Episode 4 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.

-Right.

..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.

COCKEREL CROWS

In the battle between tenants and landlords,

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

I can smell gas.

You're 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 my tyres cut.

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

SOBBING: This is the first time I've had a smile on my face.

Oh, Margaret!

I've just heard a squeak.

Today I join one council's war on the beds-in-sheds epidemic.

It's a kind of disparate shantytown of these knocked-up buildings

where people are forced to live.

And one family's home needs action, fast.

We literally put our hand on it and the paint comes off on your hand.

He actually stopped breathing a couple of nights ago. He had an asthma attack.

And can I help to finally settle one elderly tenant?

It seems to me, this has never really felt like a home for you.

No, and I've been so cold.

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 it's 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're keeping their half of the bargain.

With the cost of renting a property in the UK rising fast,

it seems it's never been harder

to find decent, affordable, accommodation.

Take Oxford, it might be the city of dreaming spires

and home to the oldest university in the English-speaking world,

but beyond the iconic architecture and bustling city centre,

there's a serious housing crisis.

Oxford is one of the UK's fastest growing cities,

a fact which has brought new challenges for housing officer

Paul Fitzgerald and his team.

There's no doubt that, in Oxford, we've got a housing problem.

It's the most expensive city to buy in outside of London.

It's the ninth most expensive place in the country to rent in.

So, you know, we're only just behind places like Kensington and Chelsea

and Islington. So there's this huge demand for property.

And that means some unscrupulous landlords are cashing in

by illegally converting domestic outbuildings like sheds

or garages into makeshift accommodation.

But the council is fighting back.

In a bid to spot these so-called "beds in sheds,"

Paul and the team have used a plane to capture aerial thermal imaging

of outbuildings which could have people living in them

without proper insulation or facilities.

It shows all the thermal profiles of all the properties but it also

starts showing up properties in the rear gardens and alongside.

So if they're hot enough, if you like, and big enough,

-then that marks them...

-It's not definite...

Not for definite but it's somewhere to start.

Yes, get into further investigation.

The thermal imaging has provided some shocking statistics too.

We actually found we've got over 5,000 structures which have been

built without planning permission...

..of which approximately half, so about 2,500 of these,

have got a thermal profile.

So there is a potential for them that they may be being used

for accommodation.

But with average house prices in Oxford currently

standing at an incredible 11 times the average worker's salary,

is it any wonder people are turning to places like these?

A lot of people would look at this, though, and say,

"All right, they might not be up to scratch, these homes,

"but they are providing homes for people in a city

"where it's difficult to find somewhere."

A lot of these are built on the cheap.

And if they've been built on the cheap,

they're actually presenting a risk for the tenants.

What we've experienced is a whole range of people living in here.

We've got everyone from, if you like, migrant workers...

..to students, to professional people living in these structures.

No planning permission, they've got no building regulation approval,

we've got electrical installations which aren't certificated.

We've got gas installations which aren't gas safe.

And some landlords are preying on the most vulnerable in society too.

What, at first appearances appeared to be a garage,

but actually this one was being let

to someone with learning disabilities.

Where you had a person with learning disabilities living in a garage.

Presumably they weren't... Well, I don't know.

Were they paying their own rent or was that coming out of...

No, social services were paying for that.

-Housing Benefit was paying for that place there?

-Yes.

Unbelievable.

But it gets worse.

Oh, look at that!

-That is literally made just out of doors.

-Out of doors.

Someone was living in there?

Someone was living in that.

Even the roof was made out of doors.

What you've got, like, spread over people's back gardens in Oxford

is a kind of disparate shantytown

-of these knocked up buildings...

-Yeah.

-..where people are forced to live.

-Yes.

If there's a fire in one of these, someone is going to die.

You know, why shouldn't we provide

a minimum standard of housing accommodation

that's safe for those people living in there?

It's a race against time,

but if the council is going to stop these exploitative landlords

before a tragedy occurs, we'll need to get a closer look on the ground.

And that's where housing officer James Leathem comes in.

From the map, what we're led to believe is not only have we got

this, there may be another outbuilding behind

what looks like the garage here.

Face on, the garage just looks like a normal garage

but as you can see from these pictures, there you go,

it's pretty much the length of the garden there.

Two further doors on it.

Going to pass this on to planning because, you know, obviously...

..it isn't just a garage.

A garage would probably only come up to this point here,

where there's an added...probably an extra three or four metres at least.

Here's a separate entrance which is...

..again, looks like any storage unit.

