Episode 6 The Housing Enforcers

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

I worry about the fire risk here.

But for thousands of people across Britain,

the reality can be more hovel than home.

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

The whole of that bit goes black with mould.

Hello?

In the battle between tenants and landlords...

-It's your fault, not the door's fault.

-This is what you get.

..it's local housing officers...

What's causing that smell?

..who are on the front line.

The son's come out with baseball bats and knives on occasions.

I'm Matt Allwright...

A lot of this problem is caused by the dogs.

-That's your responsibility.

-Yeah.

..and I'm back on the job, once again joining the ranks of the housing enforcers.

It's got that mouse smell.

They're tackling problem properties...

This feels like an accident waiting to happen.

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

So, I need to tell you that you're committing an offence under the Housing Act.

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

We've won.

Today...

Can you tell me what it is?

I'm working on the basis that it's marijuana.

..council housing officers attempt to sniff out an illegal drug den.

Got to be careful, in case there's any needles around.

A dispute between a landlord and tenant...

The other room as well is having the same issue.

..reaches breaking point.

The gentleman here is not being reasonable.

And I investigate one property so crammed with clutter...

It's hard to see where you would sleep.

..that it's putting the occupants at risk.

We have had the Fire Brigade round to have a look.

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

If you want to buy a property, typically

you will need to have saved almost three years' salary as a deposit.

And that will get you a mortgage that will make your eyes water.

No wonder we've now got more people renting

than at any time in the last 60 years.

Protecting those renters are the country's housing enforcers.

And in this programme, that's what I'll be training to become.

Anyone can find themselves with problem neighbours.

But what happens when it goes beyond a few parking rows

and some loud music?

Is there anything worse than finding out you've got a drugs den in the neighbourhood?

It's disgusting behaviour and won't be tolerated.

Dealing with the ultimate in nightmare neighbours

comes with the territory

for antisocial behaviour officer Tony Silverio.

Hi. Right, what have you got for me today?

We've got quite an interesting day for you. Or, at least the morning.

I'm in Stevenage.

And I'm learning what happens when a property or,

more accurately, the tenants require drastic action.

These were properties that had

quite a heavy drugs activity in the past.

They were the subject of a number of drugs warrants.

Can you tell me what it is?

I'm working on the basis that it's marijuana of some sort.

It is cannabis. And that's a cannabis grinder.

So, they just turn it and grind it into smaller pieces

to add to their tobacco.

I've seen housing officers go to great lengths

to make sure that tenants can stay in their properties.

But there comes a point when the local authority

has to take the welfare of the rest of the community into account.

In our case, we want to make sure there's a safe environment for everybody else

who lives around that property.

So one of the things we immediately try and do

is to disrupt whoever is at the property.

Once they've been arrested by the police,

if we put a closure order on the property,

it means that their associates will no longer keep going to that locality.

And that means that, for three months,

the neighbours, the residents can have peace of mind,

because they know that these people aren't turning up any more.

Closure orders come under antisocial behaviour legislation

and their use to deal with drug dens

has led to them becoming known as crack house closure orders.

They give the police or the local authority

the power to close a property down for a period of three months

if a person is engaged in disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour on the premises.

Or the use of the premises has resulted in serious nuisance to members of the public.

Or if there has been disorder near those premises,

associated with the use of those premises.

The whole point of the closure order is that we have a court order

that specifically says you are no longer permitted to enter this property.

If you do, you are going to get arrested.

Presumably, Tony, what you'd really like is to be able to take this property away

and instantly give it to somebody else that really needs it?

It's not quite as straightforward as that.

But that is the end result we are looking for.

What we try and do is do the property closure,

go back to court and obtain an eviction order.

We then take back the property.

And, clearly, we've got people on the waiting list who are far more deserving of those properties.

Once the three months have elapsed, the council can then enforce an eviction order,

provided it's been granted by the courts.

OK, it's time to go out there and have a look.

At the first address on the list,

it looks like the council's actions are working.

The boards still seem to be in place, anyway.

And the closure orders are all still there as well.

And the windows are all still in place.

So it's not looking, from the outside, certainly,

as if anyone's tried to get in.

No.

This is a really nice, well-kept community of houses, isn't it?

It is. And as you can see, it's, you know,

a leafy, green part of Stevenage

with many families all being affected by one household.

