Episode 5 The Housing Enforcers

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

-Seen those flies?

-Yeah.

But for thousands of people across Britain,

the reality can be more hovel than home.

Just vermin, vermin, filth.

Ooooh!

It's not me, it was the landlord.

In the battle between tenants and landlords,

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

-Yes?

-We're coming in.

-No, no.

-The police are...

-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.

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...

He called me a BLEEP.

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

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

Today, one housing officer is getting a whiff of deja vu.

How many months ago was it we had this place cleaned?

-I know, I...

-Look at the state of your kitchen.

And I meet one council tenant

who hopes her new home will change her life.

In six months' time, what would you like to have happened?

To get off drugs and be a mum again.

I just want to be a mum.

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.

The 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.

Empty dwelling management orders, compulsory purchases,

possession orders and evictions -

I'm learning that local authorities have got a whole host

of legal powers to deal with recalcitrant owners and tenants.

If you do evict somebody, then, you know, as a council,

you've still got the duty to house them somewhere. So...

If they get evicted, they will eventually go full circle

and come back to have a council property.

In the interim period, yes, it may well be

that they have to get picked up as homeless,

put in bed-and-breakfast or something like that.

But ultimately, they will end up back with us.

Here in Babergh, Suffolk,

I'm also learning that enforcement isn't always the answer,

even when a problem council tenant is testing the patience

of a community housing officer like Ian Watson.

One of the problems that we have with our tenants is

some people don't keep their house particularly clean and tidy.

It is part of the tenancy agreement,

but some people are not quite as tidy as others.

Today, Ian is on his way to visit a council tenant

who's been on his problem list for a while.

We're going to a little village called Lavenham.

I do have to say, in general terms,

most of our council tenants do look after their properties,

do keep them in good order, but you get the odd one or two

that have got different lifestyles, so to speak.

This tenant has been here for around 20 years,

but Ian wants to talk to him

about fresh complaints from the neighbours.

HE KNOCKS ON DOOR

The first problem is to actually find him.

Let me go round the front.

I will try, unless he's asleep.

Howie?

I shouldn't really go in,

but I do have a little bit of concern that he might be in the bedroom.

As the door's unlocked, I really should secure it.

Alistair!

Eventually, Ian obtains his elusive customer - Alistair Howe,

85 years old, and a long-term council tenant.

Now, I will tell you here and now,

I've been here today, I was concerned, all right?

Your front door was not locked. It's not shut.

I know, but I couldn't get any response.

-The dog wasn't even barking or anything.

-I was in the bedroom.

-No.

-Well, I had to go in, Ali.

-Did you?

Yeah, I did, because I thought you might have been lying on the floor.

-Oh, very kind of you.

-You know what I mean, all right?

Considering your age and everything.

But the other thing I need to speak to you about is inside again.

-I know, but can't do everything.

-Can we go and have a look?

18 months ago, the council spent £2,000

and brought in a local charity to help clean up Ali's flat.

But Ian has had worrying reports from the neighbours

about the condition and the smell.

-Now, Ali...

-So, what do you want to say?

How many months ago was it we had this place cleaned?

I don't know.

You know, we had everything out the bedroom, the lot, didn't we?

There's been a lot of stuff been chucked in here.

-Yeah, I know, but look at it.

-The dog's...

Well, the dog never barked when I came in first time.

As I say, I was more concerned you were lying on the floor.

Good old boy.

-But Howie, I mean, look.

-I know...

-Look at the state of your kitchen.

I know, and I...

You know?

I've got... I've got to get cooking...

-I know, but we had all this steam cleaned.

-I know!

Well...

Howie, I thought we'd steam cleaned all this bath?

-Oh. Did what?

-We'd steam cleaned all this bath and toilet.

Yeah, but look at the state of your bathroom again.

I can't be here and everywhere.

Are you going to move, or what are you going to do?

-Cos I want to get some grub cooked.

-You want to get some grub.

Well, look, you've got my number.

I'm going to come back and see you in a fortnight,

-all right?

-You will. You sure?

-Yes.

And I expect to see it a little bit cleaner.

-You need to make an effort yourself.

-Well, what I was going to do,

I want to get a skip in and chuck everything in the skip.

DOG BARKS

-I can't supply you with another skip at this stage.

