Episode 11 The Housing Enforcers


Episode 11

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Transcript


LineFromTo

Hello, can you just let me in?

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

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I wouldn't keep my dog there is the honest truth.

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'But for thousands of people across the UK the reality can be

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'more hovel than home.'

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The house is falling to bits. There's nothing I can do.

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In the battle for decent housing...

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We've just got conditions that are just appalling.

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I don't know how the people are coping, to be quite honest.

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

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If somebody had died here you'd be standing in a Coroner's Court.

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'I'm Matt Allwright, and I'm back with The Housing Enforcers.'

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-15 people in this house?

-15 people total, living in here.

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'I'll be with them as they tackle problem properties

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'and slum conditions...'

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-It really does look shanty town.

-Yeah, it is not up to standard.

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'..as they deal with dodgy landlords, nightmare neighbours

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'and everything in between...'

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Oh, my God, straight away there's the smell of dog muck.

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You never know what you're going to find.

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'..to help those in need of a happy and healthy home.'

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'Today, police and council officers join forces to investigate

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'a landlord's unlawful bedsits.'

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You don't get fridges like this in a busy communal kitchen.

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'And housing officers discover one problem after another

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'at an elderly couple's home.'

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-No way we can put anything in that one...

-No.

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Every year, more of us rent the homes that we live in

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and every year rents go up.

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For those of us chasing cheaper housing, that can mean

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enduring living conditions so bad that they break the law.

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I'm working alongside the men and women

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whose job it is to uphold those laws.

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They are The Housing Enforcers.

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Here in Dudley, I'm joining housing officer Ian Bowen.

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Today he's on a mission to investigate three houses

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all owned by the same landlord.

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They've been split up into unlawful bedsits, with tiny kitchens

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which pose a risk to tenants' safety,

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so he's been ordered to turn them back into shared properties.

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But there are fears he hasn't done the work properly

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and is still breaching planning permission.

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The council is taking this pretty seriously.

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It's a big operation, with the local police here too.

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Talk me through exactly why we're here in the first place.

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We've had a call from the Planning Department.

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They're taking enforcement action with regards to the property.

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It's been subdivided into more flats than is allowed.

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And does he know we're coming, is he going to be there?

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He's arranged to meet the planners.

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-So there could be a few of us in there today?

-Yes.

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So they're coming back today to have a look to see whether

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the landlord has put it back to comply with the planning permission.

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The first house officers are inspecting should now have

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just one flat on each floor, instead of several bedsits.

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To comply with council safety rules, the landlord's been ordered

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to remove kitchen equipment from individual bedsits, leaving

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each tenant with their own bedroom, but sharing a communal kitchen.

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Ian and Carl from the council's Planning Department

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are here to see if the landlord has done the work in a way that

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protects the safety of the tenants.

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Although as we make our way to the upstairs flat,

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things don't look too promising.

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So, you've got no handrails on the stairs at all,

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and it leads straight down to a very sudden end,

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hitting a big fire door, an external door at the end.

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And nice, hard, uncarpeted steps on the way down -

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you could really do yourself some damage.

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'And the facilities don't improve much once inside.'

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HE CHUCKLES

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Look at that. That's a new design that I haven't seen before.

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'If the landlord has done what's been asked, none of the bedrooms

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'in this building should now have any cooking facilities.

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'Fortunately we're able to check,

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'as one of the tenants lets us look around.'

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Talk us through your flat.

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That's my bedroom, that's my wardrobe, that's my living room,

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that was my kitchen, and that's my bathroom.

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OK, so that was your kitchen. You've got your own fridge here.

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-Yeah, that's all mine.

-Do you have a sink and everything?

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Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was in there.

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They took it out and we've got to use the communal kitchen next door.

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OK, so why was that? Do you know?

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Er... Not really, no.

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-Thank you so much for letting us in.

-It's all right, mate.

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'From what I can see, it looks like the landlord hasn't removed

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'kitchens from the bedsits. He's just taken out the sinks.

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'But it's cooking that poses the biggest fire risk

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'in these tiny rooms.

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'With a fully functioning shared kitchen,

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'that danger should be reduced.'

