Episode 14 The Housing Enforcers

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

-You've actually seen that, have you?

-Yeah, we have, yeah.

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.

COCK 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?

'I'm back on the job once again,

'joining the ranks of the housing enforcers.

'They're tackling problem properties...'

It's a right old mess in there, isn't it?

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

I've had three tyres cut.

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

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

-Oh, Margaret!

We just heard a squeak.

Today I have a close encounter of the furred kind.

BOTH: Oh!!!

In the Lake District we meet a housing trust chairman

with a unique way of getting to meetings.

So, sale went through yesterday. Officially yours.

Absolutely, we're now the proud owner of a public toilet.

I hear from a council tenant who's at breaking point.

It's really a pain because I'm fed up with it now.

This is going to keep going on and on and on.

And we brave the back yard of a seaside property

that's anything but shipshape.

Oh, it's horrendous. I mean, there's shopping trolleys,

there's hard core, fence panels, all sorts.

Oh, we've got a nappy in the tree there, look.

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.

Part of any housing officer's job is to try to unpick disputes

between tenants and landlords.

In Sandwell, in the West Midlands, the council deals with

over 800 complaints about poor housing conditions every year.

Housing officer Neena Varma has had a complaint from a tenant

who's about to be evicted.

He's complained about having no heating, no hot water,

no gas or electric.

So, we're going to investigate and see what's going on

The landlord - he's been trying to gain access to the property

in order to address some of the issues.

-Right.

-But, um, he's not been successful.

Tenant Mark is claiming his rented flat is in such a shocking condition

he's had to stay with friends, and now he wants to be rehoused.

But Neena thinks there's more to this case then meets the eye.

I have a few concerns, really, about the occupant.

If he's been complaining, why has he only just complained

when he's been served with an eviction notice by the landlord?

Why hasn't he brought these issues up earlier?

And then why has the landlord not addressed the issues any sooner?

-Somewhere along the line something is not...

-Right.

It's not as it's been reported then.

Mark's flat is one of three in what, on the outside,

looks like an ordinary building.

But in the inside it's a very different story.

Is this supposed to be your kitchen?

That's supposed to be the kitchen, yeah.

Is that where the boiler was, Mark?

-Yeah.

-So what happened to the boiler?

It got stolen, innit?

How long ago was that?

-About a month or two.

-Right, OK.

That's why I had to put a lock on the door.

You've got no gas or electric, that's what you're saying?

-No gas, no electric.

-And how long have you had no gas and electric?

For about a couple of months, I think.

And what's your landlord or your letting agent doing about that?

He hasn't done nothing about it.

'A lack of the most basic amenities means that this flat

'is completely unfit for anybody to live in.

'And things don't get any better in the bathroom, or what's left of it.'

-What's happened here?

-That's what they've done.

-Who's done that?

-Dunno, some people, I think.

-Somebody broke in?

-Yeah.

-Where's your washbasin?

They've smashed it.

Can I ask, how much do you pay for this?

About 100 quid a week.

-And is that paid through housing benefit?

-Yeah.

-Right.

-Think so.

So the shocking conditions in here are costing the landlord nothing,

but I'm wondering why it's taken Mark so long to report it?

Why didn't you contact the council initially, before?

Cos it's only been brought to our attention, well, my attention, now.

It's only been getting worse since the last couple of months.

How long have you been living here?

-Seven years.

-Seven years?

But it's only the past few months it's been like this?

It's been worse every week or so.

-So, it's been deteriorating obviously.

-It's been getting worse.

Yeah, because the landlords not done anything,

-from what you're saying, yeah?

-I just want to move out, so...

-Well, there's no way that you can live in conditions like this.

-No.

Neena's right.

The entire flat has been thoroughly wrecked and it's uninhabitable.

I mean, I can see that the radiators have been

pulled off the walls, as well.

So, were there radiators in here when you moved in?

-Yeah.

-What happened to them?

They just took all the radiators and the pipes and everything.

-Who took those?

-I don't know.

-If I knew who it was I would have phoned the police.

-Right.

Scrap metal is a tempting target for thieves,

with a kilo of copper pipe fetching up to a fiver,

whilst a radiator could be worth anything up to 50 quid.

Despite sellers now being legally required to prove

their identity when cashing in scrap metals such as copper,

it's still a problem which costs the UK economy

an estimated £770 million a year.

Did you report it to the police anyway?

-No, cos I didn't know who it was.

-Well, it doesn't matter, does it?

Do you think that somebody's done this on purpose, then, broken in?