-You can't?

-No.

Because you ought to be keeping control of what you've got here.

You know?

Ali may be happy living like this, but Ian knows he has to act,

for the sake of the property, the neighbours, and Ali himself.

As you can see, he's not looking after himself. I can't...

He won't engage with social services or anybody.

It's quite frustrating,

because we paid quite a lot of money last time to have this cleared up.

But as I said before we came out here, he seems to survive very well.

He's sprightly enough,

and his health doesn't seem to be that bad.

I don't think that I could be the same

under the same set of circumstances, unfortunately,

but I'll come back in a couple of weeks and we'll try and start again.

Pork chop, look.

Ten minutes, that'll be done.

So, will Ali cooperate,

or is he drinking in a last chance saloon?

-I want to be left alone, mate.

-Right. Yeah, yeah.

Salford in Manchester

is one of the country's most deprived inner-city areas.

Being a housing officer here means often dealing with

vulnerable people, and that requires special skills.

Vicky Fitton has worked in this borough for 13 years.

Today, she's on her way to visit Donna,

a drug-addicted mother who's keen to be rehoused.

You never quite know what you're walking into with Donna.

We tend to be dealing with other issues or at crisis point,

as opposed to housing issues,

so you're never sure what you're walking into.

I don't know how to cope.

I've been on drugs more than I've been off drugs.

I started at the age of 14. I'm 35 now.

She does have quite complex needs.

There's mental health,

debt, drugs, there are other things that we...

We really need to get her out of there to get her somewhere safe,

and then we can address all the other issues.

It's a vicious circle I've got into.

I don't know how to live without drugs.

And it's only amphetamines and weed,

but it's still bad enough to get your kids took.

There's nothing worse than being a mum who's had their kids took,

and classed as one of them mums.

Donna's addiction resulted in the authorities

removing her two young daughters to her sister's.

That's where they've been living for the past 18 months.

I wasn't bad with my kids. I was a good mum.

But we all say that. That's what you say,

because you're that embarrassed. And they take your confidence,

they take every bit of respect you've got about yourself

instead of helping you.

To make matters worse, Donna's fallen badly behind on her rent,

and because her children no longer live with her,

she wants to move to a smaller property,

where she's not constantly reminded of the daughters she's lost.

And I don't what they're like at night now for going to bed.

I don't know if they have a story. I don't know anything my kids do.

I don't know what toys they like, what size shoes they are.

I had to phone my mum and ask, "Mum, what size?"

And I should know that, because I'm the mum.

It's a sad situation, but when Vicky meets her client today,

she has got something positive to share.

-Hi.

-Hiya, Donna, you all right?

How's it going, then, Donna? Everything all right?

-Going all right, yeah. Yeah. Getting there.

-Excellent.

Well, I've got a bit of good news.

Do you remember when Rebecca assessed you

and we found out that you were in rent arrears?

Well, I've got confirmation

that they're going to pay the discretionary housing payment.

They're going to backdate it to wipe your arrears.

So that's really, really good news. All your rent arrears are gone.

With the slate wiped clean,

the most pressing thing now is to find Donna somewhere new

to live away from an area where she feels she's being harassed.

-To be honest, we need to get you off this street, don't we?

-Yeah.

Yeah, we need to get you off the street. Because you're not safe.

And the recent black eye is another cause for concern.

I was getting through the window and I slipped and...

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

You do know that you can ring me if you need any help

or you need safety?

-Yeah, yeah, I know that.

-Yeah?

It's been the most hardest two years of my life. But I done it.

Well, like I said, as long as you know that if you do need us

or you do need to be put somewhere, we can sort that out for you, Donna.

-There's no need to sit here and be afraid.

-No, I know, I know.

But when they take your kids, it's like, I don't care,

cos it's the worst pain you could ever think.

-Yeah, you need to block it out.

-Yeah.

-Nobody can blame you,

and nobody can understand what you've gone through, Donna.

Let's get yourself sorted, healthy, confident

and then you can be the best mum that you possibly can be.

It might take time, but Vicky's optimistic

that Donna's situation is about to change for the better.

She's definitely more positive since we became involved

and the rent arrears have gone

and the registration on Salford Home Search is up and running.

