Episode 10 The Housing Enforcers

'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 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've died here,

you would've 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 like 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, housing officers investigate an unlawful bedsit

'putting tenants' lives at risk.'

A kitchen which is just a disaster,

a bathroom which is dangerous to your health.

'A disabled man and his family get help from council officers

'so they can stay in their remote home.'

I dread the day I can't cope with living here, I must admit.

'Housing officers discover that an ex-serviceman's rented house

'isn't a home fit for a hero.'

You served the UK for 12 years.

I deserve better than this.

'And the council finds a solution

'to help an elderly widow who's been trapped indoors.'

To be able to go out that back gate -

a simple little thing, but it's everything.

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

and every year rents go up.

For those of us chasing cheaper housing,

that can mean enduring living conditions so bad

that they break the law.

I'm working alongside the men and women whose job it is

to uphold those laws.

They are the Housing Enforcers.

I'm in Newham with Stephen Pavett and Holly Ripp

from the council's planning department.

Part of their job is making sure family homes

are kept for families, not unlawfully converted into bedsits

by landlords keen to maximise their rental income.

When this happens, the number of people in the area

rises as a hidden population,

putting extra pressure on the NHS and schools.

We're on the way to a property which was converted into bedsits,

and the landlord's already been told

he needs to change it back to a family home.

Stephen and Holly are keen to check on his progress.

We have visited previously,

and it was in breach of the enforcement notice,

so they were sent letters warning

-that we were going to take prosecution action.

-Right.

Following that, we did speak to the owner on the telephone

and he gave us all the good intentions

and that he was going to remove the tenants.

Unfortunately, we haven't heard back from him since,

and that's why we're going back today to see the current situation.

When houses are converted in this way,

they often fall into disrepair,

making the property unsafe for tenants

and creating problems for neighbours.

Today, we shouldn't find any evidence that this is still

a shared house or a collection of bedsits.

KNOCKING ON DOOR

It's all dark inside, so that means doors are closed,

which means individual rooms, cos people close their bedrooms.

-There we go.

-Hello, from the council.

We've got a visit today to have a look around the property, please.

OK? Thank you.

It's not a promising start.

As soon as we're inside there are more telltale signs

all is not as it should be.

So straight away, we've walked in through the front door

and on the left-hand side we have a room that's shared by two beds.

The gentlemen who's staying here

says he's been here for a few nights.

If that's all right, sir, we just need to have a look around.

Thank you. How many people were sleeping here last night?

You and friend? Well, you've got bedding on the ground,

so there's two people.

Do you want to tell me what we saw in there?

OK, so in that bedroom just there,

we had one gentlemen with a single bed,

but he did have some people stay last night.

Already we've got four people, at the least,

from what people are telling us, and we don't know how many rooms

are upstairs, so it could be quite a significant number in this property.

Yeah. I mean, it's a big house,

but the way it's being divided up

-just doesn't really work at all.

-I doesn't work.

We need to see it as a family house,

so obviously the owner hasn't taken notice

of the enforcement notice on the property.

In a family home, it's assumed everyone cares for the other people

who live there and the property itself.

But that's not an assumption that can be made in a shared house.

Is it OK to come in?

With three separate flats downstairs alone,

there'll be extra pressure on things like sewers and bins,

but no-one taking care of the general state

of the house and garden.

So hygiene and safety standards are often low.

Part of what we can hear while we're in here

is the sound of a fire alarm or a smoke alarm that's...

BEEP There's another one.

..that's not got a battery, or got a battery that's running down.

Low on battery.

So they may have inserted the fire alarms as safety measures,

but obviously, from what we're hearing,

they're not looking after them sufficiently.

That is something that the landlord will have to have to look into.

'And there are plenty of unhealthy issues in the kitchen, too.'

As you can see,

when people are living like this,

it's not necessarily the cleanest environment.

There's some definite health issues here.

It's like a free-for-all, isn't it?

I mean, it's just covered in burnt-on food,

and it's pretty filthy.

You do get the feeling that there are a lot of people

using this kitchen on a regular basis, probably throughout the day.

'It's a similar story in the bathroom.'

This is where you come at the end of the day

or in the morning before you go to work

to get yourself clean and ready for work.

And judging by this shower,

you're almost putting more dirt back on yourself.

It's in very poor condition.

I mean, those tiles at the back look like water has got right in

behind them, and then it's been like a silicon job has been applied

to try and stop that happening,

but you're fighting a battle you can't win there.

