Episode 3 The Housing Enforcers

Hello, can you just 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 the people are coping, to be quite honest.

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

If somebody had died here,

you would have been standing in the 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 a shanty town.

-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, leaving kids home alone has devastating consequences...'

CHILDREN SOBBING

We've opened the door and behind the door is a young girl.

She's very, very upset.

'..a leaky pipe puts the lives of tenants at risk...'

There's water leaking into the electrics from upstairs.

This is totally unacceptable, isn't it?

'..and a new bathroom reduces Margaret to tears.'

-SOBBING:

-Ain't it fabulous?

-Oh, Margaret.

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.

In Wolverhampton,

I'm out on the beat with housing officer Ravi Phull.

We're taking part in a combined operation with local police

and other council agencies.

And in our sights - antisocial behaviour.

There have been reports that large families have been causing

problems in a local neighbourhood

and together, we're looking to help stamp it out.

What do we think the problem is?

What's going on that needs dealing with by all these people?

It starts off with children,

so they've got children who should be in school, but they're not,

they're hanging around the streets,

they're not being taken care of by their parents or whatever,

they're open to road traffic accidents, that kind of thing.

So obviously, that's the police side...

So these are kids we're talking about, of school age?

Right, so there's lots of complaints going on.

That side of it is a concern for the police

and for the child protection type people and then,

it's like a dominoes effect, isn't it?

Because when you pick on that issue, you then go

back into their homes and what the police have found is that

once they've gone into their homes,

there's a load of overcrowding issues,

there's poor housing conditions that they're living in.

-Which is where we come in.

-Which is where we come in.

It's really interesting to see

how partnerships between other local agencies

can target problems that blight whole neighbourhoods.

After all, a home isn't just four walls and a roof,

it's also the street where you live.

We're quite a mob, there's quite a lot of us.

Although this is a police-led operation targeting houses

that have been attracting complaints of antisocial behaviour,

the housing team are also taking part to check for overcrowding.

The first address is one Ravi knows well.

What was your issue here?

This was the one where I was saying that, previously when I came out,

it was massively overcrowded.

-Is it registered as one property or...?

-I believe so.

But when the front door is opened at the next property on the list,

none of us are prepared for what we find inside.

-CHILDREN SOBBING

-It's OK, it's OK. No, no, no...

We might not be able to film.

What's happened is that we've opened the door and behind the door,

opening the door, is a young girl. She's very, very upset...

but it's clear that her mum isn't home, er...

and she's, as you can tell, she's very, very upset by this.

One of the things we anticipated coming out today was the idea

that we might come across children,

very young children, by themselves without their parents,

who really are of school age, should be at school and aren't.

And aren't. Erm...

That's a difficult job right there.

The child inside is clearly too young to be on her own.

She's understandably scared,

but the officers still need to do their job -

to make sure she's safe today and in the future.

Because these were the children who people have been reporting

that are roaming the streets.

They are now at home alone.

As they opened the door, the guys, and said, "We need to come in,"

her face, it was really upsetting.

Because the child who opened the door is clearly very distressed,

I wait while Ravi goes inside

to find out more about what's going on here.

What's the score, Ravi?

In terms of the children, there's two young children in there.

How old are the children?

I think one was about five or six

and I think the other one was about, probably, two or three.

Up to five or six, and a two-year-old left by themselves?

They're completely on their own. They don't speak a word of English,

so there's no way of them communicating,

which is why they're continuously crying.

We haven't even got into the house

and already, I've got a very bad feeling about what we've found.

-The mother's on her way back, is she?

-I believe so.

-From work or something?

-Possibly... Is this the mum?

Do you live here?

OK, but do you live here?

It's difficult to understand, isn't it?

Fortunately, the police are here.

They try to bring back the woman to identify exactly who she is.

-Sorry about this.

-It's all right.

So, I think maybe the mum, possibly the grandma, I don't know,

saw people waiting outside and decided to leave and go.

Now the police have picked up the same woman that did that

and brought her back and, clearly...

Well, the assumption is she's a family member of some sort

and she's now there with the kids.

What I've already seen has really shocked me

and later, the situation doesn't get much better.

The public protection and social services are on their way now.

For many of the 11 million people living with disability

or long-term illness in the UK,

losing the ability to earn a living can also make it hard to find

a decent, safe place to live.

In Dudley, housing officers David Bates and Lindon Morgan

have had a complaint from a tenant

about the dangerous state of his privately rented home.

His mum should be here.

Hello. Mr and Mrs Bird?

Hiya.

Left unable to work by cancer and a disability,

Michael Bird is forced to spend most of his time

in his ground-floor flat,

but a leak has left him scared to go into his own bathroom.

Have you reported it to your landlord?

-Yeah.

-And what's his response been?

