Episode 20 The Housing Enforcers

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

-See all those flies?

-Yeah.

But for thousands of people across Britain right now,

the reality can be more hovel than home.

-It's just vermin, vermin and filth.

-Oh!

It was the landlord!

In the battle between tenants and landlords,

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

We're coming in.

-No, no.

-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.

And 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 are tackling problem properties...

It just feels like a time bomb.

..dealing with the consequences of the nightmare neighbours.

-He called me a...

-And doing their best to help those in need.

We can stand there and look at the very rich people looking back down.

Today I join the rescue party for a derelict

and dangerous seaside property.

It's just water and time, that's all it takes, isn't it?

To destroy a building.

You can see where it's bowing and it looks like it's ready to collapse.

It's not safe for anyone to work in there.

It's an open and shut case for one housing officer.

Have you spoken to your landlord about it?

He saying, yeah, it will be done in the next couple of weeks,

-but then it is still not done.

-And will one homeless young man...

The worst bit about it was the cold.

..finally find somewhere to call his own?

His worldly possessions fit into about seven plastic bags.

Right now, Britain is in the middle of a housing crisis.

If you want to buy a property, chances are you will need to

save almost three times your annual salary as a deposit

and that'll get you a mortgage that'll make your eyes water.

No wonder that there are now more people renting than at any

time in the last 60 years

and protecting those renters are the country's housing enforcers.

In this programme, I'm training to become one of them.

It's always nice to get out of the city with the trip to the seaside,

but this is no ordinary day out.

I'm on the road with Tendring Council housing officer Rob Goswell.

The sightseeing we are doing today is anything but scenic.

We're off to the seaside resort of Walton-on-the-Naze, where the view's

being spoiled by a dilapidated seafront property.

No-one's maintained the place since its owner moved out six years ago.

And following complaints from neighbours,

the council's decided to take the drastic step of serving a Compulsory Purchase Order.

So tell me a bit about where we're going, Rob.

Right. We're going to see an empty property that we're currently dealing with.

Now, we had a gentleman living there and he couldn't live there

any more because of his poor health, because it's a large property.

It is in desperate need of maintenance and it went into disrepair.

Kids got in there and caused all sorts of trouble,

and so we've had to board it up

and now we're looking to go through with a compulsory purchase.

A Compulsory Purchase Order, or CPO, gives an authority the legal power to

buy your home or land from you.

It's a last resort,

taken when the property's in a serious state of disrepair

and the property owner can't or won't make the necessary improvements.

In the past, the council's tried to compel the owner

to carry out repairs,

but things have become so bad now

it's affecting the neighbouring properties.

It's sad that it's got to this point.

The older properties always require a lot of maintenance

and when they haven't got it... It is a shame.

Even though the compulsory purchase hasn't gone through yet,

the housing team still needs to make sure the property's safe -

in itself, a risky job.

It can be very dangerous viewing one of these properties.

I've got a full load of kit for you to wear.

I don't really feel you're doing a proper job

unless you're wearing some kind of personal protection.

-It does make you feel the part, doesn't it?

-Yes, yes.

Right, here we are. This is the one we're looking at today.

-Oh, my goodness. Yes, really stands out, doesn't it?

-Yes, yes.

Look at that.

Even from a distance, we can see why we could be taking our lives

in our hands going into this one

and Ian Kavanagh seems to agree.

-Hello, there.

-Hi.

-How are you doing? Are you all right? Good to see you.

-I love what you've done with the place.

-Looking good, isn't it?

'Rob's really not taking any chances with our safety.'

I've got you some over-shoes, you'll need them. Some gloves.

-You might need that if you want to touch anything.

-OK.

'Don't forget, I still have my rookie status.

'Until I've served my time, I haven't even earned the right to wear

'official council clobber.'

Is that one yours?

That's a nice, official one.

I'm not worthy of that.

I'm not worthy of that yet.

You've got to sort of work hard to get them kind of ones.

I'm afraid to say, standard for you.

That's all right. You've got to start somewhere.

-Wow. Those boots are too big for the protectors.

-They are too big.

Maybe we should just get one of these big black bin bags.

This is obviously, potentially, quite a dangerous property.

And if you see anything untoward, let us know.

And likewise, if we say we're leaving, we all go out.

-We don't stay in.

-Right.

-OK?

-Here we go.

-Right.

The structural issues aren't the only thing

Rob and Ian have to deal with.

The property's owner had a major hoarding problem and the council's

already shifted tonnes of belongings that have built over the years.