I think so, yeah.

-And put you in this position, yeah?

-Yeah, definitely.

-OK.

Well, whatever's happened,

there's still a case to answer for the landlord who,

despite the disgusting conditions,

is still being paid £100 a week.

The rent is still currently being paid on a property

which they know has got problems.

And I know that they've not had access,

but there was means and ways of having access if they wanted.

They could have enforced that by going to court and getting a possession order.

I mean, there comes a point when you say, look, this is your investment, this is your property.

-Why on earth would you not want to be forcing the issue?

-Absolutely.

-Is it because...?

-They're getting the rent.

-Because you're getting the rent. You're getting the rent regardless.

-Absolutely.

-I mean, this is the worst property we've been in.

-I think so.

Coming up, we're in for another shock outside.

I've just seen that rubbish move, there.

You are joking! Are you serious?

BOTH: Oh!!

The stunning scenery of Cumbria's Lake District

attracts 15 million visitors a year,

generating over a billion pounds for the local economy.

But Allerdale Council's becoming increasingly aware

there's a price to pay for this incredible success.

Housing manager Emma Bundock

can see it's the local community who's suffering

as a relentless rise in property values

is starting to take it's toll.

We're in the National Park and it's a highly sought-after area.

There's a lot of second homes here where people who maybe

live in London come up here at the weekends to enjoy.

But it bumps up the prices for local people.

Second homes and holiday lets have pushed prices so hard

that a house in the area now costs around eight times the average wage,

putting property out of reach for many of the young locals

who are on low incomes.

The main jobs around here are obviously in the tourist industry.

We've got a lot of hotels, bed and breakfasts.

You walk through Keswick and it's mountain shop after mountain shop.

And, with over 15,000 people employed in the tourism trade,

the result is a serious need for affordable housing.

As the pressure mounts,

Allerdale Council's having to think outside the box.

They're on a drive to re-use empty council buildings

and - believe it or not - next in the pipeline

is this old toilet block in the centre of Keswick.

We owned this property, this toilet block,

and it's been empty for about two years surplus to requirements.

So it's an ideal opportunity to do something different

that will really help local people.

To get the conversion off the ground,

the council's teamed up with a local housing trust.

And today Emma's meeting up with it's chairman, Bill Bewley.

I'm meeting Bill by the lakeside in Keswick this morning.

He lives in Keswick, but I'm not quite sure what to expect

when I get there. You never really know with Bill.

As a true man of the Lakes, there's only one way for Bill to arrive.

Apparently he swims in there at least once a week,

regardless of the weather.

How is it, Bill?

Hey-hey!

Have you swam the length?

Thought you were going to join me.

Oh, I'd love to, but...

You're braver than I am, Bill.

-It's supposed to help the immune system, you know.

-Does it?

Good for the soul, as well.

Must be good for something!

Bill's housing trust arranged to buy the toilet block

from the council five months ago.

They spent a bit more than a penny, but not much.

It cost them a nominal fee of just £1,

while the renovation works will be funded by a grant and a loan.

So, sale went through yesterday, officially yours.

Absolutely. We're now the proud owner of a public toilet, disused.

-Which will be, all being well, four one-bedroom units.

-Fantastic.

All for local people, as well.

All for local people, all for rent. All for people, hopefully,

who work in Keswick. That's the whole idea, you know?

To try and make Keswick a place where you can both work and live.

And today Emma finally hands over the keys.

Don't lose them in the lake, Bill.

So, I've brought the keys with me anyway, so we'll go have a look round.

Have you got the plans with you, as well?

Yeah, I've got the plans we can go through all of that. They look good.

-Get you warmed up first, I reckon.

-Yep, yep.

The toilet block in Keswick may be down an alleyway,

but it's a central location perfect for the planned one-bedroom flats.

They'll only be a short walk from the shops and bars

where future tenants are likely to work.

Wow, so this is going to be one of the...

This will be the downstairs one.

So the entrance won't be from where we've just came in?

-No, it'll be at the front, up there.

-Right.

-And we're just about at the start of the bedroom.

-Fantastic.

Can't wait to see it.

I know, it'll be a total transformation, won't it?

And a great use of an empty building.

Oh, it's an absolutely perfect central location for anybody

who's working in Keswick, and that's what we're trying to achieve.

To give a home to people who are working

in the hospitality industry in Keswick.

As the need for affordable housing continues to rise,

rejuvenation schemes like this are become increasingly important

because building from scratch is tightly controlled

in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Obviously in the National Park there are greater restrictions

on developers building houses,

so it's sometimes often easier to build on a footprint

that's already here or renovate a building that's already there.