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So here we have a kitchen which doesn't have

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the feel of a regularly used shared kitchen.

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For instance, I don't know about you

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but at home, my kettle isn't held together with Blu-Tack.

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My fridge, let's see...

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..definitely doesn't look like that.

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'And you'll wait a long time for your soup

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'to heat up on this hob. It's not working.'

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It's on number six. That's not going to cook your tea.

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So it's not working as a kitchen, clearly no-one's using it,

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and we've just got a dead space.

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'This is why inspections like this are so important.

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'Landlords need to obey the rules or else tenants can get a raw deal,

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'being forced to pay for facilities that are substandard or unsafe.

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'The flat downstairs is also supposed to have

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'a new, shared kitchen.'

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You don't get fridges like this in a busy communal kitchen.

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'So the kitchens have been removed from the bedrooms,

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'but the housing team is not convinced they've been

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'properly replaced by the facilities that we've seen.

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'This visit has definitely opened my eyes,

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'but coming up, things get even worse.'

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These shouldn't be here at all, these shouldn't be separate units.

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The owner's known this for a long time.

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Here in Swale, the council are looking not to just deal with

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the problems of today's housing,

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they're looking to the future too.

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A local study suggests this region is set to see a significant

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increase in the number of older residents.

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An ageing population is clearly going to present

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very specific challenges.

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Housing Officer Susan Hughes works with the council's

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Staying Put agency.

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The Staying Put service are there to actually help

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vulnerable and elderly and disabled clients to remain in their own home.

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Everybody wants to stay in their own home, and it is quite important.

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But as they get older, repairs get harder and they quite often

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just ignore it - rather than sort out the problem they will ignore it.

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They also need adaptations more -

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rails up the stairs, that sort of thing -

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and if it's left their house will get into disrepair,

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clients can fall, hurt themselves...

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Lots of things can happen.

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Susan's on her way to what on the face of it

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looks like a routine appointment to help deal with some

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maintenance issues at a client's home.

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But something small can sometimes be a symptom of a much larger problem.

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We're going over to see a couple that live in Faversham.

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So this couple own their home,

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and they've lived in it all their married life.

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They've been with us before, they've had a few issues that we've had to

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help with them - mainly clutter and a few little minor repairs -

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and we've had our handyperson out do a lot of jobs,

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but they called us again because they have a hole in the floor.

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Our handyperson went out and it's a bit too big for him

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to actually sort out, so I'm going out to have a look

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and I'm going to get a builder out there.

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Rose, whose husband has been battling a brain infection,

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has called for some help after another visitor to her home

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put her foot through the floor.

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The nurse came to give my husband his insulin

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and she went through it.

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I wasn't here but I would have liked to have seen the look on her face!

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I have been keeping out of its way, otherwise I'd be down it.

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Sadly for Rose, the hole around the fireplace was just

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one in a long line of recent mishaps.

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Rose has just returned from hospital after suffering a nasty fall.

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I got out of bed to go to the bathroom,

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went in the bathroom -

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the next minute I was tumbling down the stairs.

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I fractured it, fractured the humerus.

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It's clearly a delicate situation.

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With Rose's recent tumble and her husband's serious illness,

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Susan needs to be assured the couple are safe in their own home.

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Fortunately, she's got Phil the builder in tow

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to look at the repairs.

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-How are you?

-All right, thank you.

-I've brought a builder...

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-As right as expected.

-Yeah.

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I've brought a builder to come and have a look, and if you can show me

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this hole in the floor to see what can be done, OK?

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You lead the way, all right? See what there is.

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Oh, right.

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Well, it's not in an AWKWARD place, that is one thing.

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I don't think it's too major. We'll see what Phil says anyway.

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What we'll have to do is move you out the way for a while and do some

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exploratory digging out here,

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take some boards up to see exactly what's happened.

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But it's nothing to worry about, your house isn't going to fall down.

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We'll come back with a bit of boarding over it for you,

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so you don't trip over it. Just be aware it's there.

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We don't want you having an accident, so...

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The repair seems very straightforward,

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but Susan's more concerned about whether the hole in the floor

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is part of a wider problem with the couple's living conditions.