It's that little glimmer of hope that she can cling to

and, fingers crossed, we'll be able to get sorted out.

Coming up, Donna's future is looking a lot brighter.

I am dead excited, though, you know?

I feel like, God, I shouldn't be this excited.

Here in Babergh in Suffolk,

85-year-old Ali Howe has been a council tenant for over 20 years.

But in recent years, the condition of his flat

has been a major worry for housing officer Ian Watson.

How many months ago was it we had this place cleaned?

I don't know.

You know, we had everything out the bedroom, the lot, didn't we?

Today, Ian's going back to see if he can work out a solution with Ali.

I don't expect there to be any change

from the last time that we were there. The trouble is,

he's, as I said, 85 years old.

He's set in his ways. It's his lifestyle.

Today, Ian's brought in reinforcements once again.

Let's just hope Ali is there this time.

-Good morning.

-Watch your step.

-Yeah, I know. Yeah.

Looks like they're already here, and they've got their work cut out.

It's pretty much how it was before.

Once again, Ian's enlisted the help of Emma, David

and Matthew, from local company Stepping Stones, who specialise

in providing support for vulnerable people in their homes,

to assess just how much work Ali's flat needs.

The whole thing took three...

About 46 hours, all in all.

So it's about three days' work.

Cleaning out the fridge as well, just to make that sanitary,

cos it's not. We would make sure everything is sanitary for him.

While Stepping Stones assess the state of the flat,

Ian's trying to pin down his elusive tenant.

If I can't get hold of you, I can't arrange anything.

Right? But you imagine the amount of time

that I have to spend trying to get hold of you to make arrangements.

That takes my time up, just trying to get a hold.

So if you can get your phone working and tell me what the number is,

at least I'd be able to ring you, wouldn't I?

A big part of the housing officer's job is trying to help

those tenants who just don't want to be helped.

Obviously it definitely needs to be a lot more sanitary than this.

It's definitely not smelling too pretty, is it?

HE LAUGHS

If we cleared this all up for you,

how would we be able to help you maintain it

so it wouldn't get back to this again?

-Well, get somebody to come in and help me.

-What, on a regular basis?

-Yeah.

-Once a week? Something like that.

-Something like that. That would help you

-keep on top of this?

-I reckon so.

As sympathetic as Ian is,

he also has the other tenants to think about,

as well as the condition of the council housing stock.

This can't go on.

Not just for your sake, but for the neighbours' sake, all right?

-There's nothing wrong with...

-I know what YOU think, but OK...

But we're prepared to do it again, all right?

But you're going to have to manage it afterwards.

We can't come back again.

How are you getting on with all of this?

-Are you?

-Yeah.

What is it you is it you don't like about this? Cos everybody's...

Poor old boy, you know what I mean?

'Talking to Ali, I don't think it's sunk in with him

'just how much enforcement power the council has,

'but for Ian, eviction isn't the answer -

'not yet, anyway.'

Anyway, big improvement already?

-Yeah? You happier?

-I'm always happy.

-I mean, we are, we are looking at dog muck, aren't we?

-We are.

-On almost every ground surface.

-In the washing machine.

Dog muck around the washing machine and inside.

I've just had to wipe it all out. But, you know, all done now.

The main thing is to sanitise everything with bleach.

I mean, there's certain things you're going to make a difference with

and certain things not, ie, the paint on the walls and that -

that's never going to look clean, is it?

But certainly the sanitation of the toilet and sink is...

You can see the toilet.

That's it. Before, this morning, you couldn't.

Wow, what a difference.

If you looked at it on paper, you'd see, oh, you know,

this is a troublesome tenant - when you meet Ali, he's lovely.

He's a great guy.

He's got real joy about him, and it's not somebody you could

ever really dream of putting out on the street or evicting.

-It just doesn't...

-No.

That doesn't work when you bring in that human aspect of it

and you meet the guy face-to-face.

Exactly, and he's a likeable character, regardless, so...

But, yeah, hopefully we'll get somewhere.

He is, as they say in Suffolk, a good old boy.

Fingers crossed this time he'll keep his flat clean.

Allerdale in Cumbria.

It's an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

in the heart of the Lake District.

But beneath the picturesque patchwork of lakes,

valleys and fells lies something a bit more sinister.

