Episode 16 The Housing Enforcers

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

-See those flies?

-Yeah.

But for thousands of people across Britain,

the reality can be more hovel than home.

Vermin, vermin, filth.

-Oh!

-Oh!

It's not me, it's the landlord.

In the battle between tenants and landlords,

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

-Yes.

-No, we're not, we're coming in.

-No, no.

-We're police.

-Excuse me.

I'm Matt Allwright.

I'm trying to understand how the property

could be in this condition while rent is still coming in.

I'm back on the job,

once again joining the ranks of the Housing Enforcers.

It smells like pee.

This is somebody's playground.

They're tackling problem properties...

It just feels like a time bomb.

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

-And he called me a

-BLEEP.

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

You can stand here and look at the very rich people looking back down.

Today, I follow up one tenant's shocking complaints...

Rather not touch that.

Well, you can't smell it, but I can.

One dispute gets so heated that the police are called...

You're operating an unlicensed HMO.

..and the tenant isn't happy.

I don't want to stay here.

And I meet a family in desperate need of a new home

after some tragic news.

I went to see a neurologist.

She needed to admit me right there and then.

I was at the end of my life, basically.

Britain is in the middle of a housing crisis.

The government reckons, to meet demand,

we need to be building nearly a quarter of a million homes

every year but the reality is, we are only managing about half that.

It is just one of the reasons why the number of people

renting their homes right now is at its highest since the 1950s.

At the front line of this crisis are the country's Housing Enforcers,

and in this programme, I'm training to become one.

Clacton-on-Sea in Essex.

Like many seaside towns around the country,

it has a large number of homes that have been divided up

and converted into flats.

The quality of these alterations by property developers can vary hugely,

and in the worst cases, it can cause big problems for the local council.

Today, I'm shadowing housing officer, Rob Goswell.

What we've got today is, we've got a complaint,

just over... Just in town.

He's due to inspect a top floor flat after receiving a complaint

about serious issues in a privately rented property.

-Wringing wet walls about to fall down.

-Yep.

-Gas isn't connected to the hot water.

-Yep.

The tenant says that's affecting their health.

People do always get a little bit of respiratory thing

when it comes to damp and mould and that.

With no hot water, that can be quite serious

so that's why we're going over to that one today.

Any flat occupied by a tenant must meet basic minimum standards and

it's the landlord's responsibility to make sure they're in place.

Cos obviously, everyone needs to be able to have facilities to wash

and obviously hot water being essential to one of those things.

So, hygiene, sanitation and drains, so you're looking really for...

-Hot water...

-Yeah.

-..some way of applying it to yourself...

-Yeah.

-..like a shower or a bath, a working loo...

-Yeah.

-..and drains that aren't blocked.

-Yeah, that's it.

-Right, let's go.

To gain access to the flat,

Rob and I are meeting with the letting agent who's only recently

taken on managing the property for the landlord.

The tenant, who didn't want to be filmed,

has drawn up a list of the problem areas he's worried about.

So what we've got is a bay window here,

and this is on the first floor,

and as you can see, if we just pull back the curtain here...

..got pretty extensive damp.

Now the tenant here says that in the past he's made efforts to clean it

and paint it and do what he can but now he's just fed up with it,

it just comes back and you end up with...

Well, you can't smell it, but I can, it is a very damp smell

and this is his bedroom.

The other thing that he's complained about is the window.

Let's keep going.

This is the tenant's living room and again,

we've got sort of damp and mould in this bay area,

just underneath the window.

But what he's told us is part of the problem could be

that he hasn't got enough money to heat this property.

The flat clearly has a problem with damp.

You haven't got a substantial amount of mould growth here

but you can see it's soaking wet so we will get that eventually.

And the general condition in places is beginning to look dangerous.

Yeah, I'll take that down. I'd rather not touch that.

One of the main complaints Rob is keen to investigate

is the reported lack of hot water for washing.

That's just for the central heating and then hot water is coming

from the immersion heater that is plugged into the tank there.

They're not the most efficient

but it isn't actually working anyway at the moment so... We need water.

-It's like a big kettle.

-Absolutely.

But need to get that sorted straightaway.

Which should be relatively straightforward

but the saturated wall at the back of the flat could indicate

a more serious underlying problem.