They would have all known what's going on here, really,

because, you know, the pattern of behaviour here is completely different

from maybe all the other houses where people are, you know,

going to work, taking their kids to school.

-This is, like, day-long, night-long nonsense, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

Will things be just as secure at the second property?

This feels pretty solid.

Closure orders like these are an important tool in combating antisocial behaviour

and also helping to protect the wider community.

But the council still has a duty of care to the offending tenant.

As landlords, we may not like it,

but how are we going to evict somebody when they have an addiction?

We are very much dependent on putting a case to a court and a judge,

who will determine whether they're going to make somebody homeless.

At the back of their mind is going to be the thought,

this individual is a vulnerable individual with an addiction.

If we make them homeless, what is going to happen to them,

in light of the fact that they have quite a serious addiction?

There's a very good chance they could be dead in a few months.

And that is a very difficult thing for everyone to deal with.

The closure order has meant the tenants haven't been able to access their properties for three months.

During that time, one of them has decided to terminate their tenancy,

saving the council the hassle of eviction.

That means it's time for project officer Peter Lerman

to assess the damage and see what needs to be done

to bring the property back into occupation.

There's a lot of work here.

Right, it needs a clearance, three new doors.

I've got to be careful, in case there's any needles around.

The renovation provides the perfect opportunity to install a new kitchen

from the council's Decent Homes budget.

This is funding provided by central government to ensure that social housing is up to scratch.

There ain't much of a kitchen in here, and what is... Isn't much left.

So, this'll get Decent Homes.

The bath is new-ish.

The basin could be original.

The toilet's new-ish, so it wouldn't get Decent Homes.

It's just in poor condition.

So we'll sort the plinth out under the toilet

and then tidy it up and it'll stay like that for the next tenant.

Peter and his team wasted no time in getting the flat fully renovated.

And now that new tenants have finally moved in,

that's got to be good news for the neighbours.

Now, there's an old saying that talk is cheap.

But if you get a tenant and a landlord who aren't talking,

it can be downright expensive for everyone involved.

In the West Midlands,

Sandwell Council's housing standards officer, Richard Hawkins,

is on his way to a property

where the tenants complained the landlord won't carry out repairs.

But the landlord insists it's the tenant who won't let him in to do the work.

It's a classic problem.

So, we've left it 21 days to try and get some kind of agreement to a negotiation going between the two.

Unfortunately, that's now failed.

With both parties blaming the other and the situation in deadlock,

Richard has to get to the bottom of the problem.

I'm going to go out today, assess the property,

give it a good inspection from top to bottom, and, hopefully,

have a chat with the tenant and maybe get the landlord down there

to try and resolve this access problem.

-Mr Bulgari in?

-Yeah.

-Are you OK to come in?

-Come in.

-How are you?

-Fine.

-Nice to meet you.

Tenant Fuseini has been renting the house

with his wife and three young children for four months.

We contacted your landlord and he said he hadn't been able to access the property.

Has he tried to access or send anybody round to try and do anything?

He sent two builders and they've come and checked,

but I don't know what they told him.

The only thing I know is,

every time I try to talk to him about the repairs,

he said he can't afford it,

it's too costly, he can't afford it.

-Telling you that he can't afford it?

-Yeah.

He's still got to repair any additional repairs that are in this property,

which, obviously, you can show me the issues to that and we can come to that next.

And first on the list is the kitchen window.

This place, when it was raining, you see?

When it's raining, you see the door is closed.

But water enters.

Right, OK.

It's closed, but when it's raining...

Oh, yeah, you can see the water's poured inside it.

But there's a much bigger issue

that really isn't helping to calm down relations between the tenant and the landlord.

This kitchen, there's no heating system here.

Yep. OK.

There's no heater in here at all.

It's a shame, because it's done to such a high standard,

you'd expect simple things like heating to have been put in.

-No heating.

-No heating here.

And it's having a very serious knock-on effect.

You've got quite a considerable amount of mould growth.

You've got this layer of cold and damp.

You can actually see it's condensation.

Because there's no heating, warm, moist air from cooking

is condensing on the cold walls and windows,

making the kitchen a breeding ground for mould and mildew.

But upstairs, too much moisture of a whole other kind

is causing a more serious problem.

OK, right. Quite a lot of...

-I can actually smell the damp in here.

-It's very bad.

That's why I say it's very bad for the kids.

It's actually bubbling.

The difference between condensation and penetrative,

and you can see it here, is the bubbling.

