Episode 16 The Housing Enforcers

Hello, can you let me in?

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

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

But for thousands of people across the UK,

the reality can be more hovel than home.

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

In the battle for decent housing...

We've just got conditions that are just appalling.

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

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

If somebody had've died here,

you would have been standing in Coroner's Court.

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

-15 people in this house.

-15 people total living in here.

I'll be with them as they tackle problem properties

and slum conditions...

It really does look shantytown.

Yeah, it's not up to standard.

..as they deal with dodgy landlords,

nightmare neighbours and everything in between...

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

You never know what you're going to find.

..doing their best to help those in need of a happy and healthy home.

Today, terrible living conditions

leave a mother fearing for her family's health...

It's not safe for you, it's not safe for my children.

That just makes it even more upsetting.

..a terminally ill tenant is trapped in his own home by vandals.

He's totally reliant on the lift here.

He needs to enjoy the time he's got left.

..and an overcrowded flat puts lives in danger.

-Today there was five people living here.

-Yeah.

OK, so someone's lying to me, then.

We might not always know it, but there are people from every

local council whose job it is to make sure

we have a safe roof over our heads.

I'm working alongside the men and the women

who use the law to make sure we don't live in slums,

but in homes fit to raise a family or enjoy our retirement.

They can make sure that you have the facilities you need as

you get older.

They also have the power to start the process that can send

a bad landlord to prison or help evict a bad tenant.

They are the housing enforcers.

At Swale Borough Council, housing officer David Dale

is helping a mum of three from Croydon,

who was moved 45 miles away from friends and family.

She's now bringing up her kids in a dangerously run-down property.

Anne-Marie is worried that severe damp, rotten windows

and leaks are putting her children's health at serious risk.

-What's the purpose of the visit?

-We've served notice on the owner.

Attached to that was a list of works that we would want done.

We should therefore see quite a lot of this work either under way or

-completed.

-That would be our hope, yep.

David's asked housing officer Glyn Pritchard to join us

at the terraced house in Sittingbourne.

The tenant, Anne-Marie, was relocated here, 45 miles away

from friends and family in Croydon, nearly two years ago.

I'm interested to hear a bit about your story, then,

how you ended up here.

If you were in Croydon, how does that work?

It was because of the benefit cap.

I had a three-bedroomed flat on top of a shop in Croydon,

and it was 1,300 a month.

I actually asked the council if they could help me.

The rent was so high, they wouldn't pay that much rent.

They said they will relocate me out of Croydon.

Anne-Marie's on the waiting list

for a council property back in Croydon,

but high rents mean her benefits would only just cover the cost

of accommodation, leaving nothing for food and bills.

To make things worse, her current home is in a shocking state.

Have you got any hot water or heat in the house at the moment?

Just because the boiler looks like it's got no pressure on it.

Yeah, I keep having trouble with that. I have to keep

turning it on and off, and touching all the buttons to try

and get the hot water going.

Upstairs, things aren't any better.

Just hold on to the handrail.

Oh, look at that!

It's not just the dodgy banister we're concerned about.

You've got a damp wall there, we've got a rotting window.

There's a child standing on the end of the bed,

could go straight through.

Anne-Marie was absolutely right to complain to the council.

All the problems she's pointed out are genuine areas of concern

for David and Glyn.

We've got a single light bulb here.

The rose is not fixed to the ceiling at all.

What has happened to the piping over there?

These are pipes from the radiator upstairs.

They could be pulled away from the top so that, before you know it,

you're going to get water coming down if they get pulled off,

-damaged any further.

-These should be boxed in.

They should be boxed in, yeah.

This place obviously needs a lot of money spent on it.

Anne-Marie first complained to the landlord.

By law, he has to ensure that the property is maintained and safe.

When the work required wasn't done, she complained to the council,

but the landlord told the council that the problems are caused

by Anne-Marie herself.

You can't blame me,

because you can see for yourself

how bad the house is.

It hasn't just been like it, it's been like it for a long time.