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Two years ago the council spent three days clearing out

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huge piles of clutter from the downstairs room.

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It's not as cluttered as it was, you're keeping it under control.

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What about the other rooms, are they all OK? Yeah?

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Well, at the moment, I'm not going up the stairs.

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I'm a bit...

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-Are you sleeping downstairs as well?

-I'm sleeping here.

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That's not very good, sleeping in a chair.

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How do you manage that?

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Can't you get another bed put in the front room?

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-No.

-Cos that's where your husband sleeps.

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You don't want another bed put in there?

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I don't think there's room.

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Rose's recent fall has left her too shaken to go back upstairs,

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but her downstairs sleeping arrangements

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are clearly less than ideal.

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While Rose's husband is out having a medical check-up,

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Susan wants to see if she can get an extra bed in his room.

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Can I just have a look at your front room?

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I am still worried about you sleeping in a chair.

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Right. Oh, OK...

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There could be space if things were moved around, don't you think?

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We could move that over a little bit.

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Why are all those things here?

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Is it really important that there's a table there?

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You'll have to ask my husband that because I don't know the reason.

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Right. Cos if you moved that table,

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you would fit in a little bed, wouldn't you?

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You may have to get another bed, but at least you're sleeping in a bed,

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it's awful that you're not.

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I think we need again someone here just to help move a few bits...

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If we put the chairs upstairs somewhere?

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-Yeah...

-Is there room up there?

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Sure we can...

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We haven't been up there in a while, we'll go up and have a quick look.

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This is a worrying sign.

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It looks as though the couple's past problems

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with hoarding of possessions are beginning to creep back.

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And when they get upstairs, there's a shock for Susan.

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The bedrooms are all overflowing with belongings.

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It's unlikely anything from downstairs is going to find a home.

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No. No room at all.

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No. No way we can put anything in that one...

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Obviously they want to keep lots of the stuff,

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which is why it's been brought up.

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It's dolls, and she's done lots of knitting. It's just not

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been put in an easy way that you can even get to anything, really.

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One of these rooms needs to be emptied.

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De-cluttered again.

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Then we can put everything from downstairs up here.

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This is a blow for Susan.

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If the clutter keeps building up,

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it could become a serious health risk to Rose and her husband.

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And there's more bad news in the bathroom.

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The tub is in a terrible state, and the toilet is broken.

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The cistern's in the bath.

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I don't know how they flush it.

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In an emergency you can have a standpipe and a bucket, but...

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Well, there must be one downstairs, we'll go and ask.

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They obviously don't come up here, then.

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OK. The bath hasn't been used for gosh knows...

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We'll go have a word with her anyway, but... Yeah.

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We've just been upstairs, it is still quite cluttered.

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What do you do for your toilet now?

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I've got a commode for now but there is one out there.

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What worries me is how do you empty the toilet now?

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Do you have to go outside? Do you carry it?

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My husband does that.

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-He goes to the outside toilet and goes down there?

-Yeah.

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And how's he doing that? Because he was quite poorly,

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he was dragging his feet... Is he able to do that OK?

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-Not really.

-No. So we do need to look at that.

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And do you feel safe to go outside at the moment?

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-No.

-No.

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The problems here are even bigger than Susan was expecting.

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With no working indoor toilet and rooms filled with clutter,

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quick action is needed

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if this couple are going to be able to remain living in their own home.

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You've got to think about whether

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you ever are going to go back upstairs.

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If you do go upstairs, you could apply for a disabled grant

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to have a shower room put in.

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It's something to think about.

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Yeah. I'll get Phil to quote for that as well.

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-Quite happy with him.

-Yeah. She's happy with you, there you are.

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-OK.

-You'll do.

-All right.

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Today's visit demonstrates that even if you are an experienced

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housing officer like Susan, you just never know

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what challenges you're going to face when you walk through a front door.

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Very often we go out to clients and they've asked for one thing,

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and then when we go in there we find a lot more. Lots of people

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don't realise exactly what's wrong with their property.

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They've always lived like it so they don't realise it's a problem

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and it's not till we go in that we realise this.