There's still some way to go, though.

This is where our hoarder lived.

I mean, you can actually see parts of cars.

You've got the gearbox, the suspension.

-You've almost got the whole car...

-Yeah.

-..just here, waiting.

Yeah, when it was occupied, it was just full.

And, as you can see, it's degraded more and more and more over time.

I mean, you can't even get into some rooms.

'One room we can get into is the kitchen...just about.'

I get a feeling it is not going to be the Mary Berry-type kitchen.

There are stairs down, so mind yourself.

Indeed. It seems the occupant was more into breakers yards than Bake Offs.

-Look at that.

-You can see the extent of the hoarding, now.

When we actually first came to this property,

you couldn't actually gain access to any part of the building.

I think there's more than one car here.

I think there's several vehicles here, but it's just all piled up.

Look, you've got... It looks like a door panel there,

and then that's an inspection ramp.

I've never seen anything like it. The place is rammed to the rafters.

I'm really struggling to get my head round how things can get this bad.

You're trying to put yourself in the frame of mind of somebody

that is living like this, but it's impossible, isn't it, really?

-Because, you know, it kind of defies logic, living like this.

-Yes.

It is certainly not the way most of us... Most of us would think.

Yeah, I mean, even from the outside it looks rundown.

You wouldn't imagine this accumulation in here, would you at all?

And you said half of it has been taken out already.

-A significant amount has been removed.

-Really?

-Yeah.

'This place isn't just grotty, though.

'Water pouring in through a hole in the roof

'has left it in serious danger of collapse.'

You can see the ceiling's come down.

I don't think you need to be an expert

to know what's going wrong there.

And it looks like most of the plaster has come down

and then the boards above it, which is the floor, of the first floor...

Are probably going to be rotten. You know, it is not very safe at all.

It has just leaked all the way through each level,

so it's come through the attic, through to the third floor,

second floor and then down to here.

You know, you think, well, an Englishman's home is his castle,

but it's now starting to affect other people, you know? And we can't have that, really.

When you get these big, tall terraces like these, they are

-so interdependent, aren't they?

-Absolutely, yeah.

You can live and let live to a point,

but that point has long since gone, I think.

'Coming up, I venture upstairs to see just how urgently

'repairs are needed.'

Just watch yourself, right there. The floor is not in good condition, it's not safe there.

Most of us walk or drive past hundreds, possibly thousands,

of front doors every day.

They are a barrier against the elements,

security for our families, a welcoming threshold.

But for an experienced housing officer who has built up that

housing sixth sense, a front door can say so much more.

In Stafford, one particular house popped up on the housing

officer radar of Chris Butcher.

This house has been bugging me for a while.

I drive past it every day and I can see the damage to the front door.

I have spoken with the tenants before and I'm coming back now to see what we can do.

The issue with this property wasn't reported to Chris.

Instead, he took it upon himself to investigate.

Tenant Dominic, who lives here with his young family,

is pleased that he has.

You can see from the road that it is still looking pretty terrible.

Have you spoken to your landlord about it?

Yes, yes, I've already spoken with him, but then he just ignored.

From the first time when we start reporting doors

and most of the things in that house, he is just ignoring.

Or he's saying, "Yes, that will be done in next couple of weeks' time",

but they're still not done.

Chris has the Housing Act of 2004 on his side.

Housing officers will assess privately rented properties under

the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

It states that...

Classes of hazard include...

And Dominic's dodgy door looks like a clear security hazard to me.

And does it cause you any particular concerns about the security of your home?

I mean, yeah, I'm actually scared of my family because of that.

Because it is a front door, everyone can see them,

sometimes during the night-time.

-We cannot lock them because we have no keys to them doors.

-Right.

-So you don't have the key to your front door?

-Exactly, yeah.

And then when someone see them doors, they are open.

-Going into our house.

-I've spoken to your landlord already,

who had assured me that a lot of work was taking place.

And I will try and get the gauge

about how long he thinks it will take, what is his timescales.

If they seem excessive, I think I'll then look to see what

enforcement action would be worthwhile to replace the door alone.

So...if I can get them to push forward on that,

especially if I start talking about, "Look, there are some cost implications here".

If I'm going to have to serve a notice, I'm going to charge him for doing it,

which will increase the cost.

Whereas if you just replaced the door - no harm, no foul.

Chris is hopeful that the landlord will cooperate

and fix the rotten door.

But if he doesn't, Chris has a range of enforcement options.