What Anne-Marie says makes sense when you see her bathroom.

It's in a small extension at the back of the house, and the problem

is obvious as soon as we walk in.

So, you can smell the damp.

Yeah, the damp is overwhelming in here.

-All the paper is peeling off because it's so damp on the walls.

-Yeah.

An absolute minimum of care and attention

has been paid to this property

and the way it's been put together.

And it's not only in the bathroom.

We noticed that where the landlord has put a new back door

on the house, it's created yet another problem.

This is the new door that was fitted just a matter of weeks ago,

and already the damp is creeping up it.

-This is an internal fire door...

-Right.

..so it's not meant to be mounted on the outside of the house.

They saved money, chucked in an internal door

-that they might have had already and there we have the result.

-Yep.

And it's starting to degrade.

I know Anne-Marie has limited options,

but I am surprised she hasn't tried

to find an alternative to this place.

Why are you still here? It's in such a shocking condition, I'm just

interested to know what your other options are, why you'd choose to

stay somewhere which seems to have so many problems attached.

Well, I'm not choosing to stay here at the moment.

I am trying to get as much support and help as possible,

but Croydon Council is helping me.

As soon as they find me somewhere, then

I will be moving out as soon as possible.

You can't blame Anne-Marie for wanting a more suitable home

for her kids. In the meantime,

the landlord has a further two weeks to sort out

the problems at the house - or face prosecution.

Hopefully the threat of prosecution at the end might get him to do it.

If not, then, yeah, we will go down that route.

Later, David returns to see if the work has been done.

It hasn't been replaced, and it actually seems to have got

a little bit worse since we were last here.

In Hertfordshire, like many local authorities across the UK,

Stevenage Council works really hard to tackle vandalism and anti-social

behaviour, which can blight the lives of residents.

It's an ongoing problem for housing officers like Natasha Best, who's

dealing with a particularly heartbreaking situation today.

She's been called in to help a man with cancer,

who's just a few months left to live.

He's become trapped in his own home because of vandals.

Where he lives, there's only access by one lift,

and we've had a lot of problems

with youths recently damaging the lift.

So, because of his health problems, if the lift is damaged,

he can't leave his flat.

It's Natasha's job to find a new flat quickly

for someone who now has no choice but to leave the place

he's called home for 23 years.

He's simply too ill to walk down the stairs.

As you can see, it's not a very disability-friendly flat block.

There is steps, there's only one lift. It's not good, really.

Today Natasha is calling in to see Neill...

-Hi, Chris.

-Hi, Natasha, come on in.

..and his brother Chris, who's been a constant support

through months of treatment and surgery.

Hi, Neill.

Neill's had a problem eating for a long time,

but...well, at the beginning of this year, really,

he had cancer diagnosed.

Neill can't speak any more, but he wanted to tell us,

in his own words, what he's been going through.

He was diagnosed with cancer in the voice box.

Then he had six weeks of radiotherapy

at Mount Vernon Hospital.

He went out on his own, he was independent, took his own car out.

But the treatment didn't kill it.

The radiotherapy had not worked at all,

so he had to have surgery.

Neill's voice box and windpipe were removed,

but there was worse news to come.

It led to finding cancer at the base of his tongue.

For Neill, the loss of the tongue means that not only has he lost

the ability to speak, but he can't taste anything, he can't smile,

he can't...

He can't do so many things that we all take, you know,

so much for granted.

And then it wasn't too long after that final diagnosis

that Neill was told that there was nothing that could be done.

Neill knows he's got six months left, and things are not going to get any

easier. There's nothing he can do about it.

I was at the meeting when he was told that, and he...

He was much braver than I was.

He's incredibly brave.

I wanted to give him a cuddle,

and I reached forward to hold both his shoulders,

and because he was frightened, he jerked.

And that hurt, didn't it?

So, these little things like that can create problems.

Can't cuddle him.

Desperately want to, but can't.

"That'll stop him blubbing."

SHE LAUGHS

Clearly, the brothers are supporting each other through a very difficult

time, and Chris knows that being stuck in the flat

is making life even more miserable for Neill.