And this scheme certainly looks like it will deliver.

The upstairs used to house more toilets

but, if the conversation goes to plan, within six months

it'll be providing a further two starter flats for young locals.

This is the ladies toilets?

Originally this was the ladies, yeah.

-The poor ladies had to climb the stairs.

-Wow.

It's a great space, isn't it?

Isn't it fantastic?

Yeah, you can see the size of it.

Cos from outside it doesn't look that big, but you can imagine

the dividing line that would be down here.

Bedroom, bathroom, living area.

And it looks a little bit smaller because of this wall here,

but this wall will be coming down.

You can imagine another metre and a half, two more metres, I think it is.

Well, there aren't that many one-bedroom flats around here.

There are some, but almost none of them are properly insulated.

They're very expensive to heat.

We're hoping we can afford to do underfloor heating,

which would be brilliant.

The trust's major concern is that young locals are gradually

being driven away by high prices, so the flat's will only ever

be used to help those who can't afford to rent or buy in the area.

You see, at the end of the day,

Keswick knows no town can live by tourist alone.

It's a passion of mine.

I believe it's absolutely essential that somebody does provide

affordable housing for the people of Keswick.

Otherwise it'll die - there won't be children going to the school

and all of the facilities could eventually deteriorate.

Bill's going to have to stay fit.

His inbox is filled with similar projects designed to stop Keswick

becoming a lopsided community and to preserve it's future.

I've had a lot of jobs in my career,

some have been well-paid, some not so well-paid,

but I can honestly say this is the most rewarding job I've ever had.

Back in Sandwell, I'm with tenant Mark

who's living in shocking conditions.

His landlord has started eviction proceedings,

but I want to know why he's still getting £100 a week in rent.

There has been payment made throughout on this property,

and that always concerns me. It just makes me think

when that money's coming in that comes with a little ticket

attached saying "responsibility".

Responsibility for the tenant and for the property,

and for other tenants, you know,

other properties nearby that will be affected by it.

It looks like the landlord hasn't been keeping

an eye on the back yard, either.

I've just seen that rubbish move there.

You are joking. Are you serious?

Is there a dead c...

BOTH: Oh!!!

-Did you see the size of that rat?

-That's just smaller than my dog!

This is a massive problem here.

There's problems in there. That's horrible.

Well, it's all this rubbish that's causing the rats to come.

These are all from the same landlord, these properties?

Yes, one landlord owns the three.

So, it would be interesting to know if -

you know, this place, just being absolutely apocalyptic -

what the next one up looks like.

Absolutely. So, we'll get an indication of whether the landlord

is looking after his properties or not.

You see, Mark says it's the landlord who's to blame

for not keeping up the maintenance on his flat.

So, let's see if the tenant upstairs has had a similar experience.

She's been living here for three months.

But you've found, generally, if you call him up he'll come out,

-or he'll send someone to sort things out?

-He will send someone.

-OK.

-I will text him.

-Yep.

'So, the landlord responds to her calls. What about the amenities?'

Are there any other problems with the flat

that you can identify at all?

Is it, you know, damp or does the heating work, the electricity?

-Everything else as far as you're aware...

-The electric's fine.

It's all fine.

'So, it would appear the landlord

'isn't quite as neglectful as Mark claims.

'He's agreed to talk to me on the phone.

'He hasn't allowed us to record his voice,

'but he does know I'll be telling you everything he's saying.'

I'm trying to understand how the property could have been

in this condition while rent is still coming in.

That's the thing I find difficult, I'll be honest.

OK. So, what it sounds like you're saying is that you were

aware of problems in the property for some time.

You tried to gain entry but you were concerned that going

straight to an eviction process might not be in the best interests

of the tenant, and that's why you held off for some time

and were unaware, during that time, of quite how bad

the condition of the property had got.

'The landlord also says he's made several attempts to get in contact

'with Mark to gain entrance and repair things,

'but was unsuccessful.'

Well, from his side, you know, he's saying that he did try,

he tried to call and, you know, couldn't get in.

So, clearly, someone's not right.

-You can't both be right, can you?

-No, no, yeah.

Every time he's come to the door I've offered to him to come in

and he's doing something else.

-So, he'd come up he'd say, "hello," and then he'd go away again?

-Yeah, yeah.

-So, why would he do that, do you think?

-I don't know.

And no idea what happened with the boiler and the radiator?

-You just came back...

-I came back and it was just like that.