He's going to get it done, but nothing's been done.

Electrical accidents in the home kill 70 people a year,

so if Michael's right about water coming through

into the bathroom fittings,

the housing officers have an urgent problem to deal with.

-That's not good.

-That's not good.

Clearly, Michael wasn't exaggerating.

The bathroom's in a terrible state and it could be lethal.

So, you've got water leaking down the electrics thing.

OK, need to make some notes.

Damp and mould is extremely bad and will cause trouble.

An electric shock could finish you off.

Tenant Michael has been living with the bathroom

in this condition for more than a year,

but hopefully, that's about to change.

The usual practice is to serve,

in this case, what will be an improvement notice,

which will list the works that need to be done to get

rid of what I would consider to be quite a pretty serious hazard.

But serving an improvement notice to clearly lay out exactly

which repairs the landlord must do could just be the first step.

The beauty of the notice is that, if he doesn't comply with it,

we have options to either prosecute and/or do the works ourselves.

Do the work and send him the bill.

Coming up - Lindon finally gets to the source of all the trouble.

I've got two fingers, three, four, five, right through the boards,

absolutely soaking wet.

One of the toughest things for any of us as we grow older

is facing the heart-breaking realisation that we can't

look after ourselves in the homes we've come to love.

But in Kent, Swale Borough Council's "Staying Put" Manager, Susan Hughes,

is on hand to give practical support

to help people repair or adapt their homes,

rather than move, as their needs change.

The scheme is a vital lifeline

for people like 85-year-old Margaret Crabbe.

Sue and her people...

Well, there's not words to describe, because they've done so much.

Everybody...

they are marvellous.

You just don't know these people exist until you need help.

Last year, I met Margaret

when she applied for a disability grant for a new bathroom.

She'd just lost her husband, and she had no-one to help

with the kind of daily tasks many of us take for granted.

Roy used to have to lift one leg over,

then have to lift the other leg over.

I had the difficult job of breaking the news

that she'd have to wait a year for the work to be done.

-The problem is, it's not going to happen immediately.

-No.

Six months later,

she's come to the top of the waiting list much earlier than expected.

So Susan's heading back to get the ball rolling.

If she signs the application form, I can put it in for approval,

and hopefully in about a month we can get the work under way for her.

She has had to wait for quite some time,

and bless her, she's been very patient.

She's just happy to have some help in the end.

Fortunately for Margaret, the wait's nearly over.

-Hello.

-Hello, sweetheart, come in.

-Are you all right?

-Not too bad.

I've got some good news that we're moving on.

First, Susan needs to dot the Is and cross the Ts.

-All right. I've come to get the form signed...

-Yes.

..for the grant, because you've got to the top.

I know, it's wonderful.

-So you're going to get it all done.

-Good.

Finding solutions that help people to carry on living independently

in their own homes is all part of Susan's job.

The more grab rails you can fit in a bathroom, the better,

to get people around the bathroom and not falling.

So near the toilet, near the showers.

For Margaret, the grant isn't just giving her a bathroom

that's easier to use, it's giving her back a bit of dignity.

I think anybody will know, to get in and out of the shower every day

instead of standing at the sink having to wash yourself in stages,

because you can't do it...

It'll be wonderful.

Be like Christmas every day.

It will.

It'll be like that.

Later, I'll be back in Kent

to see what Margaret makes of her new shower.

-This is magic.

-Ain't it fabulous?

-Oh, Margaret.

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 that do exactly that.'

-Top marks.

-Yes!

I'm hitting the streets...

Hello, can you open up?

There's definitely somebody inside, cos 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 Wolverhampton, a crackdown on antisocial behaviour

and overcrowding has taken a dramatic turn with

the disturbing discovery of children left alone at home.

Opening the door is a young girl. She's very, very upset.

CHILD CRIES It's clear that her mum isn't home.

Now housing officer Ravi Phull wants to check the property

for any other safety issues.

-This is a relatively clean, you know, spacious house.

-Yes.

We don't know about numbers of people living here yet, because we haven't

seen the whole place, but there are beds in the front downstairs room,

which makes you think that it's a fair number of people here.

-There's no way out the back door, is there?

-No, and this handle's broken off as well.

Everything about a place that makes it dangerous for adults to be here,

or for a family living together, makes it so much more so for kids

by themselves, because you look at that back door,

OK, let's say there's a fire somewhere else in the house,

-there's no way out here at all.

-They're not getting out there.

They're not getting out of that one at all.

'I'd be nervous as an adult living with a fire hazard

'like that, let alone leaving children on their own here.

'The dangers in this property keep coming.'

I mean, you've got a staircase

which has a single hand rail on one side, but the carpet on it

has been laid on top of other carpet and the whole thing

looks like a badly fitting jumper.

I mean, it's asking for someone to trip.