Yeah, we'll check them on the outside.

We hope to find the source of the water getting in

by taking a closer look from the outside.

Look at that roof.

I know, you can see, there's something going on there.

-There's something bizarre going on with the chimney at the back.

-Yeah.

That's a good spot, actually,

you can actually see that a lot of the tiles are coming away there.

-If you look at the end of that gutter...

-Yeah.

-..which is right up at an angle...

-Yeah.

..it's not joined into the down-pipe either.

It looks like we found the root of the problem

but Rob wants to see if the back wall can offer up any more clues.

We've been given access to the rear garden

by the lady who owns and lives in the ground-floor flat.

Looking at that, it tells a story, just looking at that,

you've got lovely, sort of clean, double glazing downstairs,

keeping you nice and warm and cosy and then look at that upstairs.

You can see a difference. I mean, it's a world apart, isn't it?

With a damp situation that is clearly getting worse,

it'll be the responsibility of the landlord to get it resolved.

But what does the letting agent think?

Basically, what we do is, obviously we do inspections for the landlord

and we report to the landlord any issues that the tenant raises

and get it addressed as quickly as possible.

It does seem like these problems have been there

for quite some time and according to him, certainly,

he's raised these problems and they have not been sorted out.

That's something that we'll need to double check.

Obviously we'll find out when he has reported them,

what actions obviously the landlord has taken, and

obviously then we can obviously address it from that point onwards.

In a way, this is the story of two storeys.

Downstairs, owner-occupied, look at it, it is absolutely stunning

and you can even feel how warm it is inside there.

And then upstairs, well, you've got...

Really affecting life for the occupant.

No hot water or occasional hot water, and structural problems that

are allowing some of the rooms to be really quite unpleasant and damp.

It needs sorting out. Can Rob work his magic?

We've heard from the landlord.

He says that the tenant has been reporting problems to the council

and not to the letting agents, which has caused confusion.

He told us that all the repairs have either been done or about to be.

He also says that in the past,

the tenant had refused contractors access to carry out repairs.

Now that they're talking, hopefully the landlord will be told

when work needs to be done

and the tenant can be confident that the work will happen quickly.

The city of Oxford is famous for spires and students...

..and is home to over 150,000 people.

It's a very compact city, well-known for its stunning architecture

and historical buildings.

However, the local housing officers know that not all the residents

are fortunate enough to live in a safe and comfortable home.

It is just there actually, you can see from behind these gates.

Housing officer Adrian Chowns is on his way to meet with a tenant

who is having issues with his landlord.

He rents a room in a three-bedroom flat, positioned above a shop.

His brother has helped him by calling in the council

to deal with his complaints.

This guy is a bit vulnerable as well, apparently,

He's got some learning difficulties, so it is not an ideal situation.

The brother of the tenant has said that there are some

dangerous electrics, there is a problem with the gas certificate.

OK, Gary.

Can I just get a few details from you first?

-How long have you lived here?

-Three months.

-Three months.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-And how much rent are you paying?

-450 a month.

Is there any other people living in the building?

Yes, there's two girls that live in the end room here and there's two...

There's a couple that live in the same room there.

What problems have you got then, Gary? We can start in the kitchen.

-The stove blows all the fuses when it is on.

-Yeah.

It has been reported.

-OK, so when did you report that?

-I reported it Friday to him.

His excuse was, he couldn't afford to change it

while the rent was paid.

Is that normal? Is that the sort of thing...

His hands are tied, sort of thing.

Is this from the landlord, is it?

I don't know who's written that

but that is what we pay every seven days, the three of us.

-You pay £20...

-£20, yeah...

-..a week...

-..a week.

-..each?

-..each.

-That's quite a lot, isn't it?

-It is quite a lot.

-Right, OK.

That has only just been fixed. That was all taped up, you can see

-the tape on it.

-Yeah.

-He got that fixed Saturday morning.

-Right.

And if there is a fire, this is unbelievable...

-Virtually impossible.

-Yeah, it is a struggle, cos that's your escape.

You can't unlock it to get out of the building if there is a fire.

-This has been reported on Friday. Nothing done about it.

-Yeah.

Adrian's only inspected the kitchen, and already,

there's a list of safety issues that the landlord will need to resolve.