I mean, this is a watertight paint.

It's a gloss finish.

And you can see that I'm actually pushing the plasterwork underneath.

You can see it moving.

Penetrating damp is caused by water leaking through the walls,

usually as a result of structural problems in a building.

And you don't need a surveyor to spot what's causing it here.

There's no guttering above.

So, obviously, the water is hitting the wall, coming straight down. The flashing's gone.

Literally that entire wall has got a penetration issue.

He's accusing us that we are damaging his property...

That's not the case at all.

Whether it's down to the landlord being unwilling to make repairs,

or Fuseini being unwilling to let him in,

this is a lose-lose situation.

The landlord's facing a much bigger repair bill

and the family's paying for a room they can't use.

When we started getting this problem,

all the kids I moved with us in one room,

because the other room as well is having the same issue.

The family of five are currently all sleeping in one room,

because they say the third bedroom is also uninhabitable.

But unlike the penetrating damp, which the landlord needs to fix next door,

this room just needs a good airing.

To be honest, wind and ventilation would stop the mould growing.

Basically, with this, it's condensation,

because it's a cold part and you've got the blinds in the way.

Damp problems can often occur because tenants don't ventilate the place properly.

And Richard has a simple solution to bring the room back into use.

What you need to do - bleach it.

I've been bleaching.

-How often?

-Weekly.

Weekly? That's more than a week's growth of mould.

OK, I've seen everything. Thank you.

Coming up later, we'll be hearing the landlord's side of the story from his brother.

My young brother's sent e-mails and we've not had any response.

And Richard's still left trying to work out who's at fault.

I think that there's probably two sides to what's going on.

And, obviously, there's been a bit of friction.

Situated on the coast of Kent is the borough of Swale.

Home to almost 150,000 people,

the area is within commuter reach from London,

meaning property prices are constantly on the increase.

The result of that is a huge gap between benefits received and rental prices.

I'm joining up with housing options officer Sue Davis

from Swale District Council.

She often has to deal with the problem of homelessness.

Today, Sue is going to introduce me to a young lady

who's in a situation that Sue has to deal with a lot.

This young lady came to me a couple of weeks back,

dragging the most enormous suitcase ever. And your mum on the phone to me,

saying the situation had completely broken down beyond any reconciliation.

No family members at all to stay with.

No more friends to stay with.

And you presented as homeless, didn't you?

We thought of everything - friends, relatives, there was nowhere to go.

Mum, Dad, very emotional.

Everyone would not let Louise back in the family home at all.

So, we were left with no choice on that night.

We placed her in temporary emergency accommodation here,

which has fantastic support and we use as a stepping stone.

So, we could be looking at seeing whether or not we can get you back to Mum's.

Or we look to see whether we need to move you on to a young person's scheme.

But at any point in all of that, no matter what happens,

going back to parents is something that we always want you to do, if that's possible.

-Do you still feel the same?

-That's not going to happen.

Me and Mum spoke about it.

I'm not allowed back.

She says we get on better when I'm not there.

Did she use the words "not allowed back"?

Young people risking life on the streets is a serious and growing problem.

In 2014, there were just under 111,000 applications

for homelessness made in England.

Just over half were under the age of 25.

More than half became homeless

because of a relationship breakdown.

And over six out of ten young homeless people

aren't in education, employment or training.

-Are you scared to go home in case it goes wrong?

-No.

There's just no point, because I'll be back.

So you're worried it will go wrong?

No, I'm not worried about it.

I know it will go wrong anyway,

and I'll be back within a couple of weeks.

It's a growing problem.

And like Louise, it's often due to a rift between the young person and their family.

-Is it all right if I have a quick chat to Louise?

-Yeah.

-If that's all right with you, Louise, yeah?

-Thank you.

What's it giving you, being here and not home?

I don't know. My own little bit of space, really.

-Sue's amazing.

-Mm.

I mean, she's sitting there and she is into every part of your life

and trying to understand it and help you with it.

So what is she?

Is she, like, erm...

Is she a friend or is she, you know,

someone from the council or a family member?

I see her as a mother figure, to be quite honest.

So, the next step is to try and get other accommodation out of here,

something a bit more permanent, a bit more independent.

I don't know. Maybe.

-I don't have a clue.

-Do you not?

-No.

You've got to work out who you are.

And, you know, this doesn't happen overnight.