Well, he's totally reliant on the lift here.

He can't get up and down the stairs without it.

Do you feel kind of lonely and depressed being here?

-"Trapped." Yeah.

-Yeah.

If Neill was here for...

..much longer, he'd become totally marooned.

He needs to enjoy the time he's got left.

"It might mean I can start to get out and about a bit.

"Yes."

It's not much to ask for a man in Neill's situation,

and his family and friends are determined to make the transition as

easy as possible for him.

I mean, Neill's been here for 23 years,

and there are lots of memories and everything else here,

and making the move is quite difficult for him.

Natasha wants to move Neill into a sheltered home on the ground floor,

where he'll still be independent

but have a warden on hand if he needs help.

How do you think that you're going to manage with the move?

Do you think that you're going to cope OK?

"No problem." No problem. I'll see you on Thursday.

That's the nearest I've seen of a smile for a long time.

SHE LAUGHS

Later, we'll find out whether Natasha

has found Neill the new home he needs

in order to make the most of his last few months.

How are you feeling in yourself now?

"At this minute, very good."

Oxford, a seat of learning, and one of the most beautiful cities in

Britain. But for one in five of its residents,

life might not quite live up to that image.

They're living in shared houses, one kitchen and lots of bedrooms.

Housing officer Adrian Chowns

is the council's top man when it comes to

ensuring everyone in Oxford is safe in their own home.

To keep them safe,

the council started a licensing scheme for landlords,

to make sure basic things like proper fire alarms are fitted.

Family homes are excluded from this.

If a house has three or more unrelated people living in it,

the landlord needs a licence to show

he or she is complying with safety legislation.

What's our purpose?

We're going to have a look at a property above a restaurant.

Apparently the leaseholder

of the restaurant has put in some of his staff into the

accommodation above.

Right.

And also, allegedly, he's renting some other rooms

out to foreign students.

-So, what's the issue with that?

-Well, we've got the licence issue,

so, you know, we've got a multi-occupied property.

-So this could need a licence, when we haven't got a record of one.

-Yeah.

The restaurant staff are living above their place of work.

We'll need to find out if they're related.

If not, then the landlord will need a licence.

The fee for that helps fund inspections like this.

Hello?

Hello! So, I just need to get some details from you first,

if that's OK.

How many people we got living here at the moment?

Just three?

And what's their names, please?

You don't know their names here?

OK, so who have we got?

We've got you and your friend here.

You both live here?

And you said those people,

which suggests there's more than one.

-Do you pay any rent?

-No.

-No, no, no, we don't pay rent.

You work in the restaurant, do you? Yeah?

It seems that Adrian's suspicions may be correct.

There are definitely people living here,

and they don't seem to be family members.

Time for some further investigation.

Other than you, how many people live here?

Five. Today there was five people living here.

OK. So, someone's lying to me, then, in other words.

There seems to be a little confusion about exactly how many people

are staying here.

But looking round, there are a few pointers that could help.

Toothbrush test.

One here.

Three beds.

So, three beds - one, two, three.

With four toothbrushes and three beds in just this one room,

it seems very unlikely the whole flat is shared by just three people.

Coming up, things don't get any better, as we discover some

decidedly dangerous-looking wiring.

It says here, "Important: disconnect mains before removing the jacket."

Is that the jacket that's already off?

-Looking at that, I would be asking for a gas safety certificate.

-Yeah.

Defending our right to a safe place to live is the job of housing

officers, right across the UK.

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

Do you think?!

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

-Top marks.

-Yes!

I'm hitting the streets.

-Hello? Can you open up?

-Definitely somebody inside,

because we've seen movement.

Finding out what's happening on the front line.

The cistern's in the bath. I don't know how they flush it.

And learning what it takes to make sure that a house

is a fit place to call a home.

I'm very shocked. This is ridiculous.

You shouldn't have people living in here.

In Stevenage, a vandalised lift left terminally ill tenant

Neill feeling like a prisoner in his own flat.