Local authorities have a duty to take enforcement action to secure

necessary improvements where category one or serious hazards are present

and they have discretion to intervene

where category two hazards are present.

The first option is to open a dialogue with the landlord.

If that fails, the housing officer can issue an improvement notice

to draw attention to the problem.

If there is still no response, the council can take emergency action

to fix the hazard or even ban the use of the property as a dwelling.

To make matters worse, the front door isn't the only security

problem that Dominic and his family had to deal with.

All this property is not security locked.

The back gate is all the time open, actually, he has got no lock on it.

So we had a situation a few days ago...

someone set up a fire in our shed...

and my car is burned as well.

OK, so this used to be the shed, I take it.

-Yes, that was the shed.

-I can see the burnt tree.

There must have been one heck of a fire that had taken place here

and it doesn't surprise me at all that your car got damaged as a result.

Exactly, yeah. And the police officer said,

because the property wasn't secured properly,

everyone could come into our property.

-Because of security?

-Yeah, yeah. I think that is the main reason.

Because there is so many sheds around, so why ours?

Probably because of the gate, so...

I can lock my gate, just like that, but you can see...

I can see it's not very good. I can see it's not easy to shut.

And even if you lock that, everyone can get into your property.

Obviously the landlord has done those bit, so we can have a chat

and see whether he is willing to do the gate as well.

I guess that, when you see one thing that's wrong, it is sometimes

an indication that there are other things to go and have a look at.

A bad front door can also mean that the landlord is not willing

to undertake some other works. It could also mean, of course,

that they don't necessarily have the money to do the repairs.

So there can be many reasons why works don't get done,

so a lot of the time it is about talking to people

and seeing what we can do to help.

Hopefully, Chris's persuasive approach will do the job.

And two weeks later...

Look at that! A nice, shiny new front door for Dominic and his family.

I mean, it is a pity they haven't taken the old one away with them,

although I'm sure Chris was will spot that next time he's driving by.

In Tendring, the council was forced to serve

a Compulsory Purchase Order on the dilapidated seafront house

abandoned since its elderly owner moved out six years ago.

It's a situation made even more difficult

by the former owner's hoarding habits.

You've got the gearbox, the suspension.

You've almost got the whole car, just here, waiting.

We've taken a look at a ground floor.

Now it's time to assess the damage upstairs.

Just watch yourself right there.

We're not going back here, as you can see.

-The floor's not in a good condition. It's not safe there.

-Right.

This room to the left here, it's a no-go as well.

-The one-room we can go in is on the right-hand side - that's fine.

-OK.

Well, I say fine. Relatively speaking.

-'The house is rotting from the roof down.'

-We're not going in this room.

As you can see, obviously,

the leak has extended over here and it's slightly collapsed.

You can see sort of mould growth along here.

There is some substantial growth in a sort of lovely number eight.

-That's impressive.

-When I first came in here,

the water ingress wasn't as bad.

'I can now see why Rob was so concerned about our safety.

'One false step and we could go right through

'the soaking wet floor boards.'

-This is a bit more solid here, is it?

-Yes, this is OK.

It is just water and time, that's all it takes, isn't it?

-To destroy a building.

-Not a lot of time either, really.

Five years, really.

'The structural damage caused by the leaking roof is the big problem here,

'but the former owner's reluctance to chuck anything out isn't

'making the job of sorting it out any easier.'

So how do you start to clear out a house like this?

Because you can't really get into that room to do the work.

This is why we've had a real major issue -

doing it but doing it in a safe way.

You can see where it is bowing, it looks like it's ready to collapse.

It's not safe for anyone to work in there.

You've got half a tonne of junk. Televisions and cars...

and all sorts of stuff that is just going to go through at some stage.

Beyond the decay in the dirt,

you can see that the this used to be a beautiful Georgian house.

While it's really sad that a property like this has ended

up in such a terrible state, with a bit of time and a lot of hard work

from the housing team, hopefully it can be restored to its former glory.

If you look in that room,

there are still the remnants of a life there underneath the rubble

and the damp and the roof that's come down.

Then out of the windows is just the most spectacular view.

They've got to clear what was somebody's life out first.

Unbelievable.

'And even when the junk's gone,

'there's still going to be a huge amount to do to put the house right.'

Yeah, it is going to need a bit of work, that one.

We're going to have to put scaffolding up over the roof.

Each floor is going to have to be supported and then

we can look at what works need to be done.

We're probably going to have to clear out to get a good idea

-of what the structure of the building is like...

-Yeah.