So, best of luck. Fingers crossed.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

Back in the office, I want to understand a little more

about how Sue manages to mediate these situations.

You just sort of pour in the care and affection until they submit.

That's your technique, isn't it? It's just relentless.

Yeah. You don't give up. You cannot give up with young people.

And with Louise, I have a complete feeling that I'm going to get her home,

even if it's just temporary.

But all she's saying to you the whole time is,

"I'm never going back there."

You know, your instinct is to override that

and do what you think's best for her. Is that right?

Her and her mum have a good relationship. They just don't know it at the moment.

A few days later and Sue is off to a meeting at Porchlight,

one of the local charities that specialises in providing accommodation

for the more vulnerable homeless.

We're off to a young person's housing scheme to meet Louise.

She's got an interview at one with support workers.

A fantastic scheme for young people.

And we're going to meet with her at one

and see how she gets on at the interview.

You're going to be absolutely fine.

As Sue and Louise head on inside to meet the project managers...

Hello. It's Sue and Louise.

..the camera crew remain outside to make sure the interview stays private.

This is a Kent-based charity

that's been operating since the early '70s,

working to bring some relief and support to the homeless

by putting a roof over their heads

or by helping to prevent them from being homeless in the first place.

Well, just finished the interview with Louise. It went really well.

She did really well. I'm really proud of her.

She's got to wait about a week for it to be decided.

And then we'll find out more and catch up with her then.

This is a terrific step forward.

For Sue and her colleagues,

getting young people like Louise back home with their parents is really key.

And on that note, Sue has an update.

..is on the waiting list for the young person's scheme.

She's back at home. So, that's really good.

And she's just waiting for a flat to come up.

And so we're going to carry on working with her

until we've got her finally settled.

In the West Midlands,

Sandwell housing standards officer Richard Hawkins

has been trying to resolve a dispute between a landlord and a tenant over outstanding repairs.

He said he can't afford it, it's too costly.

Richard hopes getting both parties together to talk

could still resolve the situation amicably.

So the landlord's brother, Amir Afzal, has agreed to give his side of the argument.

I've heard what the tenants have said and I'd like to hear from you guys what's going on.

-We can, perhaps, have a sit down first, have a chat...

-Yeah, no problem at all.

..and have a look at some of the stuff.

-No problems.

-OK, brilliant.

The first issue Richard wants to address is a classic breakdown in communication.

My young brother's sent e-mails,

sent recorded delivery letters as well,

and we've not had any response.

So, the issues you've got with the tenants, basically, is that they're not coming back to you

and talking to you about issues or when...

It's not only that. The gentleman here is not being reasonable

in allowing people to come out and have a look

and see if there's any problem and what problems there are.

Although he claims the landlord said he can't afford the repairs,

Fuseini's failure to grant access hasn't made it easy for him to work out what needs to be done.

He never phoned me.

And the letters I've been receiving.

But the e-mail, I don't check my e-mail often.

If we just go back, rewind the whole matter,

and if people were reasonable with each other, there's not a problem that cannot be solved.

They might never agree about who's at fault,

but Richard's hoping a simple lesson in economics

will help both of them see sense and avoid the family having to leave.

Your brother's going to end up with an empty property that's going to have a void period

and you'll have to redecorate it

and you'll have to then go down advertising it, missing rent,

all that. A lot of cost. You're going to be going down a route

where you'll have to find another accommodation,

you're going to be moving, contracts, agency fees etc.

There's a lot of costs for both of you here.

If we can address that today,

then you can carry on, obviously, getting the rent in.

-And then you, obviously, still have a family home.

-Yeah.

The first step is giving the landlord's brother access to the bedroom,

so he can inspect the extent of the damage caused by the damp for himself.

-At first, when I walked in, I thought condensation.

-Yeah.

Then I noticed it stops dead here.

Right.

And you've obviously got quite a line.

-And if you look, it's bubbling.

-Right. OK.

You've got penetrating damp here.

-You need to get a surveyor in to give you some advice on that.

-OK. No problem.

It seems like Richard's making progress.

It goes to show, if you're dealing with landlord and tenant disputes,

clear communication is essential.

In the future, whatever needs doing, addressing,

-I will contact you myself...

-Yeah.

-..and then we will arrange for people to come in and do whatever is necessary.

-Yeah.

OK, we have seen and discussed everything.

But given their track record, Richard's leaving nothing to chance.