And the blue door is what we're led to believe has been bricked up

inside and potentially has people living in it.

With a possible 2,500 illegal dwellings across the city

and its suburbs, James has his work cut out.

So there's no-one living in it at the moment?

-And have you got any facilities in there?

-No.

So there's no kitchen, bathroom,

any shower facilities or anything like that?

One of the dwellings already identified by the thermal

imaging camera is this garage.

But there are other telltale signs too.

You can tell it's not being used as a garage

basically by the undergrowth here.

But what really gives the game away is the overspill

of the expanding foam which they've used as some sort of insulation.

So you can see here as well where the installation goes

straight along the bottom of the door here.

It's just a total giveaway, really.

And it's a real poor job.

Just a money-making machine, really.

People preying on other people's vulnerabilities.

And due to the high rents in Oxford,

some people have to resort to this type of accommodation.

-CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

-It looks like a combination

of aerial imaging and James' intuition have hit the jackpot.

What you can see in here is...there's a kitchenette,

there's a toilet and shower at the far end.

Actually, someone is actually living in this.

There's quite a few personal belongings in there.

There's photographs on the side as well.

I'm concerned about where the drainage goes, I'm concerned about...

This seems to be...

I don't know where the electric is being fed from.

It certainly isn't designed to be used as residential,

for residential use.

It's a garage and that's all it is.

They've converted it into accommodation

and it's not fit for that purpose.

Coming up, James returns to confront the owner.

You need to read it carefully

and I would advise you to seek legal advice if you feel that's necessary.

Over in Essex, I'm heading out with housing officer Rob Goswell.

We're off to Clacton-on-Sea to inspect a rented property

that's battling a serious case of mould.

But a breakdown in communication between landlord and tenant

means the council's had to step in.

We can sort of alleviate their fears

but it can cause a little bit of confliction

-with the landlord who says, "Well, you can come to me."

-Yeah.

"And then we could head this all off

"without having to involve a third party."

You know, the longer I'm doing this programme and this job,

the more I'm finding that that relationship is crucial.

We've come to meet Chloe Warbis and Luke Byrne

who live in this first-floor flat

with their three-year-old son, Riley,

but the couple are absolutely fed up of their damp living conditions.

In the bathroom, soaking wet.

We literally put our hand on it and the paint comes on your hand.

It's disgusting. Really disgusting.

And he actually stopped breathing a couple of nights ago.

He had an asthma attack. He stopped breathing.

He's just on so many medications and it's ridiculous.

Children who live in damp conditions are up to three times more prone

to respiratory conditions, such as asthma,

than those who live in dry homes.

What can't be helping here is all the mould by Riley's bed.

What I would suggest is maybe rotating around,

maybe having the bed more this side than that cos it keeps it away,

and then keeping a good sort of gap between that and this cold wall.

This is the wall you want to really be avoiding

putting stuff up against.

The family have lived here for just seven months,

but the appearance of damp and mould hasn't come as a complete surprise.

Before we moved in here I met with Roy, he'd said that the past tenant

in here, she'd lived in here for... I think he said a year and a half.

And she was constantly, every month,

going over to complain about the mould.

That's what he said to us before we moved in here and we thought

she's obviously not airing her windows,

but being in here ourselves, we are always having our windows open.

The problem is worse than Chloe had anticipated.

The ironic thing about this situation is that landlords

Roy and Stephen Kelleher

just happen to own a damp-proofing company.

Stephen's come to inspect the mould for himself.

To be perfectly honest, this is the first we've been informed of it.

You haven't actually informed us.

-We spoke to Roy.

-Did you?

-Yes.

-Right, OK.

He said, "Oh, it's just damp because of condensation or something."

Yeah, yeah. Well, the mould is generally caused by condensation.

But we've had, since you've been here, I think

-we've put a warm deck roof, new flat roof back on.

-OK.

There've been a few leaks downstairs that we've had repaired.

Right. So, in the bathroom...

So you can see there's quite a lot of black mould growth, isn't there,

on those two outside walls.

Two external walls, yeah. The main issue is going to be ventilation,

without a doubt, with regards to the mould growth.

There's certainly a bit of moisture in the walls,

but the amount of moisture that is obviously in here,

created in here, is soaking into this wall.

So you reckon, then, what we're looking at here -

and it seems to make sense - is that there's been use of

the bath and the shower and then,

because you've got the moisture inside,

onto those two cold outside walls, you get condensation.

-That's when you get the...

-Exactly.

If you don't come in and switch the fan on, you know,

-you're not going to...