-It had just gone?

-I was moving my stuff round

and I put it all into one place, like, the kitchen,

and it was all everywhere, on the floor and that.

And, what, the front door was broken in, were there signs of entry?

-The front door was broke.

-Yeah.

-The back door was broke.

-Yeah.

So I've had to do all that, like, to keep it secure.

And that's how they took the boiler and the radiator away?

That's how they came through this way, yeah.

But you didn't feel like you could contact the police

-about any of this stuff?

-I felt threatened if I did

cos of people in the area, know what I mean?

It's difficult for the landlord, then, maybe to believe you

if there's not a police report or something.

I know that, yeah, yeah.

But the people in the area, I haven't phoned the police on them,

know what I mean?

Something could come back on me and I'd rather just keep away from it.

Just move.

So, it sounds like Mark knows who wrecked the flat

but was worried that reporting it could put him in danger.

It's a difficult situation, to say the least.

Obviously, at the moment you can't stay there.

No, I ain't staying in there, no.

Presumably, I don't know, with your mate?

I don't know if that's a long term thing, or...?

Until I get myself a flat, like, get myself sorted somewhere.

-I'm trying to look for a flat, so...

-Yeah.

I don't want to live in this flat anyway, so...

-It's just not good.

-No.

'I'm not sure whether we'll ever get to the bottom of what's

'really been happening here and, as housing officers, well,

'it's not really our job.

'No landlord wants nightmare tenants.

'It's probably a good idea to keep a closer eye on a property

'and deal with any issues before they get out of hand.'

In the immediate, what's the action that we're going to take here?

Well, basically, I'll go back and I'll discuss it with my senior

and see whether we can put a prohibition order on this property.

Try and get some assistance from housing options

to rehouse the gentleman in question.

Because, like you said, it's just a health risk.

Nobody can live in a condition as we've seen today.

So that's the immediate call of action that I'll be taking.

The landlord has been in touch and told us that,

after several unsuccessful attempts to gain access to the property,

he had no choice but to serve tenant Mark with an eviction order.

He also says that the flat was in a reasonable condition

before Mark moved in.

He's now being rehoused and the landlord is busy renovating

the flat to get it back into a habitable state.

Oh, and he's cleared all the rubbish from the back yard

so, hopefully, there'll be no more unwelcome visitors.

Defending our right to a safe place to live

is the job of housing officers right across the UK...

Sorry to get off the subject, but look at this!

'..and in this series I'll be working alongside

'those men and women that do just that.'

Don't leave any food for cockroaches on the table.

-Ah, so clearly they've got a pest problem here, as well.

-Yeah.'

People do die in properties like this.

'I'm hitting the streets.'

We've upgraded to the copper-knock.

'I'm learning on the job.'

What the hell is that? It's a right old mess in there, isn't it?

I'll be finding out what it takes to make sure that

everyone's house is fit to be called a home.

He's constructing a vast castle.

You know, the enforcement that you're talking about means

-men coming in with hammers?

-Yeah.

Clacton-on-Sea in Essex has been a favoured seaside destination

for day trippers and holiday makers for many years.

At its most popular, during the '60s and '70s, tourists would

flock to the resort for its sandy beaches, family entertainment

and bustling night life.

Today, Clacton still has lots to offer,

but there are fewer tourists and then less money

coming in to the area,

so it's former glory is a little bit faded.

Two people who know the patch well are housing officers Grant and Ian.

They've been called out by the tenants of neighbouring properties

who not only share the same landlord

but are both experiencing similar problems with their homes.

There's a history of complaints with these properties

over the last 10, 12 years.

The first stop of the day is to a family home

rented by Kelly Mills, Brian Noble and their young children.

-Have you been here very long?

-Since March.

What, this year? Right, OK.

They want Ian and Grant to assess a number of issues at their home.

One of the biggest concerns is the amount of visible damp.

-Very high, Ian.

-Need to have a look outside, as well.

And we've also got mould upstairs.

Walls are cracking, the bathroom...

If you look at the front door,

down the side is all split where he's done the lock and that.

-Oh, right, yeah.

-Missing screws and everything.

Huge great gap there. I don't know if it's been jemmied before but...

In the nine months they've lived here,

Kelly and Brian have also struggled to get hot water from the boiler.

If we want to have a bath, we turn the...

Turn it for the water.

-It only runs a little bit.

-Right, OK.

So, basically, we have to use a shower to actually fill the bath up.

You've got a mains electric shower.

All right, let's have a look at the boiler.

