Episode 10 The Housing Enforcers

The law says everyone has the right to a safe place to live.

-You've actually seen rats, have you?

-Yeah, we have, yeah.

But for thousands of people across Britain right now,

the reality can be more hovel than home.

-We've got a nappy in the tree there, look.

-I'm sure that that is pee.

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO

In the battle between tenants and landlords,

it's local housing officers who are on the front line.

I can smell gas.

You are committing an offence under the Housing Act.

-Are you having a laugh?!

-I'm Matt Allwright.

Damp, cold, dangerous.

They're trying to make me look bad.

Have you only recently become aware of planning permission?

And I'm back on the job, once again joining the ranks

of the housing enforcers.

They are tackling problem properties...

It's a right old mess in there, isn't it?

..dealing with the consequences of nightmare neighbours...

I've had three tyres cut.

..and doing their best to help those in need.

-This is the first time I've had a smile on my face!

-Oh!

We just heard a squeak.

Today I'm visiting a run-down house in east London...

This is where the cockroaches, rats and everything are coming from.

..where I make a surprising discovery.

I rent the accommodation from the Home Office.

He says that a lot of the people that are staying here

are asylum seekers having their rent paid by the Home Office.

I call at a house that is an inferno in the making.

We have no fire or smoke detection.

This is not a fire door.

If I hadn't had been awake, then we probably would have been dead.

And, with the help of the council,

a devoted dad brings some happiness to his brave daughter.

What can I do to help my daughter? You know,

I couldn't make her better, I'm not a doctor, I couldn't make her better

but I could just try and make the situation and her lifestyle better.

He's absolutely amazing because he's done everything

he can possibly do for me to help me in the best way possible.

You're welcome, darling. Any time.

They say an Englishman's home is his castle

but if that place is rented, it's the job of housing officers to

make sure that it is a decent place to live.

They keep an eye on landlords to make sure the property

is up to scratch AND on some tenants,

to make sure they are keeping their half of the bargain.

In east London,

the borough of Newham has something like 35,000 privately rented homes.

So, keeping rogue landlords in check is a mammoth job.

Today I'm getting a crash course

in how the council's planning department

are helping with the fight to shut down illegal

and dangerous properties.

It's 7am, and I am riding shotgun

with planning enforcement and policy manager Christine Lyons

and planning officers Ellen Nicholson and Megan Rowe

on some early-morning raids.

The properties we are hitting have all been illegally converted

into flats or bedsits, without planning permission.

When this house was inspected before,

it was being illegally used as bedsits.

The owner was then ordered to turn it back into a single family home.

We are here to check.

LOUD KNOCKING

I love it when Christine knocks.

-REALLY LOUD KNOCKING

-Say what you like, it gets results.

-Good morning.

-Sorry to bother you so early in the morning.

I'm Christine Lyons. I'm from Planning. Hi, can we just come in?

We served a notice against the property...

The man who let us in doesn't want to be identified.

But from what he tells us, it's immediately clear

that there are far too many people crammed into this property.

-Are the people in upstairs?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

-It's two people.

Two people in every room? OK. And how many bedrooms are there?

Two downstairs, three upstairs.

-OK.

-So basically, it's ten people.

Ten people.

It's clearly still being let to individuals, not a family.

But overcrowding isn't the only problem here.

The property is in an absolutely terrible condition.

This is a wet room that shouldn't be a wet room.

No, if you look at it from the outside,

the building is in a right mess from the outside.

This is just a lean-to and there is a shower in it.

"Please keep the door closed after use."

You'll be lucky.

This tagged-on lean-to building that has obviously just been thrown up

in a hurry, and that's got a sort of shower/toilet block in it.

It's just got damp running up from ground to waist-high.

There is no way that that could be kept warm or dry.

Join us later when we'll be trying to work out exactly how many people

are living in this place.

-Oh, you are kidding me.

-No.

This is just an additional 200 quid a week, isn't it?

And who they are sharing it with.

This is where the cockroaches, rats and everything are coming from.

When houses fall into a serious state of disrepair,

the results are potentially catastrophic.

I'm in Oldbury in the West Midlands with housing officer

Richard Hawkins.

He's had a call from a worried tenant.

So where are we going today?

We've had a young lady who has contacted us to say that she's

got some disrepairs at her property that she is concerned with.

Broken windows, lack of heating, holes in ceilings.

There is quite a selection of things that we've got to have a look at, so it could be quite a long day.

I was in a hostel before this. It was like a hotel compared to this.