-Is it actually working? Can I just...?

Oh, it is working a little bit.

The damage caused by the mould gives me an opportunity to

hone my newly-acquired knowledge as a trainee wannabe housing officer.

How much do you know about windows?

Well, all I know is that windows often come with a lintel

-top and bottom, don't they?

-Absolutely.

And if they're not sealed on the outside, they can draw...

If they're sandstone or something else that's sort of semi-porous,

they can draw the moisture through into the building then.

Yeah, absolutely.

And obviously, them being solid, again, going to be massively cold.

I'm working on the basis that wherever you've got an external wall

in this flat, you know, you're running the risk

of getting moisture.

As soon as you get an outside wall, it's going to collect there,

really, without lots of heating and lots of ventilation.

In the kitchen, a new tumble dryer could spell further problems.

You mentioned, when you're washing your clothes how wet they are.

When you chuck them in there, that moisture's got to go somewhere. I'd advise not use it.

The same as drying anything on the radiator.

It's a complete no-go in something of this size, you just can't do it.

But if they can't dry their clothes on a radiator

and they can't use the tumble dryer, what exactly do they do?

Meanwhile, having established beyond doubt that there is a big damp

and mould problem in this flat,

it begs the question of who's responsible for repairs?

A landlord generally is responsible for damp caused by

leaking pipes, a structural defect or a faulty damp proof course.

But if tenants fail to take adequate measures to ventilate

the property, the landlord probably isn't responsible.

In any case, you should always

check your tenancy agreement.

To be honest with you, we have to air our house anyway.

-We do it all the time.

-We do.

Even when it is in the winter, we still have to keep all

the windows open, cos otherwise, that wall out there is soaking wet.

It's a shame because, in every other way, this is actually quite

a decent flat, it seems to me.

-It is, yeah.

-It's a big flat.

You know, you've got space, and it's light and it's bright

and, you know, it's pretty safe for Riley and the rest of it.

It's just the fact that every outside wall

seems to be coated in this.

That doesn't crop up overnight, does it?

So you reckon there's nothing more that you can guys could do to prevent this from happening?

-We could try.

-Yeah, we could give it a go.

I mean, we don't use that tumble dryer whatsoever.

-Used it once, I think.

-Yeah.

But I don't know what else to do.

All the house is always open,

it's always fresh air, it's always clean.

I don't know what else we can do.

Clearly Chloe and Luke feel like they're running out of options,

and they may soon start looking for an alternative home.

In the meantime, Rob has some useful advice for them.

-Have you got a thermostat here, out of interest?

-Have we got a what?

Thermostat. You know, that little wall thing...

-Yeah, it's just behind here.

-Yeah. I'll have a look at it.

Set it to between 18 and sort of 20, 21 and that.

Between there, that's some good temperatures, you feel happy.

And if you can keep that temperature, it will remove

some of the conditions that are conducive to damp and mould.

But I want to know if the landlord is prepared to do his bit.

-Are you going to be proactive with this?

-Yeah, of course we will.

The first thing we need to do, we'll have to speak to the

tenants cos we need to know how they're living day-to-day.

With regards to the ventilation, we have to rely on them.

If they can't self-ventilate then to make sure our property stays intact

-we'll have to put a PIV system in.

-Yeah.

But it's going to be with working with the council,

working with the tenants and then we'll make a report and then

we'll deal with it ourselves. We'll get it sorted out.

PIV means "positive input ventilation".

It's a system which reduces condensation by circulating

fresh air within the property.

It could be the perfect solution for both parties.

Some action needs to be taken quickly

if the landlord wants to keep his tenants.

There's a young family there

and clearly the damp situation in their flat is affecting their lives

and they're worried about it.

But we're in a situation where the landlord is saying,

"They didn't tell me anything about it,"

and they're saying, "We did."

Actually, the most important thing is to draw a line there and say,

"Let's move on and just deal with the problem.

"So you protect your property and you protect your health."

Should be that simple, shouldn't it?

In Oxford, the local council are also flexing their legal muscles

clamping down on illegal rented accommodation across the city.

I've been seeing how unique thermal imaging cameras have

helped to locate hundreds of outbuildings which are being

unlawfully rented out, so-called "beds in sheds".

Armed with our intelligence, housing officer James Leathem

has hit the streets to investigate further.

He's identified this garage as a suspected illegal dwelling.

We don't know how it's been constructed,

what lies inside, whether it's safe to be used as accommodation.