-Do you have a certificate for the boiler?

-No.

-Has anybody been to check it in the last year?

-No.

That's why the hot water's not very hot.

The knob's missing off the front here, it was right down on minimum.

So let's see if we can get some hot water out of it now.

-I can see the steam coming off.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, that'll do.

Right, we've got the hot water sorted.

We need a new knob on there, though.

If only all problems were this easy to fix.

Does your extract fan work?

-I don't know. I've never heard it.

-So does the window open?

-No.

The kitchen ones don't open, that's what we've had a problem with.

-Oh, this isn't good.

-What neither of them open?

-No, neither of them.

-Well, that's painted shut, then, I would have thought.

-Yeah.

Yeah, that's painted shut, that one.

And the issues continue, with a crumbling wall in the back garden.

We'll show you the garden where the kids come back to play.

-Right, yeah.

-It's bowing, as well.

-Yeah.

And when you touch it there you can feel, like, it moving.

Yeah, that's not looking good at all, is it?

Careful. This could end up seriously hurting someone here.

It's seriously dangerous, isn't it?

With safety always being the top priority, Grant takes a closer look.

Crikey! Whose rubbish is this over the back?

Sorry to get off the subject, but look at this!

Unbelievably, it seems that a section of the garden

has been fenced off and is now being used as a dumping ground.

It's horrendous. I mean there's shopping trolleys,

hardcore, fence panels, all sorts there.

What's happened, Grant, apparently, is when nine moved out

and seven moved out, they were cleaned out and they were just

chucking the rubbish over here.

Is this for use for all of the properties?

-Yeah, it was supposed to be.

-So, like, a little garden area?

He was supposed to be opening the gardens up to make

-the gardens look bigger.

-Yeah.

-The smell. Have you smelled it?

-No, I mean...

HE SIGHS

Kids can't come out to play.

There's nowhere for the kids to play.

-We've got a nappy in the tree there, look.

-Yeah.

-Better check the bins there, as well.

-Rats, isn't it?

-Have you noticed any rats about?

-I know my neighbour has.

-Right, OK.

This quantity of rubbish poses a serious health hazard

to anyone who lives here.

We need to deal with this urgently.

What started off for Ian and Grant as a routine inspection

has now escalated into something that needs immediate action.

OK, well, I made some notes. We know what's going on here.

Basically, there's quite a few things we're going to

-require your landlord to do.

-Right, OK.

Not least of which, to clear all that stuff from the back.

But there are other things here, as well.

I mean, your windows in particular, you need to be able to ventilate.

We need to see a gas safety certificate.

-So, what we do is we write a letter to your landlord.

-Right.

It will basically set out what we want him to do.

We'll send a letter to you with a copy of what we're

-asking your landlord to do.

-OK.

-OK, we'll be in touch.

-Thank you.

-OK, no problems. Thanks a lot, and see you soon.

-Thank you.

Coming up, Ian and Grant meet the tenants next door.

It's all wet under there.

God, it's running.

And they discover a botched attempt to fix a bedroom window.

-That's a real neat bit of putty work there.

-Is it?

It's like it's been done with a catapult.

-Right, let's go and have a look.

-Please.

Britain is getting older.

There are more than 11 million people over 65 in this country,

and over 600,000 of them live in council-run sheltered accommodation.

I'm in Stevenage to visit a scheme where housing officer

Valerie Chalkley keeps a watchful eye over her residents.

-Hello, Val. I'm Matt.

-Hi, Matt, I'm Valerie.

Nice to meet you, how are you?

I'm the sheltered housing officer for Shaftesbury Court.

-Oh, marvellous, that's why we're here.

-Absolutely.

-I understand you've got a resident you'd like me to meet?

-I have, Miss June Moring.

-Second floor?

-Yep, lovely.

-Let's go.

Sheltered housing schemes normally comprise of anything between 20

and 40 self-contained flats or bungalows

and they have communal areas such as lounges and laundry rooms.

This scheme in Stevenage has been June's home for over 11 years.

But recent battles with damp in her flat

have been causing her some major headaches.

Since they put the new shower in and put all the new pipe work in

I've got nothing but dampness.

I'm not very happy about it.

It's stressful.

As a trainee housing officer,

I've come to see what we can do about June's problem.

This is the lounge piece.

-Lovely. So, this is a studio flat?

-Studio flat.

-So, you've got this room...

-And the bedroom through there.

Oh, look at that. It's very cosy here, isn't it?

And would you like to see the kitchen?

I would like to see the kitchen.