No holes in the walls, no coldness, there was heating,

there was electric.

You know. So, it was much better.

Every year, Sandwell Council's housing team receives

over 800 complaints about poor conditions

in the private rented sector.

What we're about to see is an example of a property

that is not just in poor repair, it is positively dangerous.

So this is the property.

Unfortunately, tenant Coral Shawney who made the call to the council,

had work commitments the day of our inspection.

But after we gained access,

it was immediately clear what the problems were.

OK, that's a good start.

What are your first thoughts?

Just from the rooms we've seen, just real structural problems here.

Which can really affect anybody that's living here.

We've got a leak through this bedroom ceiling here.

We've got an electrical socket which is hanging on for dear life.

The only form of heating in here seems to be

the electrical wall heater here.

That's not even really fitted on properly.

Electricity is the major cause of accidental fires in UK homes,

with over 20,000 each year.

So already I'm sensing danger.

And it's not just the shocking state of the electrics that sets

alarm bells ringing.

There is also a strange hole in the ceiling.

-It doesn't feel wet.

-Just get your finger in the hole, if you can.

We need to know...

-No, it's dry.

-OK.

As we are leaving the room,

Richard notices something else unpleasant above our heads.

Is that blood on the ceiling? Or is it water?

I think it could be blood.

-No, it's over here as well. But then...

-Is it?

Off to the bathroom now. And even more electrical problems.

This place is starting to scare me.

It's probably just over a metre by a metre.

What do you use a bathroom for?

-Would you use a shower for?

-You use it to clean yourself.

And in that process, what do you generally tend to generate a lot of?

-A lot of steam. There is no ventilation!

-No ventilation.

How could I have been doing this now and not...

-There is no ventilation in here at all.

-At all.

So the steam in there would just build up, you'll get condensation

and then you'll get damp and, in any case, it would

just be difficult to use because you wouldn't be able to see.

If the door's closed and you're having a shower,

-this would be full of steam in no time at all.

-Absolutely.

They've packed quite a lot in here.

We've got a shower with an activator which is hanging off.

So you've got a mixture of electricity and water,

you've got no ventilation in here and you've got loose light fittings.

It looks like you could easily be caught

with your trousers down in this bathroom.

-Something we both missed.

-Behind the door?

What's wrong with the door?

-The door's damaged.

-Yeah. Just close it.

-Oh, it's got no handle.

-It's got no handle.

So, if you did close the door, you're stuck in there.

-Don't close the door.

-Don't close the door.

Next we find a room that is, well, difficult.

I mean, it's tiny, but it could be a kitchen,

a living room or a bedroom.

I mean, the fact that they're across the floor...

I'm hoping that it's just that people had been sitting on the floor

but it could be that someone has been using it as a makeshift bedroom.

The tenants tell us this room is used as an occasional crashpad

for overnight visitors.

I think this is the window that was smashed.

So it's cold in here as well.

-Piece of glass just waiting to fall out.

-Yeah.

I mean, that's horrendous, isn't it?

It's not just broken glass that could be dangerous in this

makeshift bedroom.

So, in a very, very small room, we've still got

a sort of small kitchen.

Well, a sink unit, nothing else, really.

With a draining board and some storage.

I've got no idea why they would put that in here.

Don't shut the door. Once you open it, you can never close it again.

-It's actually the wrong way around.

-Yes.

Because that snib, that should...

That's why I had to smile when I looked at it.

We have no fire or smoke detection in here at all.

This is not a fire door.

Thank goodness it's not being used as a kitchen.

It gets worse on the landing.

It seems wherever we turn in this property, there are potentially

lethal faults.

-That should now light up.

-Light up.

See, it's...test.

So that gives you the illusion that everything is fine.

-That is worse than them not being there.

-Yeah.

Because you are actually putting faith in the fact that

you have a detector and an emergency light there.

You could be sitting upstairs and be thinking,

"Oh, I can smell smoke here, but there can't be a problem

"because the alarms haven't gone off and the lights haven't come on."

Just a technical matter?

Well, later we discover the terrifying repercussions.

There's no fire alarms that work,

so if I hadn't had been awake, then we probably would have been dead.

In Newham, I'm visiting a property which was being illegally rented out

as bedsits and was served with an enforcement notice,

requiring the landlord only let it as a single family dwelling.

It is clear this isn't happening.

-Two people, you know.

-Two people in every room?

-OK, and how many bedrooms are there?

-Two downstairs, three upstairs.

-So basically, it's ten people.

-Ten people.