In his bedroom, there are also a number of problems

that Gary wants Adrian to take a look at.

-Yeah, your brother mentioned about the boiler in the cupboard.

-Yeah.

You haven't had a gas safety certificate?

I asked him about that and he said he had one done three years ago.

That was his exact answer.

-That isn't a fire door.

-No, none of them are fire doors.

-And you're literally straight off the kitchen here.

-Yeah.

-So...

-And if there is a fire, they have got no chance of getting out.

-Yeah.

All of these things that I'm taking photos of, Gary,

-are things that the landlord is responsible for.

-Yeah.

You know, because of the type of property that you are living in,

-it's classed as a House in Multiple Occupation.

-Yeah.

In Oxford, a House in Multiple Occupation is defined as...

An HMO must be licensed with the council

and meet a rigorous set of safety standards.

-You're all off this kitchen, aren't you?

-Yeah, yeah.

There's one way out and that is hard to get out of,

-if that door is locked.

-Well, yeah.

I mean, it's a tiny little place, isn't it?

You can't believe there are five of you living in here.

If there is one cooking in the kitchen, you've got to wait.

-That is your only saving grace, really...

-Yeah.

..that you've got that smoke alarm there.

If there's a fire in this kitchen, I don't really fancy...

-No, I don't either.

-..your chances.

Adrian's seen enough.

It's obvious there's a number of hazards that all need

immediate attention.

..which will be to get that back door fixed,

get some fire detection...

-Better fire detection in here, in each of the rooms...

-Yeah.

..get some proper fire doors on each of the bedrooms

-and deal with the electrics.

-Yeah.

-OK, Gary.

-Thank you very much, thank you.

-Cheers.

Today's meeting has been worthwhile

but Gary isn't hopeful of a quick and easy resolution.

I do think the council will make a difference.

It's how the landlord is going to react now.

It's just ringing out.

Coming up - Adrian returns to Gary's flat.

He wants to see if the landlord has made the place safe to live in.

Being a housing officer isn't just about

dealing with dodgy landlords and leaking roofs.

For people in crisis, they can provide a crucial lifeline too.

I'm heading to Swale in Kent to meet a young family

whose personal circumstances have changed so dramatically

that their current house is no longer suitable.

When he was diagnosed, David's life was turned upside down.

Up to that point, how would you have described yourself?

What was the picture of you, if you like, if you had to paint that,

16, 18 months ago?

I would work from six o'clock in the morning until ten o'clock at night.

I used to love work. I was so active.

David's work as a builder allowed him to rent a nice home for him,

his partner Monica and their three children.

But things changed when he started to feel seriously unwell.

The brain, is that something that you had kind of been aware of

for a while or did it come out of the blue?

I just had headaches for two and a half years before that.

But the brain tumour was 15 years old.

-So it had been with you for all that time?

-Yeah.

You'd been having headaches that had got steadily worse

and then what made you decide to get something sorted

and find out about it?

Walking down the street and...

..the feeling of being drunk, constantly going to one side

and hitting walls or bumping into people.

I went to see a neurologist and it took her all of about

two minutes to say that she needed to admit me right there and then.

-Wow.

-Because I was at the end of my life, basically.

With time running out,

David was rushed into hospital for emergency surgery.

They had to put a shunt in my head to take out the fluid from the brain

and then the swelling reduced

and they could operate on the tumour,

which was not a very easy thing for them to do

because of where it was situated.

It sounds like an incredibly scary time for you.

Yeah.

With the tumour removed, David's now on the road to recovery,

but it's become clear that the house he rents is no longer suitable.

As he currently can't work, he has turned to the council for help.

What particular challenges have you got now?

My mobility, especially with my leg,

because I've got early degenerative knee disease as well.

The access into this property is the stairs.

And it's quite slippy out there as well

and now I can't be as active as I was.

As well as the physical toll the illness has taken on David,

the emotional impact on the family makes finding a larger home

especially important.

It's not just my space to get better, it's space for our family,

so we can all sort of get over what we've been through together.

It is clear David and his family desperately need to make

a fresh start in a new home.

But so far, the properties they have viewed haven't been suitable.

Their options are running out fast.