Do you know what? It's very bright and light and clean.

It's fantastic, isn't it?

'Well, Matt, it may be sparkling on the surface

'but there's a hidden enemy lurking in this flat.'

-I've got problems here with the dampness at the moment.

-Yeah.

-So, this is the area where there's problems?

-Yes.

-So, they've come out in the last two days, really?

-Yes.

-To sort it out.

-That's right.

-They pulled the fridge out, scrape it away, redecorate...

-Yes.

-..and it's already back again.

-It's back again.

-So what's that all about, then?

-We don't know, we've got to investigate.

I've had all the shower ripped out, and they found a leak there,

but that's been repaired and everything's going away properly.

It's clear that the disruption caused by the damp

is putting a bit of a strain on June.

They've had all this off, the tiles and the shower off,

-and they can't find no leak behind there at all.

-Right.

-Are you worried about having them in to do more work?

-Em, I do...

-It's a terrible mess afterwards and I'm quite a clean person.

-I can tell.

I can tell that. But there's having it clean,

and then there's having it clean to your own standards.

-They're two different things, aren't they?

-Yes.

'And the damp has started to creep out of the bathroom

'and into the hall.'

It's lifting the paper off, isn't it?

-And it's going out to the hallway now, as well.

-Yeah.

-That's the thing, cos your flat is so perfect...

-Yeah.

..that any little thing,

-you're going to notice it straight away.

-Yes.

'But for council tenants in sheltered accommodation,

'help is always at hand.'

What I do, I report to Val, the warden, she gets in touch

with the contractors, and then they come to see me.

-They do that quite quickly?

-Quite quickly, yes.

-That's good news.

'I've made my assessment, so it's time for a debrief with Val.'

-How did it go?

-Yeah, really, really good.

-This is a big responsibility, this place, isn't it?

-Very, yeah.

I mean, not only have you got the people that are here,

but the building itself, it seems...

It's maintainable, as well.

So, if any repairs or anything like that,

I have to make sure the repairs are done.

So I've got all the repairs, the ambulance calls

if anybody falls or anything like that,

medical conditions, things like that. It's a big responsibility.

-How many residents?

-I've got 48.

She's a lovely lady, June,

but it feels like one of those jobs that's going to take...

-It's not going to take one visit.

-No, no.

It's been decorated three times and, because it's continuous,

something must be there for him to do it. But we can't understand

where the leak is coming from. It's not coming from above,

it's only starting halfway down, but it's not going down below.

-Right.

-Because I've checked the tenant down below.

Here's the thing, though, Val -

if you're here talking to me who's looking after the block?

-Ah, got my telephone.

-So, you're never off duty.

-Never off duty, no.

-If they pull the cord, I'm there.

-Yep, that's it.

-That comes through.

-It was lovely meeting you.

-You too.

-Take care.

-Thank you.

Coming up, the situation in June's flat is worse than expected.

Soaking, absolutely soaking.

Back in Clacton-on-Sea, housing officers Ian Kavanagh

and Grant Fenton-Jones were inspecting two neighbouring

properties when they made a shocking discovery.

Crikey! Whose rubbish is this over the back? Look at this!

Right we need to deal with this urgently.

They're now on the way to meet mum of two Tracey Hunnel,

who lives next door.

Hiya, from the council. We've come to see you. Thank you very much.

You've got a window there that's really rotten, haven't you?

If you look here, look, there's a big draught coming through there.

BABY CRIES

I should think there is.

The glass is loose, as well, Ian. Yep, OK, lovely.

-Thank you very much.

-If you go into the kitchen...

-Right, OK.

House-proud Tracey has lived in the property for just under a year.

I've complained to the landlord on a number of occasions

about the issues in the property, and it's just so cold in here.

The children have to come down in blankets.

My daughters have had chest infections after chest infections.

It's just a nightmare.

This leaks here, where all the water runs down.

Yep, yep.

And all under here is all rotting. It's all wet under there.

-It's all damp as hell under here, Ian.

-That's what I said.

God, it's running.

It's disgusting and it's so cold in here.

I put £75 on my gas.

in one week.

Got a water leak on a flexi-hose under here, Ian.

A plastic tee, as well, here.

-Have you got a certificate for this?

-No, I've got nothing.

-How long have you been here?

-I've been here nine months.

Is your hot water and heating working all right?

It's not a lot of heat.

-No, but the rads get hot?

-Yeah, the rads get hot.

-Some of them do, some of them don't.

-What about your hot water?

-Some of them don't, that's the key.

-The hot water's OK.