And the house isn't just overcrowded,

it's in a shocking state of disrepair.

This is a shower/toilet block.

It's just got damp running up from ground to waist-high.

Planning enforcement and policy manager, Christine,

is suspicious that the shed at the bottom of the garden

might be being used as accommodation.

Oh, you're kidding me?

This is just an additional 200 quid a week, isn't it?

If an unscrupulous landlord could be getting 200 quid renting out

a shed, it's little wonder they are willing to flout the planning laws.

But the knock-on effect is dire.

This, it should be like a family home.

Which would be looked after, cared for.

It goes over to this type of market and is not cared for,

the properties fall into disrepair

and we are having an increasing number of failing properties in our

borough through the fact that they are rented and not looked after.

And when it's people who really have no other choice, you know,

we're talking about people who have no other choice about where to live,

then this is what they get.

This is the very, very bottom of the housing ladder.

There is no investment by the landlord because he knows

he just gets his constant money whatever state it falls into.

As well as the ten people living in these terrible conditions,

the guy who let us in tells us there is

something nasty lurking in the basement.

(Let's go downstairs.)

It's really bad.

This is where the cockroaches, rats and everything are coming from.

-You think they are living in this...?

-Yes, yes.

In all of this rubbish.

Pile of rubbish, they are all rubbish as it is.

-And then your room is above this?

-Yes, that's my own room

and I can't live with all these cockroaches and everything.

You know what? Sometimes you want to stop looking

in case you find what you're looking for.

I'm going to take your word for it.

OK. How are you finding living here?

It is not up to the standard of the normal living situation of a person.

Luckily, I haven't come face-to-face with any rats

but Megan has discovered the human occupants aren't the only ones

sharing their overcrowded kitchen.

We found mouse droppings in the cupboard.

The whole property is just a horrible state.

So you've got mouse droppings there, the gentleman was saying

that he's seen cockroaches and rats throughout the property.

It's freezing in here.

That back door doesn't close, this one has no handle on it.

So this property is not secure at all.

There was a time in Newham when you could leave your doors open,

-but that is not now. This is not that time.

-No, no.

Downstairs is damp, infested with rodents

and anyone can just walk in.

Upstairs, the situation isn't any better.

Horrible bathroom.

Still waiting to see if there is a cockroach but I think this house

has to be one of the best candidates for showing me that.

The squalid conditions are bad enough.

But a second man, who also doesn't want to be identified,

has some information that means this might not just be a simple case

of a landlord illegally converting a house into bedsits.

-How many people living here in this room?

-Two.

Two of you? Do you pay your own rent or...

No, I have accommodation from the Home Office.

He says that a lot of the people who are staying here

are asylum seekers having their rent paid by the Home Office.

After talking to the occupants, it seems the property is actually being

rented by an agency, paid to house asylum seekers with public money.

Companies contracted to provide this accommodation must ensure

that it is safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped.

However, a survey in 2013 revealed that almost 3/4 of properties

housing asylum seekers weren't fully compliant with these standards

and, as far as I can tell, this house seems to be one of them.

-How long have you been in this property?

-I think seven months.

-Seven months?

-Yes.

-So you've got... There are two beds here...

-Yes.

And the window is very small.

In the summertime it is very difficult,

even if we open it all day, still room is very hot.

-Does it get damp in here as well?

-Yes.

All the time at night when we are sleeping in the summer,

we are sleeping with the door open.

So you've got a fridge-freezer in here as well?

No, we bought it ourselves.

-You bought that yourself?

-Yes.

-Rather than use the kitchen?

-No.

Because there was one downstairs, but it has broken down.

-Has it always been the same?

-The same.

I came here and there was a guy here and we complained about it

because the room is very small but nobody cared.

This man is forced to share a tiny,

cramped room with another man he doesn't know.

He doesn't even speak the same language.

What is it like, what's it doing to you living here?

-How are you coping, you know...

-I've got no choice.

Because for asylum seekers whose cases are processing,

if you complain they kick you out.

-So you can't do anything, you are in limbo.

-You have nothing to do.

-Nothing.

-Yeah.

-Thank you very much for your time.

-You are welcome.

As well as making sure properties are properly maintained,

agencies providing accommodation for asylum seekers are also obliged

to provide a complaints process.

Something that doesn't seem to be happening here.

I've seen some appalling things since I've been doing this job,

but the set-up that these guys are being forced to live in

is nothing short of a disgrace.

Wow. The conditions are infested, filthy, cold.