-Have a look at that basin.

-Oh, my God.

There's no way of washing in this basin, cos it's got....

You can't even fill the basin up with water.

It's completely cracked. That's just awful.

Oh!

You see that, I would say,

is not professional standard electrical installation.

So you come in and you reach for the light.

That's the end of your day,

and possibly everything else.

All these are signs that this is an unlawful bedsit

with potentially lethal problems.

Coming up, we discover how tenants are struggling

to live with dignity in a dangerous environment.

This is... This is terrible.

This house is forcing them to live like animals.

Next we're in Gwynedd in Wales,

which back in the mists of time was a kingdom in its own right.

Now it's one of the largest counties in Wales,

but with one of the sparsest populations,

posing very different challenges for its housing officers.

Today Gwynedd Council's Gareth Owen and Edward Owen are travelling

to a remote rural area to visit a family

who have what some may call an idyllic lifestyle,

living off the land.

But after years of being self-sufficient,

bad health has forced the family to ask the council

for help to modernise their home.

So we're here today, we've got a gentleman who lives off grid -

that means he hasn't got an electricity supply to the house.

And basically, to meet his personal hygiene needs,

he needs a renewable energy source

to heat hot water during the summer months.

The council officers stepped in to help the family

when dad Patrick became disabled

and hospital staff told him

he could be entitled to local authority support.

The council hopes to be able to provide a grant or loan

to get power to this secluded farmhouse

so the family can continue to live in their own home.

They've chosen to live in this manner,

so if we can help them to achieve a sustainable source of energy,

then we'll do everything we can to help.

Patrick and Lindsey Wright and their two children have been living

happily in this remote corner of the county for 13 years.

This is my wife Lindsey coming in now.

Hello! Hiya.

-Hi, spoke to you on the phone, yeah?

-Yeah, hello.

Pat and Lindsey grow their own fruit and vegetables,

keep animals, and their 17-year-old son Peter

runs a falconry business.

They've always enjoyed being self-sufficient.

When Lindsey and I came here, Peter was four or five.

As you can see, pretty remote.

We're about a mile and a half away from the nearest neighbours.

But we just love being in the middle of nowhere

and listening to the birds and the animals.

It's just a nice way to live.

It's not a lifestyle that would suit everyone.

It can be quite hard as well.

When the weather's bad, snow,

you're cut off for quite a while.

But I dread the day I can't cope with living here, I must admit.

To start off with, the couple relied on paraffin lamps and candles,

until Patrick fixed up a generator to batteries

which then powered some lights,

and installed a wood burner which heats water

when it's on in the winter.

But with Pat's health problems,

living without hot water in the summer

has taken its toll on family life.

I was fine for many years. I mean, I did the work on this house.

But a few years ago I got pneumonia.

So obviously, one lung was affected quite badly,

and since then, I seem to have had...

You name it, I've had it.

Getting power to the cottage became more important,

but connecting to the National Grid would've cost £50,000,

and when Pat had a stroke and became unable to work

it was out of the question.

We're getting to a point where we need to do something about it.

It's making life a struggle now.

Lindsey took a part-time job as a dinner lady

so that she still had time to care for Patrick.

And it wasn't until an occupational therapist visited the house

to assess his needs that it became obvious

how badly the couple needed help.

You've got a back boiler that heats the hot water, OK.

I'm not as fit as I was,

so I can't go out and collect wood and things now,

so we're having to buy coal in,

which is getting expensive.

Basically, what we're here to do today

-is to discuss different options on how we can help you.

-Right.

Before they do that, Gareth and Ed

need to identify the main needs the family has.

Shall we have a look at the bathroom first?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, I'll show you the way.

As you can see, the bathroom's small.

So basically, when he wants to have a shave or anything,

-I come and move the stool for him.

-Yeah.

Once their energy issues have been sorted out,

Patrick could be eligible for a disability grant

to have the bathroom adapted.

Cos I think if we had solar thermal,

-we could then look at the grant for the adaptation.

-Yeah.

Ah, right. I see

Ed and Gareth can see that the family is in desperate need of help.

They hope that installing solar panels on the house

would provide a renewable energy source,

and would be a much cheaper option than linking to the National Grid.

As you can see, we've got the windmill just up there as well.

Will that charge your batteries as well?

It's not as efficient as it should be, really.