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This is why we're really encouraging people to let us in

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and do health and safety checks.

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Susan and her team are there

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to offer help and advice wherever they can.

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And as far as Rose is concerned,

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she's determined to make the house safer for the future.

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I don't like her sleeping in a chair. She seems used to it,

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but that is going to cause problems long term,

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so we've got to think about whether

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we can clear the front room and get her bed in there.

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So the more confident she is in her home walking around, the better.

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Oh, I'm just glad that there's somebody that is willing to help.

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We'll have to wait and see.

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See what Susan comes up with.

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Coming up... Susan tries to tackle the growing problem

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of Rose's clutter.

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Have you managed to find anything to throw away, or not?

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You're going to keep the pen. Right.

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Defending our right to a safe place to live

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is the job of housing officers right across the UK.

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This is not really an acceptable way of leaving the property behind.

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Do you think?

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I'm working alongside the men and women that do exactly that.

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-Top marks.

-Yes!

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'I'm hitting the streets...'

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Hello, can you open up?

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Definitely somebody inside because we've seen movement.

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'..finding out what's happening on the front line...'

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That's ready to collapse.

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Let's get it sorted.

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..and learning what it takes to make sure a house

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is a fit place to call a home.

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I'm very shocked. This is ridiculous.

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You shouldn't have people living in here.

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Back in Dudley, and I'm with a team from the local council,

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and police, investigating a number of houses

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owned by the same landlord.

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He's been served enforcement notices demanding

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he turn the individual flats he owns back to shared properties.

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That means he's supposed to remove any kitchen facilities from his

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tenants' bedrooms, and provide fully working communal kitchens instead.

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Something the housing team suspect he hasn't done.

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If they find evidence today that the landlord hasn't done the work

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he's been ordered to do, he'll face prosecution.

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It's worth remembering that we're not just talking about rules

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and regulations here. These are not just

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jobsworth approaches to these properties,

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these are to make sure the people inside these properties have

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enough space and amenities to live a half decent sort of life.

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'I wonder if the second property might prove to be any better.

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'Again, the landlord IS supposed to have converted this place

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'back into a single flat, complete with a safe

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'and fully functioning communal kitchen.'

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So, here we are. We're in the loft space.

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What was a kitchen area.

0:17:070:17:10

No fridge... No cooker there now.

0:17:100:17:13

'The room is home to Leanne.

0:17:130:17:15

'And it seems the landlord's renovations up here

0:17:150:17:17

'haven't improved things much.'

0:17:170:17:19

Are you hoping to stay here long term

0:17:190:17:21

or do you want to move somewhere else?

0:17:210:17:23

-No. I want to move.

-Yeah?

-Definitely.

0:17:230:17:25

Why do you want to move out of here?

0:17:250:17:28

Because it's not big enough. I've got a ten-year-old, so...

0:17:280:17:31

Have you? So does your ten-year-old stay with you here?

0:17:310:17:34

No. No, no, at my mum's.

0:17:340:17:36

'Despite the landlord removing the kitchen sink,

0:17:360:17:39

'this room still has the feel of a bedsit,

0:17:390:17:42

'but now without the benefit of privacy or independence.'

0:17:420:17:46

Do you wash up, do you prepare your food,

0:17:460:17:49

do everything up here?

0:17:490:17:50

No. I prepare my food up here,

0:17:500:17:53

I have to go downstairs for the kitchen.

0:17:530:17:55

This is somewhere that shouldn't be occupied at all.

0:17:550:17:57

According to Planning, there shouldn't be anyone here.

0:17:570:18:00

'At least the shared kitchen looks a little better than the first

0:18:000:18:04

'property. But I'm not sure the changes go far enough.'

0:18:040:18:08

This floor that we're on now should be one unit. One flat.

0:18:080:18:13

I think we've got... two, maybe three, is it?

0:18:130:18:16

The first two properties have followed a familiar,

0:18:160:18:19

if depressing, pattern.

0:18:190:18:21

The landlord's supposed to have turned the third property

0:18:210:18:23

back into a shared house too.

