatting, very popular with hippies in the '60s and '70s,

but not these days.

Squatting in residential properties is illegal and can lead to six

months in prison, a five grand fine or both.

Whoever is getting in that way has to be determined.

I think they've got to be equipped with a machete.

-Yes.

-If they are squatting there and getting in,

as he was suggesting through this garden,

then I don't think they've done it for a while.

They're either very small or some kind of woodland creature to

be able to get through the whole thing, because it's...

It's just ridiculously overgrown.

It's hard to believe the owner has allowed almost half a million quid's

worth of property to get into this state.

So that's one of the hidden problems with empty properties.

You don't often get to see this sort of thing.

It's got a fantastic garden as well.

-Oh, yes.

-You can't help but look at it as a missed opportunity.

I mean, you know, we all know the value of property in this part of

the world and there is a fantastic garden.

Look at the neighbour's house. They're big houses, aren't they?

They're spacious. They go a long way back.

They're wide. Could be fantastic.

Yes, something needs to be done about this one quite quickly.

Neighbour, Jim, has lived next door to the property for almost 40 years,

long enough to remember the original owner moving out.

Well, in the first few years I lived here, it was lovely.

All the garden was nice and all of a sudden...

..they both packed their bags, like with a little removal van,

and it stood empty for about ten years.

Nothing was moving at all.

People rung up the council, even me, just to see what was happening.

They said, "Yeah, yeah, we'll be in touch with him."

They got in touch with him, and I think they tried to force him

to come back and tidy it up a bit.

You know, and then he come back up, do little things for a couple of

hours and then he was gone.

He just left it. You know, it was as if he lost heart with it.

I think what it was, he was emotionally attached to the house.

You know, he was born... You know what I mean?

He just didn't want to sell it.

It's funny, I look at it and come here today and here we are,

south of London, honeypot, everyone wants to live here.

-Yeah, that's right, yeah.

-And you look at...

This is a big house.

-It is, yeah.

-Three, four bedroom?

-Three bedrooms, yeah.

-So you're looking at a place that's a family home

and I'm trying to get my head round why anybody wouldn't want to make

-the most of that.

-That's what I couldn't work out,

because even if you sold it, even like that,

there's a lot of money sitting there.

House prices apart, Jim has had to live next door to this for years,

and it sounds like it hasn't been easy.

Francis was saying there's been people coming in.

-Yeah, squatters.

-So you've had squatters in?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I used to ring the police, the police used to come down.

But apparently the police don't even come round now.

If you've got squatters, you've got to ring the council and then the

council send people round to get them out.

I've actually rung the police just recently because there were people

living in there, I could hear them knocking about.

Admirably though, despite having to put up with it for so long,

Jim's tried not to let it ruin his life.

I've been lucky, really. I'm sort of a bit of a workaholic,

I'm always working.

But if I was here all the time, you know, if I was retired,

something's got to be done, really, hasn't it?

Cos it's not nice looking at that.

I've got to keep cutting it back because it keeps coming over.

The older you get, you don't want all that effort, do you?

I'm really over the moon that something's actually going to happen now.

-Nice one, Jim, lovely to meet you.

-And you.

It's a valuable insight, but to be honest,

I'm still leaving with more questions than answers.

So that was really interesting talking to Jim,

getting that perspective of living next door to a house that's been

abandoned for decades.

-Yes.

-And it's not... I mean, he's very cool about it, if I'm honest,

but it was a real blight and a real pain for him to have to deal with that.

Yeah, and a lot of times people suffer in silence.

I might get to hear of it if damp starts coming through or mould is

growing on their walls or structural defects are affecting them.

Fortunately, we're early enough in the process for that one not to be

affecting the material fabric of the building,

but obviously the impact on their lifestyle, on their

living, is quite great because you've got to look out your windows

and see a jungle outside.

We also got a little bit of a flavour, or an idea,

of the story behind it.

I've been going to these empty properties thinking,

"How can anybody leave a quarter of a million pounds or more sitting there?"

He was saying, he just thought the owner was so emotionally attached

to the house where he grew up that he couldn't bring himself to let it go.

I'd never really imagined that would be one of the reasons behind an

-empty property.

-Yeah, it's something that I seek advice on,

because, obviously, we're dealing with other people's possessions and

the ultimate sanction is to take it away from them and I need to be

comfortable there.

There may be emotional issues,

emotional attachments to the property,

mental issues that prevent them making a decision.

So it's a very fine line that I need to tread in order to avoid impinging

on people's human rights.