Potentially there's damp, there's mould,

could be excess code issues,

could be a risk of fire, we don't know until we gain access.

If he can prove that someone is actually living in the garage,

James will serve a prohibition notice to shut it down.

But first, the owner has some questions to answer.

OK.

And who's using...?

My friend, she's living...

-She needed to live there temporarily.

-OK.

And how long have they been living here?

-A couple of months now.

-OK.

-It's OK if I go in, yes?

-Yeah, that's fine.

-Thank you.

Well, seeing the clothes, the teddy bear and the toiletries,

it's pretty clear that this garage is home to some poor soul.

Are you the landlord? Do you own the property or are you renting the property?

We... This is our property.

-You own it, yes?

-Yes.

-OK.

It's hard to imagine just how desperate you need to be

to make a home here.

What you can't tell on camera is it's a very musky smell in here.

It's quite damp.

It's not great conditions for anyone to be living in.

You can see the various heating appliances.

There's one, two, three, four stand-alone heating appliances.

So, you know, that just suggests excess cold in here

and especially in this type...

We're in midwinter now, it must get very cold

in here at night-time. Potential fire risks along with that.

We've got stand-alone hotplates.

You know, it's not very nice at all, really, considering.

What really hits you, though, is the musky smell, the damp.

It's quite a list. And this garage even has its own bathroom,

complete with some unorthodox plumbing.

What we have noticed is the water feed is from the garden hose tap.

It seems to be feeding...

the shower and toilet.

She said that someone has been living in here for a couple of months.

Any length of time spent in these conditions is going to have

some sort of effect on their wellbeing.

It is pretty poor. Pretty poor.

The water coming from the garden hose

is liable to freeze in the winter

and the damp could lead to respiratory infections

or even cause asthma attacks.

James has seen enough to know this place isn't fit to live in

and he wants it shut down.

We need to serve these notices.

This one is for the occupants of the accommodation you've got here.

-OK.

-We believe it's unlawful, potentially unsafe as well.

So, we don't believe there's been any planning permission

or build control been adhered to in regards to that.

-That will be left in the property for the occupant.

-OK.

It's quite important, as you can see, it affects the property here.

Make sure they read that. It doesn't mean they'll be street homeless.

It gives them a certain amount of time to find alternative

accommodation but it must not be occupied after that.

-Yes.

-OK?

The owner now has a set period in which to stop using this

structure as accommodation.

If they fail to comply, the council can destroy the building

and bill the owner for the work.

They could also be hit with a £5,000 fine.

You need to read it carefully, and I would advise you to,

you know, seek legal advice if you feel that's necessary.

-There are rights of appeal within there as well.

-OK.

But it outlines everything that we're doing today.

It isn't appropriate for someone to be living here for any length

-of time at all. You need to cease use of that immediately.

-OK.

-All right? Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

It's a job seen through.

We've got to the conclusion. We've found the conditions were

nowhere near what you'd expect for someone to use for accommodation.

They didn't adhere to any of the planning

or building control regulations.

It is a win on our behalf.

Well, since James' visit,

the owner has stopped renting out the garage as a bedsit

and the occupants have moved to Brighton.

But for the team at Oxford City Council,

the search for illegal beds in sheds continues.

As part of my training, I've come to Suffolk,

where housing officer Sam Thomson

helps elderly tenants downsize into council-run sheltered accommodation.

Sam manages a block of 40 self-contained flats

centrally located in the town of Sudbury.

Sam thinks she may have found a possible new tenant.

93-year-old Peggy Steeden currently lives in Long Melford,

a mere three miles away from the town of Sudbury,

but she may as well be out in the sticks.

The thing is it's very lovely, it's very beautiful out here.

But if you are not mobile, it becomes a prison, doesn't it?

Oh, yes, very easily.

Especially with the lack of public transport from some of these smaller villages.

Unless you've got family really close by who can take you out a lot.

Peggy moved into a two-bed private flat in this converted

tobacco factory a year ago.

But it's on the fourth floor.

-Oh, gosh!

-Your lift isn't talking.

'I've got a very bad feeling about this.'

-I think we're going down again.

-It's not lighting up either, Peggy.

-It usually talks as we're going up.

-OK.

-It did when I came up just now.

-LIFT:

-Fourth floor.

-I think we're getting an idea why Peggy needs...

-'Ground floor, exit now.'

-..to move.

-We're back on the ground floor now.

-We're trapped in the lift.

We've gone up to the fourth floor, where Peggy's flat is,

-and then back down again to the ground floor.

-'Going up.'