Now, if there's an issue in the future with repairs,

between either of you with communication or anything,

both of you, I'm going to give my mobile number and my office desk number

-and you come to me on either side if there's an issue, all right?

-OK.

Well, that looks like a successful visit to me.

Thanks to Richard's diplomatic skills,

it seems like everything's back on track.

If we can get the repairs over to the landlord, get him to sort those out,

now that the tenants and the landlord are talking with each other, we might be able to move forward.

They can, hopefully, stay at the property

and get the repairs done and everyone's a winner.

In Stevenage, the council owns and rents out around a quarter of the town's homes.

Right, so this one here...

'As part of my training, I'm joining housing officer Tracy Jackson

'on her latest visit to

'a council-run sheltered housing complex.

'She wants me to see a really challenging case.'

What is the particular issue with this place?

The tenant has been hoarding for some time,

so, keeping a lot of belongings,

just not clearing at all.

The tenants are an elderly couple and their 30-year-old son.

They didn't want to appear on camera,

but were happy for us to film inside their flat.

The bedrooms are through here.

This is the son's bedroom.

I don't know whether...

I think I'll just have to let you... Do you want to just come in?

-Yeah, I think that is a one-man job, that.

-Have a one-man peek.

-Yeah, I'm not going to be able to get much further than that.

-No.

But that is much, much better than when I last saw it.

-This is an improvement?

-Yeah, much better.

There's still quite a long way to go, though.

Between 2 and 5% of adults in the UK

show some symptoms of hoarding.

It's considered a significant medical problem

when it seriously affects a person's ability to live normally.

In some cases, it's also associated with other mental health issues,

such as anxiety or depression.

You're dealing with something that really has to be quite sensitively managed.

Oh, definitely. And to part with the belongings, it is a big thing.

So it isn't just a practical job of clearing,

it's actually letting go of everything.

This is the gentleman's bedroom here.

Oh, OK.

-And this is still being used as a bedroom?

-Yes, yeah.

-At the moment, you know, you've got just a mountain, really...

-Yeah.

..of possessions there.

That's right.

You know, I worry about the fire risk here.

We have had the Fire Brigade round to have a look.

But, you know, you do need to consider is it safe to have mountains of paper?

Tracy's fully aware that the tenants' safety comes first.

But as the council's the landlord,

she also has to protect the property.

The clutter could lead to rodent or insect infestations,

blocked drains and other issues that could affect neighbouring properties.

But despite these risks, she has to tread carefully

when dealing with what is a complex psychological condition.

Where do you draw the line between intervention and interference?

Obviously, it's very important not to judge.

So, as you say, people can live how they want, as long as it's safe.

You've also got to keep the property maintained. This is their home

-but it's not their property.

-Yes.

It's our property, and we do need to keep it to a certain level.

It's always going to come down to cooperation and collaboration

with the person that's living here, isn't it?

Yeah, we've got to allow them to live here peacefully.

It's their home, and we've got to remember that.

But, you know, we are the landlords

and we need to take responsibility for that as well.

Part of that responsibility is keeping the home up to scratch.

The frustrating thing is that the council really wants to improve this property.

They've committed to fitting a new kitchen

under their Decent Homes initiative.

Right, so this is the kitchen in question...

-That's right.

-..that we're talking about.

Yeah, this is the kitchen that we'd like to redo.

The kitchen fitters have already tried to do their job once,

but were scuppered by a room rammed full of stuff.

But the council can't just throw out the tenants' belongings.

It's important that the hoarder tackles their own problem

and takes responsibility for clearing the clutter themselves.

It's been a long and slow process.

But with Tracy's encouragement and support,

there are certainly signs of progress.

Is that something that you've had to build up,

that sense of trust, over time?

-Or was it actually...

-Yes, over time.

We would do monthly visits and say, "Can you clear a bit more?"

The gentleman has accepted that he is hoarding, which he says, for him,

is the first step, you know, towards making progress and improving, really.

Hoarding can be a difficult condition to understand

and it raises loads of questions.

But it seems so long as these tenants have the council as a landlord,

they're in the right hands.

Of course, it's easy to look at that scenario there and say,

"People that treat a council house like that don't deserve one."

But then, they are the sort of people who need the protection of a council house

and the council to look over them and say,

"Listen, we can help you. We can make your lives better."

And that seems like what they're doing.

They're making small steps to improve the property

and their standard of living.

That's it for today.

Join me next time, when I'll be

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