He was just too ill to manage the stairs.

Housing officer Natasha Best is on the case, finding him a new home,

so his final months are as comfortable as possible.

Do you feel kind of depressed being here?

-"Trapped."

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Luckily for Neill, she has been able to help,

finding him a sheltered ground-floor home with everything he needs.

The importance of getting all of this done,

so he could move and actually live a little bit of his last...

of his life in this accommodation,

hopefully, is going to make him happy.

Neill's recently moved into the flat.

It has easy wheelchair access and, even better,

no sign of the vandals who damaged the lift and kept him housebound.

Today Natasha's paying him a visit,

with support worker Sarah, to see how he's settling into his new home.

And they're not alone. Neill's friend Bob has popped in, too.

-Hi, Neill.

-You all right?

How was the move? Did it go OK?

"Because I was helpless, it was really hard for me."

Are you happy here?

Have you managed to settle in OK?

"Yes, no more anti-social lift and people nice here."

That's really good.

-So, do you mind if Sarah just shows me around the flat?

-Yup.

SHE LAUGHS

-Yeah, that's grand.

-Is that all right?

Although Neill is frail,

it's clear that he's much happier and more comfortable here.

The flat has much better facilities and emergency pull cords in every

room, so he can summon help whenever he needs it.

OK, this is the wet room.

Obviously, he's got a nice big shower.

-Brilliant. Grab rails.

-Grab, yeah.

-A lot of grab rails.

-Yeah, all nicely decorated.

-Yeah.

Being on the ground floor means that Neill can now get out and about

with his friends and family when he feels up to it.

This might seem like a small thing,

but it's transforming the time he has left.

So, I'm really glad the move went good for you.

How are you feeling in yourself now?

"This minute, very good."

That's really good.

You have to admire Neill's spirit.

And Natasha is delighted to have been able to help improve his life.

This is one of the cases that

is going to make me feel a sense of

satisfaction, because I know that I've managed to help him.

He obviously is in a lot of need,

so it's really good when you can manage to help someone

right to the end with what they need, to make their life better.

Sadly, Neill's now passed away.

Neill's brother Chris told us having the new flat, even for a short time,

had made a huge difference to Neill's final months.

Earlier, urgent repairs to Anne-Marie's rented home

still hadn't been made, despite the council serving

her landlord with a notice to improve the house.

It's just so horrible, and depressing.

I feel like I'm stuck, and I can't get out.

Two weeks later, the notice has expired

and housing officer David Dale's back to see if there's been any

progress since our last visit.

Hi, Anne-Marie. You OK? Just here to check on the works.

The first thing David wants to check is the back door.

OK, so this is the door we saw last time.

Obviously, it hasn't been replaced, and it actually seems to have got

a little bit worse since we were last here.

And it's starting to peel all along the bottom,

where the water's getting to it.

The door isn't the only thing left undone.

The last time we were here,

the bathroom was damp, with peeling wallpaper.

The electrics needed attention and the windows were rotten.

So, I've had a quick look around the place.

Everything is still exactly the same as it was last time we were here.

But despite all that, David has made progress.

The landlord hasn't carried out any repairs yet,

but he has finally agreed to get the work that needs doing done.

I'm meeting a contractor round here on Monday.

I will go through our entire schedule of works

with the contractor,

so not just the door, which is being fixed on Monday,

but the floor, the windows,

the carpet on the stairs, the electrical faults.

I am happy that someone is coming round to actually have a look

and price up the works, so hopefully the landlord will do the work.

And there's more good news for Anne-Marie.

Because high rents in Croydon led to the council there relocating her

to Kent, they're still responsible for her.

And they're trying to find her a home in Croydon she can afford,

so she's closer to her relatives.

I'm enormously sympathetic to Anne-Marie.

She's been trapped here for two years.

I just really hope she finds somewhere nice to live,

and we can get on and deal with the property,

because the works needed are quite extensive.

Swale Council have had an estimate for necessary repairs to the house.