But also deal with the problem as it presents itself.

It is a wasted resource, it is affecting the neighbourhood

and maybe by taking it away, we'd be doing a favour to the fellow.

I got a sense, a genuine sense,

of relief on Jim's part there that something might actually,

after decades, happen to that property.

Yes, yeah, it must be a relief to know that we're taking it seriously.

Obviously, resources are limited,

so I need to prioritise which ones we do.

The fact that that one's been reported,

we've now had a chat with the neighbour, yes,

it's something I'll prioritise slightly higher and see if we can

-get some resolution for him.

-Good stuff.

Well, since that visit, the owners have now agreed to sell the property,

meaning, hopefully, the garden will soon be under control and stop

making life a misery for the next door neighbours.

Evicting a tenant from a property is always a last resort,

and with over 40,000 evictions in England and Wales in 2015 alone,

housing officers have a lot of work to do, to ensure those properties

are vacated as efficiently as possible.

In Stroud, I'm with housing officers Shane Reece and Lucy David

on the way to a recently vacated flat whose former tenant

was clearly keen to protect their privacy.

-Got a nice...

-Videotape control.

Videotape control, yeah.

That looks really fake.

Yeah, yeah.

Why that was up there, your guess is as good as mine.

Well, that camera might not be real, but the screws the council have put

in place to secure the property are doing their job.

We'll go in and have a look around and see exactly what state...

Have you got the lights on?

We've got a bunk bed.

-Yeah.

-And the downstairs has been used as a bed at some point and then

just been totally covered in stuff.

-Yeah.

-The top seems to have some kind of Astroturf on it.

Yeah, which is very strange, I've not seen that before.

Obviously, I'm not going to go digging around...

-No.

-..for fear of the unknown.

When I started this programme, someone said to me, he said,

"Don't put your hands anywhere you can't see..."

-Yeah.

-"And get good shoes..."

-Yeah.

-"And don't sit down on anything."

The most important things, literally, because you don't know

what you're going to find and unfortunately a lot

of the properties we go into, you know, are left with needles,

drug paraphernalia and everything else.

Obviously, we never take any chances.

Not sure what this is meant for.

Oh, my God.

The mess alone in here is enough to scare anyone off.

This Aladdin's Cave of clutter starts to make a bit more sense when

we see what's been cooking in the kitchen.

The thing that initially catches my eye, obviously, and again

I'm not going to touch it, is the fact that we've got some sort

of wraps and spoons, which, for whatever reason,

may have been used to perhaps, for drug use or whatever,

heating things up and everything.

Actually it looks like there's a sort of makeshift...

I think that's referred to as a makeshift bong, we've got there.

Maybe he wanted to smoke a few different types of drugs

here in the kitchen.

Yeah, yeah. Very, very strange selection of

items again and all different things.

And, obviously, there was some form of drug use going on at the property

-by the evidence.

-And a fondue set.

And a fondue set, yeah. Everyone's got to have a fondue set, to be fair.

He's got a fondue set up there.

No sign of a cuddly toy, though.

It's almost as if four people were living in here at different times.

I feel like I'm missing something, trying to account for the strange

collection of things that are in here.

Whenever you come into a new property, you just go,

"How does this all make sense?"

When does somebody come in, then, and look at that and say, "Right,

"we have to clear this out, put it into storage?"

Yeah, so basically, because this property was an eviction,

there's been 28 days' notice issued to that person.

They or a family member can get and take whatever they want from the

property within that 28 days accompanied by somebody from the

council and at that point the 28 days is up,

whatever's not taken or not claimed will be disposed of and we'll be

getting in there to crack on with the void works and get it turned around.

All right, good stuff. We'd better use the special locking device.

-Yes, yeah, we'll lock it back up.

-We're not using keys here, are we?

No, we're using security screws to make it secure and there's a new

door on order because the door was too damaged to actually fix.

It couldn't be more secure because we've also got the video camera.

-True.

-Always keep an eye out.

-Belt and braces.

Great stuff.

Well, it's unlikely we'll ever get to the bottom of how that very

strange collection of objects managed to find itself in that flat,

as after the required 28 days waiting period was up,

nobody came forward to collect them.

The items have since been disposed of and the council is carrying out

repairs to the property to make it fit for the next tenant to enjoy.

Well, as we've just seen, being a housing officer means a daily dose

of tough choices and difficult decisions.

But it's all in a day's work for the men and women fighting to

ensure we can enjoy a safe place to call home.

That's it for today, but join me again next time where I'll be back

on the front line with the housing enforcers.