Peggy, you've got to get out of this place.

-This is not right.

-You're telling me.

-BELL RINGS

-'Fourth floor.'

There we are.

Pffff.

-This is the other exit.

-Is that the stairs?

-Oh, yeah, that's no good.

-That's awful, isn't it?

-Oh, my gosh.

-Concrete stairs going down four floors.

So if the lift wasn't working, then Peggy would be stuck, I'd say.

Oh, wow.

-Lovely and bright.

-Have you been here before?

-No, I haven't.

It's lovely when the sun is out.

How long have you been in this place now?

Been here just over the year.

And just now realising that this is not really the place any more?

-It's too big.

-Right.

-Do you want to see the rest of it?

-Yeah, let's have a look.

Cos it's nice, but I can understand...

Oh, it's lovely, I'm not disputing that.

And you're way up here, aren't you?

Oh, my goodness. There's a lot more.

Peggy moved here following a long spell living close

to her daughter in Cyprus.

When I came here and I couldn't walk to the bus stop...

..I was stumped.

I had to use a taxi everywhere. I didn't know anybody,

only my son here.

-Have you not really connected with this place?

-No.

-This is...

-It seems to me this has never really felt like a home for you.

-No.

-I didn't have arthritis until I moved here.

-Right.

And I've been so cold.

Peggy's clearly had enough.

She's now considering moving into sheltered accommodation,

but it hasn't been an easy choice.

I once went to visit somebody in Clacton-on-Sea.

They were in a home.

And I walked into the room and they were all sitting

around on chairs,

and I think half of them were doped, you know,

because they were all very sleepy.

And I vowed then I'd never go into anything like that at all.

I'd rather live on my own in one room rather than do that.

Sheltered accommodation could be the answer, though.

It would mean Peggy wouldn't necessarily lose her independence.

You have access to the shops, you're near to the doctor's.

I had to have a taxi to the doctor and a taxi back again.

It's £10 a time.

It's interesting cos people naturally associate their own home,

you know, rented or an owned thing, as independence

but, in fact, it seems like the right joint accommodation

can give you that independence back.

-Oh, yes.

-The power to do what you want to do.

-Yes. Oh, yes.

Are you excited about the prospect of possibly moving?

Oh, can't wait.

I've waited a whole year.

See, that's a really nice flat,

but it runs the risk of turning into a prison for Peggy

if she stays here because it's wrong.

It's up on the fourth floor

and she has to use that one lift to get anywhere.

She's on the outskirts of town, it's just not right.

I'm really hoping that the flat Sam has available here might

offer the perfect solution.

For starters, it's on the ground floor - no lifts.

-Is this the one that's vacant?

-This is the one that's vacant.

So, after you.

Thank you.

Oh, this is lovely.

I like your colour scheme.

Well, you can change it if you wanted to should you move in.

What we've done is we've left the carpets

because they were in such good condition from the previous tenant.

-Yes, they are.

-If you don't like the carpets, you want to bring your own,

we can remove them, that's fine.

No, it's fine. It's what I would have chosen anyway.

-Nice and neutral, isn't it?

-That's right. Yes, it is.

Yes, that's lovely.

It's been lovely...beautifully decorated, hasn't it?

Oh, this is lovely.

This is very nice.

'So far so good.'

-So that's got to be more convenient.

-It's very compact, isn't it?

-Yes.

You've got everything you need there.

-You've got the curtain as well.

-You've got the curtain as well.

Yes, that's lovely.

That's super.

They've made a nice job of this, haven't they?

The advantage of living here is having someone like Sam on-call.

Any problems, if I'm around, you can let me know.

You've also got your pull cord, your intercom and your call alarm

-for urgent...

-That's wonderful, isn't it?

-It's got everything.

-..urgent assistance if I'm not around

or you need to get hold of me urgently.

-Just pull the cord?

-Yes, just pull on the cord.

Oh, that's absolutely wonderful.

Just an assessment form to fill out.

And then it looks like Sam has some news.

We've done the assessment...

-Mm-hm.

-And...

-Is it now mine?

-From the answers you've given me,

-I'm very happy you're suitable for the property.

-Mm-hm.

So I can verbally offer you 14 Playford Court.

-Would you like...

-Oh, Sam! Oh, wonderful.

-I could sit down and cry.

-THEY LAUGH

Peggy couldn't wait to move into her new home, but after we left,

she did decide to redecorate and change the carpets.

I'm happy to report she loves the new colours and, more importantly,

she's very happy to be comfortable in a place that she can call home.

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.