..other than just a quick glance that we just had now,

and then we can go on from there.

Then, realistically,

how long before somebody else could be making this a home?

You know, ballpark figure, I would say about three or four months.

It won't be back to absolutely pristine,

but you're coming to the point where it is then a blank canvas

-and then we can move from there.

-It's got floors, it's got clean walls...

-Yeah.

-..and we can have another go.

-Yeah.

-Let's get our kit off then.

With inside falling down and the outside an eyesore, one person who

is delighted the house

will be getting a new owner is neighbour David Wilson.

He has lived next door for 30 years

and watched its dilapidation starting to affect his own home.

Well, it's very good news.

The property itself has become damp

and that damp has seeped through into our place.

Then, of course, there's the steady deterioration of the exterior.

It is a bit of an eyesore.

The place was just steadily allowed to fall into rack and ruin.

Well, I mean, any kind of renovation would be better than as it stands.

Ideally, you would want the council to ensure that they sell it

to somebody who is in a position to restore it properly.

Ian Kavanagh's back and it seemed like the council's decision to

buy the house was the right one.

At least nobody has managed to break down the boarding or anything,

so nobody has broken in.

With the Compulsory Purchase nearly complete,

hopefully it won't be long before the house is brought back to its former glory.

We should take possession of it in ten days and, when that happens,

we've hopefully got a buyer lined up.

But when it's finished, I'm sure it will be lovely

and you can come and have a look and marvel at it.

Unfortunately, the private buyer

who previously expressed an interest has dropped out.

The council's revalued the property and, once the building's been

strengthened and cleaned, it will go to a sealed bid or an auction.

Hopefully, one day soon, this house will be a home again.

In Salford, the housing team isn't just there to make sure

the homes people rent come up to scratch.

It's also their job to help some people find a home

in the first place - people like 21-year-old Callum.

Callum, who has mental health issues, was excluded from school at 15,

when he was arrested and cautioned

for an assault after a row with a teacher.

At 18, he ended up sleeping rough when his mum told him

he had to leave home.

Tell me about what happened on the day she kicked you out.

We always had the odd petty arguments, as families do,

and stuff that that. But she would always go, "I'm kicking you out

"if you don't have a job tomorrow", or something like that.

And then one day I came back and me bags were on the door.

Like, you know, just outside on the door. So that was it, really,

and I had nowhere to go.

I was on the streets for three months or something like that.

So when you say on the streets, where did you actually sleep?

What were the practicalities of it?

I mean, the worst bit about it was the cold.

When you're walking down the street and it's freezing because of the icy wind,

you quickly learn where places aren't as cold, for example, alleyways -

get warm, or as warm as you can hope for.

It sounds like you very quickly had to learn how to be homeless.

-Yeah.

-How to survive, really.

How to eat and drink and stuff like that...sort of.

What I used to do is,

I'd grab something like a butty and a Mars Bar,

or something, and I would walk around and eat it in the shop.

Then I'd walk out, you know, really fast.

Could you have gone back to your mum's place, to your family's home,

and said, "Look, I'm really sorry, I'll try and make a new start"?

Or was that totally off the cards at that point?

That was totally off the cards.

Me and me mum fell out for a long time after this.

I can understand why, now. Now that I've sort of grown up a bit, myself,

I can understand why she did it, like.

Would you broadly define this period that we've been

-talking about, from 15 to what you are now, 21?

-Yeah, 21.

-So six years, basically growing up, that's what it is.

-Yeah, basically.

Because I was just a stupid kid, until I was 18, like.

-It's difficult admitting that your mum's right.

-Exactly.

-Exactly, that's what it is.

-It's all right, you can say it to me.

-Yeah.

Nearly 111,000 people made applications to register

as homeless across the UK last year -

over half of them were under 25.

One in five are affected by substance abuse

and mental health issues.

The most common reason young people end up homeless is

because their family's no longer willing to house them.

Luckily for Callum, he's off the streets now.

After living in a succession of hostels,

he's in Salford Council's temporary accommodation,

under the watchful eye of supported tenancies officer Vicky Fitton.

My job is to support anybody, young or old,

that gets placed in temporary accommodation.

Some can't read or write, some have mental health issues.

And living rough hasn't helped Callum's own mental health problems.

Because he's been homeless, he hasn't had access to doctors,

he hasn't had the medication that he is on now.

So he has been known to self medicate with alcohol to get

over his severe anxiety and depression.

Happily, he's now getting the help he needs.

Callum is a much, much calmer person.