But it seems to come back to the fact that they don't feel

they have the right to complain about that

because their very presence in the country is in jeopardy.

So, that right to complain, you know, being able to stand

up for your rights, directly affects anything happening to that property.

-And it getting any better.

-Yes, it's not going to.

Until someone takes control of that property.

But they've even had the warning.

They've said it shouldn't be run like that and yet it still is.

So what can we do?

Once they've had the enforcement, surely that's it, isn't it?

Yes, the next step is prosecution.

It's bad enough that the landlord is still breaking the law,

but it looks like these people are also being let down by an agency,

paid with public money to provide the kind of safe,

habitable accommodation laid out in the Immigration and Asylum Act.

I mean, these things are really very straightforward.

I mean, there are rules, there are laws in black and white

about the condition of a property like that.

And yet it seems to have carried on, you know,

and it's public money that is being spent on their rents as well.

It just seems absolutely mind-boggling that they

could be living in those conditions and we're paying for it.

Yes, this standard of accommodation shouldn't be available for anybody.

This is accommodation, in the UK, in our capital, in 2015.

-It's mind-boggling.

-Yeah.

Since we visited,

the majority of the tenants at this address have moved out.

And Newham Council is talking to the Home Office

about the subcontracted company that was providing the accommodation.

Newham Council say that they want to ensure the quality of housing

provided is improved.

But in the meantime, they haven't ruled out taking legal action.

Next, we're in Sandwell, in the West Midlands.

We all value our independence, but at the age of only 15,

Jodie Millard has found hers severely restricted.

After being diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer,

doctors had to amputate Jodie's leg.

She now has to use a wheelchair to get around at home.

It's quite difficult. I can't move around much.

It's also difficult for me to, like, wash

because of not having a downstairs shower room.

Obviously it doesn't make me independent,

so I have to rely on other people.

Jodie's dad, Mark, has been

pulling out all the stops to help his brave daughter,

thanks in part to a council grant scheme designed for people

just like her.

-So these are things which will make their lives easier?

-Yes.

So in terms of mobility and just being able to do the basic things

-that a lot of us take for granted.

-Keeping them independent, basically.

'Housing officer, Tahir Malik, and I

'are going to pay the Millards a visit...'

-Hello, Mr Millard?

-Hello.

How are you doing? I'm Matt.

-I'm fine, yourself?

-Good to see you. Good, thanks.

'..and have a closer look at the downstairs extension that

'Mark has been building just for Jodie.'

'Whilst Tahir takes a few snaps for the record,

'I'm keen to find out a bit more.'

Tell me about Jodie's situation,

what's happening with her at the moment?

At the moment she's still going through chemotherapy.

She ended up having to have an amputation due to the cancer

that she got in the bone just above her knee in the right leg.

Unfortunately, she had to lose the limb.

Um...

Where do I go from there?

Like I say, it's just hard work

where she is in and out of hospital all the time

and up and down in herself because of the chemo,

which drains her and knocks her about

and it's really draining on her.

The last few months must have been very difficult for the whole family.

I'm wondering how much building the extension has helped Mark

to deal with it.

Is it a little bit of therapy for you as well? Because you can...

It took my mind off a lot of things, yeah.

I've been in the building trade for a long time

and it was a way of me coping and, what can I do to help my daughter?

I couldn't make her better, I'm not a doctor,

I couldn't make her better, but I could just try to make the situation

and her lifestyle better. That's all I could do for her.

Jodie's needs are constantly changing

but Mark is trying to make sure

she can have a life as close as possible to any other teenage girl.

This is used for a bedroom for Jodie and also a study/chill room

for Jodie, somewhere that she can have her friends round.

You know, she hasn't got to struggle upstairs into her bedroom.

If we can take that pressure from Jodie as well

and give her her own independence back,

and also take the pressure off us as parents and family,

and try to rebuild her life.

Trying to, you know... Has had the amputation,

let's get her through the chemotherapy,

fingers crossed everything is clear from there

and she can rebuild her life from there.

That's good to hear.

It seems like this extension is going to help the family

and give Jodie the independence she really needs.

So this is effectively her own front door?

This is effectively Jodie's own front door, yes.

We've had the door widened, the block paving lifted up

and ramped up for her so she can come in off the wheelchair.

Lovely bit of tiling.

This bit here is going to be Jodie's bathroom/wet room. Toilet there.

Sink basin there. And just here is going to be a wheel-in wet room,

where you've got the drains and the shower on the wall there for her.

Everything is automatic, the lights, the fan and the shower.