0:18:230:18:25

The deadline for doing the work passed some time ago.

0:18:250:18:28

'While we're waiting to get inside,

0:18:280:18:30

'I'm distracted by the unusual letterbox set-up.'

0:18:300:18:33

So this is what I don't understand.

0:18:350:18:36

These are the letterboxes for these flats.

0:18:360:18:39

There are five flats. How do I know which one is which?

0:18:390:18:41

Well, you don't. The tenants don't either when we asked them.

0:18:410:18:46

It doesn't almost matter cos when you see inside,

0:18:460:18:48

you can't get it anyway, so...

0:18:480:18:50

So you have to reach in to get your post from this side anyway?

0:18:500:18:54

Yeah. So it just drops down.

0:18:540:18:57

So it drops down inside the wall?

0:18:570:18:59

-Yeah.

-So you never receive your post anyway?

-No.

0:18:590:19:01

'It doesn't bode well for the rest of the house.

0:19:010:19:04

'Unfortunately, once we do make our way upstairs,

0:19:040:19:07

'it's easy to see that the accommodation

0:19:070:19:09

'is less than luxurious.'

0:19:090:19:10

Yeah. So in theory, anyway, this could be a sort of bedroom possibly?

0:19:130:19:19

But this shouldn't be here at all,

0:19:190:19:21

these shouldn't be separate units.

0:19:210:19:23

The owner's known this for a long time.

0:19:230:19:26

These are legal criteria, these are specifications,

0:19:260:19:31

but they're there for a very simple reason

0:19:310:19:33

and that's to protect the people who occupy these places.

0:19:330:19:36

Because you can tell

0:19:360:19:38

this is not somewhere that's designed for individual occupation.

0:19:380:19:43

That's your washing facility there.

0:19:430:19:46

You can't even get in it at the moment. It's ludicrous.

0:19:460:19:50

Thank you. Bye-bye.

0:19:500:19:52

'It's been a long, wet and frankly depressing day for all of us.

0:19:520:19:55

'I'm hoping the council might have some solutions for the tenants

0:19:550:19:58

'I've met today.'

0:19:580:20:00

So three properties, one owner, all in sort of different stages.

0:20:020:20:07

In fact what we found was a mishmash of a shared property,

0:20:070:20:12

and individual bedsit units which you could lock the door.

0:20:120:20:17

I mean, the conditions that resulted from that were pretty miserable,

0:20:170:20:21

-weren't they?

-Yeah.

0:20:210:20:24

The kitchens are not operating, the rooms again are small,

0:20:240:20:27

you've not got the facilities, really. Things have been taken away

0:20:270:20:31

from the tenants,

0:20:310:20:33

rather than a better facility being provided.

0:20:330:20:37

So what is it that we're going to do?

0:20:370:20:39

From a planning point of view those notices are in place

0:20:390:20:42

and they've been in place for some time,

0:20:420:20:44

plenty of time to comply with and therefore it's up to us now

0:20:440:20:46

to determine whether we think it's appropriate

0:20:460:20:48

to refer that to our legal team

0:20:480:20:50

to prosecute the owner for failing to comply with the notices.

0:20:500:20:53

'All of which sounds reasonable in the long term.

0:20:540:20:57

'But it's the short term that has me more concerned.'

0:20:570:21:00

Don't know what to make of these properties, honestly. They are...

0:21:010:21:05

They shouldn't be divided up in the way that they are

0:21:050:21:08

in the first place, and rather than put them back

0:21:080:21:11

the way they should be the landlord seems to have opted to

0:21:110:21:14

reconfigure them to look like shared houses.

0:21:140:21:17

But they are so miserable... So miserable.

0:21:170:21:21

I can't tell you.

0:21:210:21:23

And I'm trying to put my finger on why

0:21:230:21:25

they are like that - maybe it's just because the weather's terrible,

0:21:250:21:29

I don't know. But honestly, the effect it has on you...

0:21:290:21:32

They don't feel like places

0:21:320:21:34

where there's a way out again, if I'm honest with you.

0:21:340:21:37

The council is now pursuing action against the landlord.