Housing officer Kirsty Moore thinks she's found a place that might

fit the bill.

Remember, if it's not right for medical reasons,

you need to say that.

The question is this -

will the house be right for David and his family?

-OK, you ready to come in?

-Yeah.

-First look?

-Kirsty's colleague Shalina

is waiting to show us around.

OK, come through, I'll take you straight into the living room.

We'll do the downstairs first, is that OK?

The lounge is a decent size but David and Monica

also really want a good-sized garden for the kids.

-This is nice.

-Big.

Lots of outside space for the kids

means a better quality of life for everybody.

-First impressions?

-Very nice.

Garden, it's lovely, kitchen, it's lovely.

So things downstairs are looking good. What about upstairs?

This is lovely, having a handrail.

So what have we got, two bedrooms?

-You don't have to stay with this.

-No, I won't.

The decoration is probably not quite to suit

but we're providing you with a decoration pack

so you'll be provided with all the paint that you will desire

to paint the whole house.

-All right, brilliant.

-OK.

-Thank you.

I am really pleased David and Monica like what they have seen so far.

-Yeah, really happy.

-Good.

But there's no ignoring the challenges ahead.

How much do you know about going forwards,

the next sort of five years, and how your needs might change?

I'm going to see a neurologist next month

but it is just an ongoing thing.

-I'm always going to be tested for tumours.

-Yeah.

With the tour complete,

it's time for Shalina to sort out the formalities.

-Here are your new keys, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-well done.

-Well done, Monica.

-Thank you.

With plenty of space for the whole family, it looks like

David and Monica finally have the home they want.

-Good stuff, I think our work here is done.

-Yeah.

-I'm really pleased for you both.

-Thank you.

-I hope it really works out.

-I am very happy.

-Well, if you're happy, we're happy.

-Thank you.

Coming up - Kirsty's catch-up reveals a few changes.

Oh, wow, it's so much different from when we first came

and it's so much more homely.

We're back in Oxford.

Famous for its university, its museums and its culture.

But there is a side to the city that most visitors don't get to see.

Earlier on, housing officer Adrian Chowns visited Gary

in his privately rented flat on the outskirts of the city.

-Try to lock...

-That's your escape...

If there's a fire in the kitchen, I don't really fancy your chances.

A few days later and he's on his way back.

There were some problems which we asked the landlord to put right,

we are just going there now to see if he has done that.

I have brought another officer with me just in case, because he was...

When I spoke to him over the phone, he was a bit...

He did begin to be a bit abusive until I told him to pack it in.

He was swearing and shouting,

he wasn't happy that the tenant had reported the problems.

He wasn't happy that I had been in and hadn't told him

that I was going there. You know, usual stuff, really.

But when they arrive at the flat, the police have been called

following a confrontation between Gary and his landlord.

By the sounds of it, they have been having

a bit of argy-bargy between the landlord and tenant.

So the police have turned up,

just to make sure there is no breach of the peace.

They said that the tenant has turned up with his brother

and some of his mates and they have threatened the landlord and now

the landlord has reported the tenant,

you know, for threatening behaviour.

Once the police have calmed the situation down,

Adrian lays down the law to the landlord.

You are in a worse position here, than the tenant.

You've allowed those people to live there,

you're operating in an unlicensed HMO, which is an offence,

which carries a fine of up to £20,000.

With the threat of a hefty fine, the landlord,

who also owns the shop directly below Gary's flat,

soon realises the seriousness of the situation.

Let me go and have a look,

and then I'll come and get your side of what has happened as well.

I'm not treating...

Trying to be unfair to anybody, but I just need to get in

and have a look first and then I can come and see you.

The landlord has told Adrian

he has already fixed the lock on the front door

and that he now has a safety certificate for the boiler.

Hello, Gary.

However, it seems an argument has started

because he didn't give Gary notice before going into his room.

I've come back Friday afternoon, they have been in my room

and he said he's got to give me notice to come in my room.

I've had no notice off him, he has come in my room, his answer was,

-I've got a gas emergency.

-Yeah.

-Didn't want to listen to it all.

I've got to move now by Friday. Basically, I'm homeless now.

Well, you haven't, Gary, you haven't.

That's what I've said to you, you haven't got to move.

I know it's not very nice, but you don't have to move.