-The shower there, ready to go.

-The shower there, ready to be installed.

Which is a remote-controlled shower, so that can be operated

from outside the shower to get the temperature right.

A friend told Mark about the council grant.

Without it, he would have struggled

to pay for all the building materials

and the extra labour costs.

Have you got any idea whether it's going to cover, you know,

50% of it, or 75%?

Is that still a bit of a grey area at the moment?

No, I believe that it is going to cover most of everything

that's been paid out, yes.

-Wow! That's fantastic.

-It is, yes.

It's a massive weight off my shoulders.

Not having to worry about the money and, you know,

the cost of the build.

It's a huge weight off my shoulders.

Well, it's one less thing to worry about.

Mark has been doing an amazing job. So what does Jodie make of it?

Out there is this fantastic structure.

What difference is that going to make to you

and the way you live in your life?

It will make a big impact on my life because I am able to go off

at any time and shower

and I am able to access it.

I'm looking forward to actually spending more time with my family

and actually relaxing with my family.

-And also I want my independence back.

-What do you think of your dad?

He's absolutely amazing because he's done everything

he can possibly do for me to help me in the best way possible.

You're welcome, darling. Any time.

Clearly, things haven't been easy for Jodie

but thanks to her dad and the grant from the council,

she can now look forward

to a brighter and more independent future.

Back in Oldbury,

worried tenant Coral Shawney called the housing team

about the poor state of the property she is renting.

When I visited with housing officer Richard Hawkins,

we witnessed some shocking electrical problems,

not a single working smoke alarm and some other serious issues.

Yes, I'm so glad that the council has come and done the inspection

because it is like I'll go in

and they think I'm exaggerating about how cold it is in here

and, you know, you have to walk around in coats and stuff

because it is absolutely freezing and there are holes in the roof...

and in the ceiling that leak.

You know, so I'm glad they can actually see it for themselves.

And it's not just the sub-zero temperatures and electrical faults

that are causing the tenants sleepless nights.

The chimney started falling down, so guys had to go in

and sort it out,

take some bricks off so it didn't end up causing any more damage.

If you shut the door too hard,

is there going to be a brick that falls on my head or something?

Do you know what I mean?

It's not safe at all.

Coral's bedroom is another hazardous area.

As you can see, it is literally just board, it's not a real wall

and if you go like this, then things start falling and cracking.

And then when you shut my door,

because it doesn't shut properly, you have to properly slam it.

And then the same to open it.

And then you get plasterboard on my floor.

In fact, there aren't many doors in this property that actually work.

That's a fire hazard in itself.

But when you combine it with the broken smoke alarms,

you have a situation that almost resulted in a real-life tragedy.

Me and my partner, we were in bed. And I smelt burning.

And he was like, "OK, I'll go and check it out."

He opened my door and a waft of smoke came in and I was like,

"What's going on?"

And he opened the kitchen door

and it was literally filled with black smoke.

There's no fire alarms. Well, no fire alarms that work.

If I hadn't had been awake, then we probably would have been dead.

There is no doubt about it.

As soon as he opened the door,

I had to get down to the ground because I couldn't breathe.

I was coughing my lungs up, you know, it was horrible.

It was absolutely horrible.

Even though I'd been briefed on what had happened here

before our inspection, Richard and I were stunned

when we came across the scene of the fire.

So, if we needed an example of the problems in this house

and the results that you can get from them, then there we go.

It seems that a pan was left on the hob

and no-one realised it was left on, and as a result,

the whole kitchen filled with black smoke, and luckily,

one of the tenants' partners spotted it and alerted

the rest of the house.

Because, as you can see, the fire and smoke detection is not working.

That could have easily escalated,

taking all the occupants in this house, and of course this is

a terraced house, you've got properties either side as well.

The fact that there were people here that could have died...

It's very upsetting, it's horrible.

It's obviously dangerous.

It's been done, from what I can tell,

in places on the cheap.

People's lives are put in danger. It's poorly designed.

There is a lot that needs to be brought up to standard here.

So, following our assessment,

Richard's absolutely determined to take all the action necessary

to make sure there are no more accidents here waiting to happen.

Tell me what happens next.

We are going to get a notice out to the landlord.

Make him aware of what's going on. Get the repairs carried out.

And hopefully get this up to a standard where, you know,

these people can live safely.

-Shall we go?

-Yes, let's get out of here.

That's it for today's show.

Join me next time when I'll be finding out more about

what it takes to become a front-line housing officer.