Environmental health technician Rachel Carr is on the way

to meet a home owner who's had issues with his water supply.

Going to just do some routine water testing.

It does normally pass for bacteria and things like that,

but we have had a few problems with arsenic.

That's right, crime fiction fans, she said "arsenic".

As soon as people hear arsenic, it's like, "Oh!"

But it's naturally occurring in the land.

Yes, it may be a favourite of murder mystery writers,

but arsenic is actually an element found in rocks, soil and sediment.

This part of the Lake District is so remote, many homes

and businesses don't have a mains water supply.

Instead, they source their water from the fells,

but there can be arsenic in the ground,

and in high doses it can make the water toxic and difficult to treat.

When we get problems with bacteria in the water, we do advise

that you boil the water to kill any bacteria,

but you can't achieve that with arsenic.

It's there, and if you boil the water, you're just going to

concentrate the level that's there.

With boiling not an option, the water has to be properly filtered.

If it's not, levels of arsenic can build up in the body

and increase the risk of kidney failure or even lung cancer.

-Hi, Rachel, how are you doing?

-Hiya, are you all right?

-I'm doing champion.

-Good, good. That time of year again.

Retired builder Alistair lives in a converted mountain shelter

called a bothy.

He also shares his water supply with two holiday homes.

So, your water majors from up on that fell there, doesn't it?

Our water comes actually from the top of Clough Head.

We have a spring that comes just slightly over to the side.

So just about there.

Well, the whole of the top of the fell kind of supplies

the aquifer that comes out to the spring.

The top of Clough Head, it's very craggy here, but once you get

to the top, it changes quite dramatically,

it goes into a kind of rolling landscape

with some quite big peat bogs which, of course, is a big sponge.

It holds the water, so that really helps preserve

-our water supply all through the summer.

-Right.

But a previous water test found

potentially dangerous levels of arsenic.

Alistair had to install a special filtration system.

Here's the equipment, Rach.

And Rachel needs to check the filter to ensure the water's

safe for everyone to use.

The arsenic filter is here.

It's a sand filter.

It's quite clever how something so simple as a kind of sand

can remove arsenic, something so poisonous.

The system might be simple, but it's not cheap.

It's quite an expensive arrangement.

It costs us, between the three of us, about just over three grand.

If we were private individuals and it was our own home,

we could opt and say, "We're not bothered, we'll take the arsenic."

But if there are any visitors, which there are in the other two houses,

there's a responsibility for them to make sure

that they provide water that's safe.

-I think it's the word "arsenic", and people panic, don't they?

-It is.

For Rachel and the team at the council, when it comes

to public health issues, it's just not worth taking the risk.

It's our duty to protect the health of others,

so if one person might be able to cope with, I don't know,

E. coli in the system, the next person, a young child,

it could make them severely ill,

so what's OK for one person mightn't be for the next.

To ensure that no arsenic has found its way through the filter,

Rachel needs to take a range of water samples from the tap.

-If we just do the heavy metal one first.

-Yeah.

-The cold tap.

These samples will be sent to the lab.

If they test positive, it could leave Alastair

forced to use only bottled water.

Worse still, the owner of the neighbouring holiday homes

could find their business seriously affected.

When someone comes and tells you that you've got a major problem

and you've got to start doing the research

and finding out where the problem is and where it might have come from,

it's quite tough.

Yes, it's a worrying time for Alistair and his neighbours.

-Thanks again, Rachel.

-Bye now.

-Bye.

But since Rachel's inspection, there's been some good news.

The lab declared the water samples clear of arsenic,

which means the filtering system is doing its job

and life in this beautiful part of the Lake District

can continue as normal.

I've travelled to Salford to meet a fragile young mum

who desperately needs to be rehoused.

It's a vicious circle I've got into.

I don't know how to live without drugs.

Before our meeting, housing officer Vicky fills me in

on just how desperate Donna's circumstances are.

Donna doesn't have her kids living with her,

her two daughters any more, so she's still in the property

that she had the children, which means she's now under-occupying.

Donna's got some drug issues,

which means the kids are living with a family relative at the minute.

Right.

We've got her registered on Salford Home Search, which she wasn't before,

so we've got about 11 weeks now to get Donna out of that property.

'When I meet Donna, I want to know how

'she's ended up in such dire straits.'