Because his life was so chaotic,

he was not getting the support from his psychiatrist,

he wasn't working with Mind and the mental health team,

whereas he's working with all professionals involved at the minute.

After two months in temporary accommodation,

Vicky's found Callum a permanent home in a social housing scheme.

Callum is definitely one of the more fortunate ones.

And seeing as it's moving day,

I'm rolling up my sleeves to help him get settled in.

'Having the stability of his own permanent home is a massive

'step forward for Callum.'

From not having nothing to being in my own place now,

I'm moving up. I've stuck at it.

I've gone to my appointments and spoke to Vicky.

I've done everything she's asked me. I've not been lazy.

I've been sort of up and about.

So I'm glad to see that it has all paid off, in a sense, yeah.

I hope it's the launch pad for something really, really enjoyable.

Yeah, hopefully, yeah.

'Now he's got his own place, Callum can look to the future.

'He is hoping to continue his education.'

I'm thinking, right, not that I'm trying to organise things,

but that is the perfect place for a bookshelf, right there.

-It's where you can put all your books.

-That would be all right, yeah.

-That is asking for a little desk.

-In the corner.

Don't do what I said, do whatever you like. It's your place, mate.

It only really strikes me what Callum has been through

when I see his baggage - there just isn't enough.

This is not a big flat by any means,

but his worldly possessions fit into about...

I don't know, seven plastic bags.

He is missing some of the most important bits that you need

to have a life by yourself -

things like a bed, a fridge -

but luckily a delivery has just arrived, thanks to Vicky.

As well as finding him a place to live,

it's also part of support worker Vicky's job

to give him all the basics he needs to set up home,

but it doesn't stop there.

-This is what they call a full service, Vicky.

-It is.

Where you are actually making your client's beds for them.

I am worried some people might accuse the council of being too soft

and handing Callum everything on a plate.

There are going to be people watching this who are going to look at it and go,

"OK, so he's got the flat. He's been given, you know, the cooker

and the other things that people have to work very hard for."

And have you got results where you can say, "No, this works."

By giving people the proper start, it prevents that problem later on.

-Because that's what you need, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Hard results.

The amount of tenancies that fail reduce significantly

if they have a support worker, just to set them up initially

and make sure that everything is paid.

With a lot of these guys, particularly if they are a little bit younger,

it is a little bit easy...

-Hold on, I've gone inside out.

-No, that's right.

-I've done it.

-I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it.

-All right, you do it.

I've got it! I've got it!

When they are a bit younger, it is quite easy for them to bury

their heads in the sand and think, "Oh, it is all going to go away".

And it doesn't. It just gets worse.

Not necessarily just young people... People that have got

a poor education, people that have mental health issues.

-It seems like Callum has been very lucky...

-Yes.

-..from this point.

What is it that, in his situation, that has triggered this place

and this package that comes with it?

Callum's quite fortunate to have a support worker

that nominated him for this property.

Everybody in temporary accommodation has to have a support worker,

just so we can keep the process...

You know, we make sure that we are we are receiving housing benefit

for the temporary accommodation, we're bidding, we're looking...

We're teaching them to budget while they're in that temporary accommodation as well.

The more time I spend with Callum,

the more I am realising how support like this really might help

make sure he doesn't end up back on the streets.

He's gone from homelessness to being part of "generation rent",

being a renter with his own place, within a matter of weeks.

It feels like it is quite a steep learning curve

to pick up all the things you need to do,

and the skills you need to get,

to be able to run your own place properly.

The flat is really coming together.

Now what Callum needs to learn is how to look after guests.

Yeah, it's his house now.

Got to get this on the go as quickly as possible, but it's not my job.

It's the householder's job to get the kettle on.

Callum!

'Without Vicky and Salford Supported Tenancies Service,

'things could be very different for Callum,

'but he needs to know she won't be there for him forever.'

What do we do now with Callum, is that it? Do we just back off?

Support won't carry on for much longer.

Realistically, I'll probably be supporting

and focusing my time on the next

-person that moves into Callum's old flat.

-Right.

It seems positive and you just...

At this moment, you want to kind of bottle it in a way

-and just keep this hope.

-This is the good part of the job.

This is the results. This makes what coming to work is all about.

Since Callum moved in, he's been doing really well.

It is proving to be the fresh start that Vicky really wanted for him

and Callum's even considering volunteering for the charity

that provided a lot of his furniture.

So far, good news for everyone involved.

That's it for today.

Join me next time, when I'll be learning more about what it

takes to be a front-line housing officer.