0:21:460:21:49

They say he breached enforcement notices which ordered him

0:21:490:21:52

to comply with planning permission in all three properties.

0:21:520:21:55

They're building a case, and hope to bring it to court soon.

0:21:550:21:58

Back in Swale, housing enforcer Susan Hughes

0:22:030:22:07

from the council's Staying Put team is returning to Faversham,

0:22:070:22:10

where she went to help a couple with a maintenance problem,

0:22:100:22:13

but soon found a lot more needed fixing.

0:22:130:22:16

Went in the bathroom. Next minute,

0:22:170:22:20

I was tumbling down the stairs.

0:22:200:22:22

Susan discovered that even though she had a broken arm,

0:22:220:22:25

Rose was sleeping in a chair,

0:22:250:22:27

and that the couple are both struggling to cope with

0:22:270:22:29

disabilities, as their house fills up with clutter.

0:22:290:22:33

Today I'd like to talk a bit more to them about the clutter that

0:22:330:22:36

they've got, how that is their main problem, and if we could sort that

0:22:360:22:39

out then maybe some of the other issues could be addressed easier.

0:22:390:22:43

Susan needs to make sure that the jumble of possessions

0:22:430:22:46

doesn't once again build to dangerous levels.

0:22:460:22:49

It could cause falls or even block escape routes if there was a fire.

0:22:490:22:53

But first on her list is checking that

0:22:530:22:55

the hole in the floor has been taken care of.

0:22:550:22:58

Oh. That's looking good, isn't it?

0:22:580:22:59

Yeah, we're getting there.

0:22:590:23:01

The builders have actually covered it up and made it a lot safer,

0:23:010:23:04

and although it's not fireproof, it's not a proper hearth -

0:23:040:23:07

they'll have to pay for that if that's what they want -

0:23:070:23:10

but as it is at the moment

0:23:100:23:11

it's going to prevent her tripping on it or falling.

0:23:110:23:15

So that actually satisfies me that the job's done

0:23:150:23:17

and we've made it safer for her.

0:23:170:23:19

That's one down at least.

0:23:190:23:21

Next is Rose's unconventional bedtime arrangements.

0:23:210:23:25

I'm really not happy about you sleeping in that chair.

0:23:250:23:27

That's not good for you at all.

0:23:270:23:29

So we've got a couple of options there.

0:23:290:23:31

We can either try and declutter a bit of the front room so we can

0:23:310:23:34

move another bed in there, so you can sleep in where your husband is.

0:23:340:23:38

The other option is... That one would be quick, but the longer one

0:23:380:23:42

would be a stairlift could be put in.

0:23:420:23:45

Now, you can either fund that yourself or

0:23:450:23:47

you could apply for a disabled grant.

0:23:470:23:49

I've put a phone number down here, which is where you ring and then you

0:23:490:23:52

have to go through an assessment, they'll ask about your disabilities.

0:23:520:23:56

If it's feasible, I would go back upstairs.

0:23:560:24:00

You mustn't go up until we've sorted it out.

0:24:000:24:03

Till you've either got a stairlift and all the clutter gone...

0:24:030:24:06

So you need the stairlift put in, and you need to declutter.

0:24:060:24:08

But sleeping in a chair is not good for you, is it?

0:24:080:24:10

You're going to get a stiff neck soon.

0:24:100:24:12

Well, that would join my arm!

0:24:150:24:16

SUSAN LAUGHS

0:24:160:24:18

Rose agrees to try to get back upstairs,

0:24:180:24:21

but now Susan wants to help her mobility

0:24:210:24:23

around the rest of the house.

0:24:230:24:24

So you're going to have lots of rails everywhere

0:24:240:24:27

but I think it's just going to be safer for you. OK?

0:24:270:24:30

-Yeah.

-So if we do them all along

0:24:300:24:32

where there's a space on the corridor here. Yeah?

0:24:320:24:35

And the rails continue outside -

0:24:350:24:37

so the couple can get to the loo.

0:24:370:24:39

All right? How does that feel there?

0:24:400:24:43

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

0:24:430:24:44

I'll do it at that.

0:24:440:24:46

A little mark on there.