It's going to cost £20,000

to bring it up to the basic standard required by law.

The council's prosecuting the landlord for failing to comply

with improvement notices.

Croydon Council, who moved Anne-Marie and her kids to the area,

told us, "We were disappointed to learn that this property

"was not maintained to the standards we expect.

"We found a suitable new home for Ms Hardcastle near close family

"in Margate."

Anne-Marie and the children have indeed been moved again

by Croydon Council, to be near to her sisters.

Not back to Croydon, as she'd hoped, so she could be near to her mum.

A combination of the benefit cap and soaring housing prices

have made that impossible.

While Croydon may have found a happy compromise in Margate,

the council there do say cheaper accommodation has led to other

councils dumping their dependent population into the area,

exacerbating serious social problems.

Back in Oxford, we need to find out how many people

are living in this flat above an Indian restaurant.

But the numbers aren't our only concern.

It says here, "Important: disconnect mains before removing the jacket."

-Yeah.

-Is that the jacket that's already off?

Looking at that, I would be asking for a gas safety certificate.

Yeah, yeah.

-We can do the bathroom.

-Let's do the bathroom next.

-A shower. Electric shower.

-Yeah.

-Toilet.

We've got a hot-water heater that is jerry-rigged onto that.

-Now, the wiring's not... brilliant, really.

-HE LAUGHS

Oh, my God, yeah. You'd really want that behind the tiles.

It's enough to suggest that we need

-an electrical safety check doing on the flat.

-Yeah.

There's already a number of concerns,

and we haven't even seen all of the property,

as two of the rooms are locked shut.

I'm going to speak to the owner now, I'm going to come back.

I'm going to need to get into these two rooms.

-Right, that's fine, yeah.

-I mean, if we don't get into these two rooms,

we might have to come back with a warrant

and do the old breaking in and...

Is this feeling quite serious to you? I mean,

-it's beyond the licence, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-There are other matters here that need looking at.

-Yeah.

It's time for us to track down the leaseholder of the restaurant,

to try and find out what's been going on upstairs.

-The door's open, isn't it?

-No, it's not.

Unfortunately, there's no response,

and I'm starting to worry about what

our visit could mean for the tenants upstairs.

The feeling that I got from those guys was one of intense nervousness.

Because their jobs are linked to that place,

they could end up losing accommodation and jobs

if the landlord doesn't like what they've, you know,

-what they've said.

-It's not their fault,

you know, the conditions that they're living in,

it's the landlord's. And we, you know, we're trying to, you know,

we're on their side. We're trying to make it better for them.

With the leaseholder nowhere to be found,

there's not much more we can do here.

-Another day?

-Yeah. Definitely.

-Right, nice one.

But Adrian is not a man to give up, and a few weeks later,

he's on his way back to check on this shared house,

known to the council as a house in multiple occupation, or HMO.

So, we're going to go and have a chat with this leaseholder

about this property that we inspected.

There's two locked rooms we couldn't get into,

so we're going to go back now and see what the situation is.

And the good news was that the leaseholder was there this time,

and allowed Adrian into the flat - but not our cameras.

So, he's let me into the two rooms that were locked last time we did

the inspection. One of them looks like it's been occupied

as an office. There's a desk and some computers

and that sort of stuff. The other one is a bedroom.

There's definitely someone else, you know, there,

which just confirms our suspicions that it is an unlicensed HMO.

There's some work being carried out.

Two of the smoke alarms that we installed when we went last time,

which were broken, they are brand-new,

they've been replaced now. That's not, you know,

to say that we're not going to do anything about the fact

that it's unlicensed, but at least we've had an impact.

You know, we've made something happen.

The leaseholder's reluctance to talk to housing officers hasn't stopped

the City Council from still pursuing its investigations,

and the leaseholder will be brought in for an interview.

He'll be questioned about both conditions at the property

and the lack of a licence.

What happens after that will be partly dependent on him.

That's it for today. Join me next time,

when I'll be learning more about what it takes

to be a front-line housing officer.