Can you sort of trace it backwards and work out where the problems

-that you're experiencing now started from?

-The age of 14.

Cos I was overweight as a kid,

I was self-conscious and everything over my weight.

'Donna says she became overweight after being

'prescribed strong steroids for her asthma,

'which then led to her getting teased at school.'

Someone said, "Have you ever tried the whizz diet?"

So this is amphetamines taken once a day

to try and keep the weight off?

Yeah. It's like a diet tablet.

'Amphetamines, commonly known as whizz,

'were once the main ingredient in diet pills

'because they suppressed the appetite,

'but prolonged use can lead to panic attacks, depression and paranoia.'

It's just, to go out in the morning, I need one whizz. That's how I feel.

And if I don't have it,

I can't go out, I'm horrible and depressed and...

just feel fat and everything.

So what happened? Where did the money come from for that?

You do everything you must.

Shoplifting - when my kids went, shoplifting and everything

just to survive and just to get rid of the pain of losing my kids.

Is it too much to say that, you know,

you've run the risk of losing...

I tried killing myself and everything when my kids went.

I couldn't handle it. Really couldn't.

'And remaining in this property is clearly not

'making things any better.'

You've been living in this house, then,

-for 18 months without your children.

-Yeah, and it's been pain.

But, I mean, everything around you,

this is like a family home still...

I found all my daughter's dummies when I came back here.

Cos I had to voluntarily give them up,

and I couldn't give them up, I said, "I can't give them up, I can't."

'It seems like Donna's stuck in the past.

'She now needs to see that she has a future.'

OK, let's look forward, let's look past where we are right now,

and, in six months' time, what would you like to have happened?

To get off drugs, and to get more contact with my daughters

and let them stay overnight at my new flat

and be a mum again. I just want to be a mum.

Talking to Vicky, it's clear urgent action must be taken,

and taken soon.

That's quite heartbreaking, isn't it?

Everywhere you look, there's signs of the kids,

and that's 18 months. The kids haven't been back to this property.

You know, you can see how desperate the need is to get Donna

out of this property, just for her own mental health.

Once again, the property is at the base of this,

right at the root of this problem.

And trying to give someone a fresh start

to look at it with different eyes

requires a change of property, a change of accommodation.

If Donna was left and she hadn't approached the help,

six months down the line, she'd have been homeless,

but I think Donna's at the point that she's got nothing more to lose.

18 months ago, this was Donna's daughters' bedroom

in their family home, but because of what she's done,

Donna admits that was the cause of the family break-up.

This place is in the past.

Donna now has to look forward

and make sure that whatever happens in the future doesn't involve

drugs and gives her chance to get her daughters back.

A couple of months later and things are moving forward.

Today, she moves into a new one-bedroom flat

which, in turn, will free up her old house

for a family that needs the space.

I feel excited to be moving in. It seems dead nice here.

Housing officer Vicky Fitton is delighted to see her client looking

healthier and sounding much more upbeat than she has in a long time.

I am dead excited, though, you know?

And I feel like, God, I shouldn't be this excited.

Why? You've had a really tough couple of years. You're due...

I don't know how I survived it, really, I don't.

We'll have new memories and we'll have a future plan,

-instead of the past, dwelling.

-I'm dead chuffed for you.

And this is the first time in all the time I've been working with you that

you're actually starting to look to the future and, do you know what?

That's massive.

With the new flat comes the chance for Donna

to put the past behind her and get back on her feet.

And this is a complete and utter new start.

-You just promise me you'll work...

-Course I will, I won't let you down.

..with the drugs team. Yeah? Work with the drugs team?

Work to get your self sorted.

And get the girls back, or at least get seeing them a bit more.

Now she's out of her old house,

Donna's getting her life back on track.

She's due to enter a drug rehab programme

and she's determined to get her children back home again.

The housing officers at Salford Council have done all they can.

The rest is up to Donna.

There's no more feeling intimidated

and, you know, isolated and targeted.

I feel good in myself because I got out of it and I'm still here.

Donna is now enjoying a new start in her new flat.

Thanks to the council, she's been able to move away

from the negative memories and associations of the old place.

She's also due to start rehab very soon.

Fingers crossed she can continue towards a more positive future

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.