0:24:460:24:48

But Susan knows the main issue is the clutter.

0:24:480:24:52

With Rose sleeping in a chair

0:24:520:24:53

because there's no room for a bed downstairs,

0:24:530:24:56

Susan wants to help with the mammoth task of dealing with the hoarding.

0:24:560:25:00

If the couple can't keep on top of the amount of stuff

0:25:000:25:03

in the house, the problems are going to mount up.

0:25:030:25:07

Have you managed to find anything to throw away, or not?

0:25:070:25:10

I was just wondering if I could find your other shoe...

0:25:100:25:13

-No, I think that was thrown away.

-Oh, do you?

0:25:130:25:16

Well, if that's the case you could throw that one away then, can't you?

0:25:160:25:19

But that's in your knitting bag, so we need to have another bag...

0:25:190:25:22

You need to keep it in that bag for throwing away, don't you?

0:25:220:25:26

You're going to keep the pen. Right.

0:25:260:25:28

That's your throw-away bag, is it? That's it, put the shoe in it.

0:25:280:25:31

How about you have a little bag a day and go through things,

0:25:310:25:35

and then you might get rid of some of the stuff as it goes?

0:25:350:25:37

Yeah?

0:25:370:25:39

Small steps, maybe - but at least it's a start.

0:25:390:25:42

And Susan's wasting no time in trying to get the ball rolling

0:25:420:25:45

with Rose's much-needed stairlift.

0:25:450:25:48

Hi, all right - I'm with a client of mine,

0:25:480:25:50

I'm from Staying Put home improvement agency.

0:25:500:25:53

Erm... She's actually sleeping in a chair downstairs

0:25:530:25:55

cos she can't get upstairs.

0:25:550:25:57

The bathroom's upstairs

0:25:570:25:58

so she's having to use a commode and empty it outside.

0:25:580:26:01

So I think we need to look at getting her a disabled grant -

0:26:010:26:05

definitely for a stairlift, and maybe a shower room. OK?

0:26:050:26:08

So we've still got quite a lot to do. So Paul's going to come back

0:26:080:26:12

and he's going to put those rails along the corridor

0:26:120:26:15

to make it easier for you to walk.

0:26:150:26:17

And then I'll get two estimates for the toilet as well upstairs.

0:26:170:26:20

You think about the clutter as well -

0:26:200:26:21

think about whether you want a couple of hours,

0:26:210:26:24

somebody to come and help you declutter a bit more as well.

0:26:240:26:27

Thank you very much.

0:26:270:26:28

For Susan, this sort of case provides a lot of challenges.

0:26:280:26:32

It's a balancing act between trying to keep people in their own homes,

0:26:320:26:36

but also helping them to make important changes.

0:26:360:26:38

Bye.

0:26:380:26:40

Yes, it feels...

0:26:410:26:43

as though I've achieved something.

0:26:430:26:46

And we know it's going to take time.

0:26:460:26:48

Can't do it in five minutes, can we?

0:26:480:26:50

There's not so much as what there used to be,

0:26:500:26:55

but...Susan seems to think that we can get rid of a bit more.

0:26:550:26:59

We need to think about decluttering, that's the major thing.

0:26:590:27:03

We even managed to get rid of ONE bag of rubbish today.

0:27:030:27:06

Erm... OK, it was very small, but it's a start.

0:27:060:27:09

And I am worried about Rose falling again,

0:27:090:27:12

so we do need to sort of take it very carefully, certainly

0:27:120:27:16

with her husband, and make sure that we can make it safer and secure for

0:27:160:27:20

them, so they can carry on living in their own home independently.

0:27:200:27:24

Since we visited,

0:27:240:27:26

Susan's been looking into getting a lift installed in the couple's home.

0:27:260:27:29

They could then apply for a disability grant

0:27:290:27:32

to get a suitable bathroom installed upstairs.

0:27:320:27:35

In the meantime,

0:27:350:27:36

Susan's keeping a close eye on the couple's hoarding tendencies.

0:27:360:27:40

That's it for today. Join me next time

0:27:440:27:47

back on the road with The Housing Enforcers.

0:27:470:27:49

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