Right, that's what I wanted to know,

whether the heating actually gets cold.

-If you show us which ones don't...

-That's what I will do.

-Right, OK.

-Can we just have a look out the back here?

-Yeah, of course you can.

-Is that all right?

-Yeah, door's open.

Tracey's also worried about a window to one of the children's

bedrooms that's definitely seen better days.

Nice bit of putty work, look at that.

That is a real neat bit of putty work there.

Looks like it's been done with a catapult.

It was yeah, I reckon they just, like...

-Sorry?

-Can't open the windows.

That does surprise me, you can't open that window.

It's not UPVC, it's not timber-framed windows we've got here.

-It's putty-framed windows.

-Single glazed putty window.

Single glazed putty windows!

Right, let's go and have a look at these.

-This is where all the heat's going.

-They're shocking, ain't they?

-Yep.

-That's been painted shut.

-And we have to live here.

I reckon you did this, Ian, didn't you?

It's got all the hallmarks of your work.

THEY LAUGH

-Actually, they've done a better job than I would have done.

-Yeah.

And the problems keep on coming.

Cor blimey, feel the floor, Ian.

If you had a few drinks you'd know about it, wouldn't you?

There's a hole there.

Oh, right. Are you actually getting rain water through?

-Yeah, we get rain water through there.

-Right.

Cos those windows are rotting.

Right. It does open, but it doesn't...

-Sort of.

-Just be careful you don't kill anyone outside.

Sort of holds up.

There's a little bit of rot in that one.

My kids' one, in the back bedroom, you cannot open at all.

It's not good for these kids. No. We'll do something.

We'll get him to have a look at it, won't we?

Despite all the problems, Grant and Ian have a plan.

-What we'll do is we'll get a letter out to your landlord.

-Right.

We're going to require him to do some work. There's less work required here

-than there is next door.

-Right.

One of the main things we want to get sorted out

is all that rubbish in the back garden.

-It's disgusting isn't it?

-Shocking, ain't it?

It's all rats in there and everything.

-You've actually seen rats, have you?

-Yeah we have, yeah.

-Right, OK.

OK, That's one of the main things we need to get sorted out as well.

-OK then.

-I'll write a letter to your landlord, I'll send a copy of what

-I've asked him to do to you, as well.

-OK.

-Thank you. Thanks for coming.

-Thank you very much.

-Yep, cheerio.

Say goodbye to the doggy.

Cheerio, mate. Good boy.

-See you later on.

-Thank you.

-OK, cheers.

-Thanks a lot.

Both families will need help from the council to put pressure

on their landlord to sort out the problems.

But the serious health hazard in the back gardens

is Grant's first priority.

My main concern at the moment is to get this rubbish cleared.

We'll serve a notice. If it's not complied with, we'll do it.

Then we'll obviously go after the money as a debt to the landlord.

The landlord owns all the properties along there

so he's got the responsibility to clear all of that rubbish.

Just a few weeks later and things have changed beyond recognition.

It's taken Grant and Ian's clean-up team the best part of a day

to clear all the rubbish and hazardous waste from the rear garden.

And now they're back to check on the progress.

Cor blimey, you've been busy.

Crikey, what a difference.

And the trampoline's gone, and the swing.

And all the brick rubble. Blimey.

-Any vermin or anything?

-No, none at all.

-Can we get them bikes out, do you reckon, or not?

-I'll have a go.

-Just the two bikes.

-I was going to say, it's a bit iffy.

I know that's a bit iffy but if we can get rid of them

that would be brilliant.

Lovely, wahey!

There you are, Ian. New bike for you, mate, look.

I reckon you can restore that.

That'll do. Smashing.

Crikey.

Look at that over there, they've even done the...

-They've even got rid of the dog's mess.

-I know.

Everything's gone. You've left a nappy, look.

I've got David Bellamy coming to look at these new nappy trees.

They're good, aren't they?

-You'd have thought they'd have got that down, wouldn't you?

-Yeah.

Way!

Wahey!

Cheers, chaps. Well done.

-No worries.

-Have a chocolate lolly.

-Yeah.

We had quite a result, really,

cos the actual landlord who owns these properties,

he lives quite a way away.

So he was unaware of how bad it's got and that his managing agent

hadn't made him aware and certainly hadn't sorted it out.

So we gave him a price to do it and we done it,

so we'll claim the money back.

For the tenants, the council clean up now means

the gardens are a much safer place.

I'm just really happy that they've managed to come out and do it now.