This is your home and if he wants to get you out,

he has to go through the proper legal process to do that.

Well, you obviously see he doesn't do anything proper, does he?

He doesn't go through the legal processes.

Disagreements to one side, Adrian's job is now to reinspect

the flat to see what improvements the landlord has made.

One of the major problems we had was that this door, when you locked it

with the key, it took Gary and me about ten minutes to unlock it,

so we asked the landlord to fit this special type of lock,

which is a thumb turn, so when you lock it,

you still can't open the door but you can unlock it quickly

and easily without having to fumble around for a key.

That is a lot better, isn't it, now? So he has done that.

The other issue for us was the smoke detection in here.

So these smoke detectors weren't working properly when I came.

That has now been changed, that is a new detector

and I am just going to... SMOKE DETECTOR BLEEPS

As you can hear, that is now linked to the other ones as well,

there weren't any linked smoke detectors in here,

so if there is a fire in this area, that is going to go off quickly,

everybody is going to know, everybody can get out quickly.

Adrian can see that Gary is worried.

He wants to calm his fears about what happens next.

SMOKE DETECTOR BLEEPS

If he doesn't license and he carries on,

-you know, and he doesn't cooperate...

-Yeah.

-..we can take over this house, if we want to, as the council.

-Yeah, yeah.

But I can't do that until I offer him the opportunity to license.

-Yeah.

-If he hasn't licensed it in a couple of weeks' time,

we'll interview him and find out why he hasn't

and find out all the other things that have been going on

and then we'll... That is the next step.

-And then we'll take it from there.

-Yeah.

-OK?

-Yeah, yeah, that's fine.

We have to act as a bit of a social worker as well as

dealing with the housing issues, and you know, deal with both sides

and look at both sets of issues.

But hopefully, they both understand now

that they have both got responsibilities.

Since Adrian got involved,

the landlord has carried out works to improve safety at the flat.

He has also applied for an HMO licence

but the council may still decide to prosecute for failing to

license the property in the first place.

And for now, importantly, Gary has decided to stay put.

Back in Swale now.

When David Watson was diagnosed with a brain tumour,

his life changed overnight.

It sounds like an incredibly scary time for you.

Yeah, I can't imagine what other people,

like, such as my parents, Monica and my kids, were going through.

Problems with his mobility meant that the house he had been

living in with partner Monica and their kids was no longer suitable.

But thanks to housing officer Kirsty Moore,

they've found a new home and now they have moved in.

It's brilliant, it is everything and more.

Quality of life for us as a family has improved 100%.

It is a lot quieter.

Now, two weeks after the move,

Kirsty is here to see how they are settling in.

Kirsty has been outstanding for helping me and the family...

.with choosing houses, been brilliant.

When they first arrived, the decor throughout the house,

well, it wasn't to everyone's taste.

Oh, wow.

But David and Monica have been busy.

We've had the floors done, paintwork, a bit of wallpaper.

Really good, it looks so much different from when we first came.

It looks so much more homely.

And the couple have put their decorating allowance to good use

upstairs too, creating two clean and bright bedrooms

for them and the kids.

The bathroom is not bad either.

-Oh, wow.

-It is so much different.

-Yeah, it looks so much different.

With two kids living in the house

plus one from David's first marriage visiting regularly,

a decent-sized garden was high on the couple's wish list.

It's nice just to be able to let them run in the garden,

and leave the door open and let the mud come in.

David's illness means that life will never quite be the same

for the family but now, things really are starting to look up.

Not only has the move been a huge success

but after a recent visit to his doctor,

David has some exciting news - he has now been given the all clear.

So, what does that mean? Does that mean you could go back to work?

Potentially. Hopefully. Back to normal.

That's wonderful news, it's really a new start for David,

but he hasn't forgotten the help he's had from Kirsty and the team.

-Thank you.

-You've done so much.

-Thank you very much.

-I wish I could give you more.

-No, it's much appreciated, thank you.

After going through everything that they have done and the trauma that

the operation and the brain tumour caused for David and his family,

it's just lovely to see them so happy and in the house together.

It has been really nice to watch his case from start to finish

and to be part of it, really.

That's it for today,

Join me next time on the front line with Britain's housing officers.