Imagine a six-year-old and a two-year-old tripping on that.

'And the news doesn't get much better upstairs.'

I'm going to take from that that we don't have any restrictors.

-That's right, we don't.

-Wide open.

So that's going to very comfortably fit a child through.

It's a very low windowsill on this, so easy for a child to lean out

too far, go straight down onto the pavement outside.

Clearly, there are kids in this room.

Window opens completely

and then gives out onto the hard standing of the side return there,

which means you go straight out and you don't get up again.

For some reason, in this property,

there's smoke detectors in every room.

Every single room, the smoke detectors have been pulled down.

I can only think it's because people are smoking and,

therefore, they're being set off and so they're causing them a nuisance,

and so they're pulling them down.

While we're uncovering the glaring safety issues in the house,

the residents of the property have come back

and the seriousness of the situation is clearly beginning to set in.

ARGUING DOWNSTAIRS

Unideal situation we find ourselves in sometimes is that,

at the end of the day, all right, we're involved in the house,

but we're directly involved in people's lives and how they live.

Obviously, they're putting themselves at danger, leaving children.

We're looking around this house and we can see the hazards

and the things that could happen to the children while they're in here.

There's no ignoring the fact that

knocking on the door as we did today, as we can hear downstairs,

has at least given these people the fear that their children

are going to be taken away from them, because as soon as we opened

the door, there was a very young girl and her even younger sister

-in the house, unattended.

-No, it's not a fear, they are taking them.

-They're taking them?

-They're taking the children.

They are, they're taking them. The public protection

and social services are on their way now.

'Removing children from their family

'only happens in the most extreme cases.

'Although the police have told Ravi that is what's going to happen,

'first, social services need to carry out a full assessment

'of what's been discovered.'

I can tell Ravi has been in this situation before. I never have.

I've never been present

while someone's had their kids taken away from them.

And whatever's been done wrong here... You know, leaving kids in

the house at that age is not right. It can't be done, in any house.

But still, being present while the kids... I've never...

I've never shared that

and I don't think I want to.

It's a horrible situation, but before

the final decision to remove the children is taken, we need to let

the right people fully investigate exactly what's happened here today.

I think we're good to go.

I think social services have just arrived.

'Whatever the outcome, it's been a sobering reminder

'that housing officers never know what they're going to find

'when they walk through a door.'

The only thing, really, I can look to do now is to let the police,

social services and everyone do what they need to do

and then look to come back really in the next day or so.

The housing officer job, the HO, is... There are times

when you have to make difficult decisions, but that...

After we left, the council's social work team and the police

carried out an assessment of the family and the situation.

Although it had clearly been distressing for the children,

the decision was made not to take them away from the family.

The family have received advice

and guidance on childcare from social care professionals,

and they're continuing to receive support from the council's

Early Help Team to ensure that the children aren't put at risk again.

The landlord told us he's now installed hard-wired smoke detectors

and window restrictors have been fitted.

He told us the back door handle is in working order

and he also told us he wasn't aware of any problems with the carpet.

Back in Dudley, tenant Michael Bird's complaint about the condition

of his bathroom has revealed a potentially lethal situation.

Damp and mould is extremely bad and will cause trouble.

An electric shock could finish you off.

The next day, the housing team are back to meet the landlord

and get the problem fixed.

Hello. Lindon Morgan and David Bates from Dudley Council.

But the waterlogged electrics and damp aren't the only health hazard

worrying Michael, who's already battling cancer and a disability.

What we'll be doing is having a look to see what needs to be done

upstairs and then we'll be serving a notice on the landlord.

Mandhar Singh Bhugal looks after both flats for his daughter,

who owns the property.

Leaving things, that's what happens. Look at that,

and as a result of that...

Don't get upset, don't get upset, it's all right. I'm just

talking through what the facts are, and the facts are nothing's been

done about it, or not enough has been done about it.

This is where we're at a crossroads,

where we now need to do something about it,

cos look at this, this is totally unacceptable, isn't it? Yeah?

It's time for the team to go upstairs

and see the cause of all the damage.

You can see underneath here. You'll see where it's been

tied off with just a J-cloth of some sort.

And the floor is actually soaking wet.

I can put my finger right through the board there. My fingers...

I've got two fingers, three, four, five, right through the boards.

Absolutely soaking wet.

Look at that. That's what you're getting in the floor.

Soaking wet. You can see the water all over my hand

and that's the floorboards above that plasterboard ceiling

that you've got there, that's covered in damp and mould.

This isn't a problem that's happened overnight.

The water's been dripping away under this bath for more than 12 months.

So a simple leak, which could've been fixed by changing the fittings,

will now mean replacing floorboards, electrics

and redecorating two bathrooms.

If the landlord had acted as quickly as the housing officers,

he'd have saved himself thousands.