I mean, the kids can now really come out and start to play

and make it their own garden again.

And now Grant's been in direct contact with the landlord,

he's confident the other problems inside the properties will be

dealt with quickly.

We've served schedules of work on the landlord and he's in the process

of doing the work, so they've got a slightly longer timeframe on them

than the rubbish because, obviously, the possibility of vermin.

So, this was urgent, so we had to get this done.

So, all in all, good result, really.

In Stevenage, council tenant June Moring's been battling

with an ongoing problem with damp in her sheltered accommodation flat.

I'm not very happy about it.

It's stressful.

But June's housing officers are on the case

and they've assigned site manager Jim Crowley and project manager

Richard Crook to sort out the problem once and for all.

What we'll do is I'll get a couple of the lads here tomorrow

and we'll spend some time in the corridor checking that out,

looking in the floor there.

So, we'll have a look in there and see if we can find a reason

for this intermittent damp.

-Obviously, the leak from the shower is not the problem any more.

-No.

-There's another inherent problem there. OK?

-Yes.

Talking to Richard, it's reassuring for me to learn first hand

just how well looked after some elderly people are.

No wonder there are long waiting lists

for this type of accommodation.

-This is people's homes.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And it matters.

Especially for the elder residents that are in the borough.

We have to give them the attention that they need.

-They can phone us any time of the day if there's a problem.

-Yeah.

-We provide that service for the council.

-Great stuff.

The following day, housing officer Mandy Minto visits June's flat

with site manager Jim to talk her through exactly what works

are going to be carried out.

-Hi, June.

-Morning, June.

We're going to take the vinyl floor up and see if there's any damp

underneath it, and then we'll take it from there.

Because there's existing pipe work as well as new pipe work we put in,

it is very difficult.

But once we find it we can cure it, and that's all we need to do.

Part of the exploratory work will involve taking up some flooring.

There is the possibility that there is something going on underneath

that hasn't been seen that we need to sort of look at,

so we're hoping that will show where it's coming from

and be fairly straightforward to rectify.

An end to this nightmare can't come too soon for June.

It's really a pain because I'm fed up with it now.

They've had the bathroom out, they've had the shower out,

they've had the toilet out.

I hope when they come back on Tuesday

and pull the floor up they can solve the problem.

Because, if not, this is going to keep going on and on and on.

When Tuesday rolls around Jim's on June's doorstep

bright and early, keen to detect the cause of the damp.

What we're going to do this morning, June,

-we're going to protect the carpet out here.

-Thank you.

And then we're going to take up the vinyl in the bathroom,

see what's underneath, run the shower to see

if anything's coming still from the shower and then we'll assess it then.

Depending on what we find, I'll tell you what we're going to do afterwards.

-One way or the other, we'll leave you safe and tidy today.

-Yeah.

-OK?

And it's all systems go, with extra care taken to protect house-proud

June's flat from further damage.

We're going to hope when they take the flooring up

it's going to be wet through and we've solved the problem.

And, within half an hour, June's bathroom floor is ripped up

revealing the cause of the problem.

-What have we got there then?

-I'm all wrapped up this morning.

It's soaking.

There you go, it's soaking.

What we do have on site,

we have a guest room that the residents can use.

Obviously, it's just to stay in.

So, I think I'll discuss it with June

and ask June if she's prepared to go up to the guest room

for a few days, and we'll take this tray out.

Cos this is absolutely soaking.

It might be an original pipe that we didn't know under there.

-Until we take that out we don't know.

-Yeah.

-But at least we're on the right track now.

-Thank God for that.

-Yeah.

Right before her eyes, June's pristine bathroom

is being pulled apart to get to the source of the damp.

It smells.

Very mouldy and damp.

We found a leak on an existing pipe here, so we're going to repair that.

We're going to dry this bathroom out with a dehumidifier and heaters.

We're going to take all of the tiles off the wall and replace everything.

After ten months of chaos,

there's finally light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm much happier now they've found the leak.

This is the third time that they're rigging the bathroom out.

I do hope that they leave it nice and clean,

the same way as they found it this morning.

I'm going to put these in here then we'll get the dehumidifier as well.

So that you can't trip over it.

That's it there. I've taped that up. Just please be careful when you walk

in and out where we've put the cable across from the wall socket.

-I will, yeah.

-Thanks for your time.

-That's all right.

It's another victory for the housing officers

and staff at this enterprising sheltered housing scheme.

June's very happy that we've found the problem.

Obviously, not with the disruption, but she's happy

we've found the problem and we're going to put it all right.

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.