There's a problem that needs sorting out here before somebody gets hurt.

-They don't open the door, they don't let me come in. What I do?

-OK.

-If for some reason you can't get in to do the repairs...

-Yeah.

-..then, you need to let us know.

-OK.

Because we want the works done and you will have

what's called a reasonable excuse for not doing the repairs.

Nothing I want to say. I want to say only they don't let me come in.

We'll sort that out.

If that's the case, let us know and we'll help you.

Even if the landlord has had trouble accessing the upstairs flat

to make repairs in the past, David just wants the problem fixed now.

Unfortunately, as a landlord, if there's an issue of disrepair

-in a property, it's your responsibility...

-My duty, yes.

-..in nearly every case, I'm afraid.

-They are not dealing with me nicely.

Help me get them out.

If you're not happy with them,

then you have a right as a landlord to evict your tenants

and you know that.

If you want to take the chap downstairs...

-I mean, he looks as good as gold as a tenant.

-Yeah, yeah, he's good.

But his bathroom is awful and it's been awful for a long time.

You need to sort that out and if that means coming up here

and fixing a leak, whoever's caused it, you need to do it.

You're in now, there's no problem with that. Let's get working on it,

let's get things in motion, let's get it sorted.

OK, we will do that.

If you want help with access or anything, let us know.

I'll let you know all the time.

Two weeks later, the rotten joists and sodden floorboards have been

replaced and a qualified plumber is on site reinstalling the bath.

And as soon as upstairs is finished,

work immediately begins on Michael's flat...

much to his relief.

I'm glad they're doing it now.

It should all be sorted soon, with a bit of luck.

Michael had lived for months with a dangerous bathroom.

But in the end, it only took a couple of weeks to fix

after intervention from the housing enforcers.

In Kent, pensioner Margaret Crabbe's come to the top of the waiting list

for a new shower, after years of struggling to get in and out of the bath.

Standing at the sink, having to wash yourself in stages

because you can't do it...

It's six months since I first met Margaret,

and I have a special reason for wanting to come back with Susan

to see how she's getting on now the bathroom's finished.

I've had a letter.

It's a really nice letter, which doesn't happen very often,

just to say how much she enjoyed the whole experience of meeting us,

me and Susan Hughes, and getting things sorted out.

So, we ought to go and say another hello, I think.

'When we arrive, it's all a bit overwhelming for her.'

-Hello.

-Oh, look!

Oh, no! Margaret, don't hide!

I've brought him back to see what we've done.

Come on, then.

'And she's not the only one.'

Hello, darling. How are you?

Come here. Come here. How are you?

Come here. It's lovely to see you again.

I couldn't not come, cos you sent me a letter!

-Oh, you got it!

-Yeah, I did, I did.

-I've got...

-Come on in, come on in.

Have a sit down.

'Last time I was here, I was really nervous about telling Margaret

'she'd have to wait over a year for her bathroom.

'It's absolutely brilliant to be back after just six months.'

We thought this was going to take over a year.

Here we are, we're in August now.

It's not even the end of August.

That's worked out all right, then?

-Yeah.

-It's really good, isn't it?

'Susan and the "Staying Put" team are there to help people like Margaret

'adapt their homes, rather than move as their needs change.

'There's something I really want to know.'

This is the key question, Margaret.

Is it going to let you stay here for longer, do you think?

-I don't want to go anywhere else, Matt.

-No.

I don't want to.

'It's incredibly moving to see the impact a new bathroom

'will have on Margaret's life.

'I think it's time to see the transformation for myself.'

-I think we need to go up and see your bathroom.

-Yes, I think you need to.

'It seems Margaret can't wait to get me upstairs.'

-There we are.

-I tell you what, this is another good thing.

Yeah, very good.

I couldn't go up and down the stairs, not at all.

'But there is a slight delay.'

It will only take a little weight, else you could've sat on my lap

and come up with me, couldn't you?!

I think there are rules against that sort of thing.

Yeah. It'll only take a certain weight.

I'm so pleased you could make it.

'Seeing Margaret so happy, I wouldn't have missed this for the world.'

I'm dying for you to see it.

Oh, look at that!

It's palatial.

-That is so different, Margaret.

-Yep.

Look at that.

That's hot and cold.

That's the flow... You can turn that.

-This is magical.

-Ain't it fabulous?

Oh, Margaret, oh, Margaret, oh, Margaret.

'Finally having a bathroom that's safe and easy to use

'means Margaret can carry on living independently in her own home

'for the foreseeable future.'

This is, and I'm not lying, Margaret,

this is substantially nicer than my bathroom.

It really is.

Well, you're welcome to come and have a shower!

THEY LAUGH

'I think that might be overstepping the mark!

'It's clearly, though, money well spent.'

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.