-OK.

-It's getting old,

and the wind, believe it or not, isn't always the right type of wind.

SHE LAUGHS

So it's important they get the right type of solar panel.

Thermal panels use the sun's energy to heat water,

while photovoltaic panels harness the sun's power

to create electricity.

I think the best place for the solar panels

for the water heating would be on the main roof itself.

-There seems to be plenty of area and the orientation is spot on as well.

-Sounds good.

-You need hot water.

-Yeah.

-There's no way round that one, is there?

-No.

'It would certainly make life easier.'

What's the verdict there, then?

It seems fine. If we have the photovoltaics up on the main roof,

I think that's going to give us extra clearance,

-so hopefully should be OK.

-Ah, brilliant. Brilliant. Good.

Installing both thermal and photovoltaic panels

would cost the Wrights around £7,000,

money they simply don't have.

A grant isn't suitable for their situation.

But the council officers are leaving them

with a number of loan options to think about.

If all goes well, then hopefully we can get a renewable

source of energy in place. We can look at the next step then,

which will be hopefully to provide a disabled facilities grant

to enable the adaptations that they require at the moment.

But the first step will be helping them

to achieve a renewable source of energy.

And Patrick is already seeing a way forward,

with a council loan against the property.

Well, it's been suggested that there could be a charge

put on the house, cos it's our own house,

which would be repayable if ever we sold the house off.

That's quite attractive to us at the moment, as you can imagine,

because there's very little coming in,

but the same bills are going out all the time.

Patrick and Lindsey will have to wait to hear the outcome

of Ed and Gareth's investigations, but they're confident

the council officers will find a way

to help them keep living the good life.

If it all comes off, it's really good news.

We're quite excited about it.

Obviously concerned about the financial side,

but on the other side of it, yeah, it's exciting.

And we don't get excited very much nowadays.

HE LAUGHS

So yeah, hopefully its good news all round. Hopefully its good news.

Back in Newham, it looks like this property's still being

unlawfully rented out as bedsits,

despite the council telling the landlord

to turn it back into a single family home.

What's worse is that the place looks like it's dangerous.

You see that, I would say, is not of a professional standard.

What we've got so far, bearing in mind

we haven't been upstairs yet, we've got downstairs -

five, we think?

Roughly five, if we're being told the right numbers.

We've got a kitchen which is just a disaster,

a bathroom which is potentially dangerous to your health.

There isn't really a corner of this property that you can see

where there isn't something really...

Oh, my God, what's that?

It's an exposed plug socket down there.

It's dangerous for anyone to be in here, really.

-Yeah. There is nothing good about this place.

-No.

This is... On the scale of bad ones, it's pretty high.

It's not just inside the house where the problems are to be found.

Outside in the back garden, things are no better.

OK, so into the garden.

Garden, back yard.

The positive thing to say here is it's fairly secure,

so it doesn't look like anyone else can get in.

The other thing is that no-one would want to.

The fridge here that's been in the property has broken down,

so the best place to put that is of course in the garden,

and they have no fridge any more.

There's nothing good out in the garden anyway,

it's just more rubbish.

You're looking at the back - the roof looks in shocking condition,

as though it's been bodged a few times.

And we've got guttering or something up there,

-the venting not connected.

-What is that?

But this has got all the signs

of landlord neglect and occupier neglect.

There's no way this property is maintained.

I don't know what this cabling is that goes up.

It's hard not to feel sympathy for the people living here,

who let's not forget are paying for the pleasure.

And today's visit is not about hurting the tenants -

it's about protecting them by making sure their home is safe

and fit for human habitation.

So this is the main bathroom.

It's got no way of securing...

No, the door... The window can't be secured at all from here.

Because this is the handle

for the window that would keep it secure.

Then you come to the bathroom itself,

where's no shower, there's just a bath and buckets.

That's a new one - just to have a bucket shower,

it looks like, is what they're attempting to do.

And there is a sign over the toilet,

so the guys here are conscious that they're trying to keep themselves

-you know, as good a standard of living as possible.

-Yes.

As is typified by this sign,

which is very clear.

It says: "Hey, you!

"Don't just pee on seat like horse or donkey.

"This is human house and human being lives here,

"not donkey or monkey.

"So mate, clean the toilet and dry the seat after you use."

They're trying to have

a relatively civilised

or acceptable standard of living in circumstances

-which are preventing them from doing that.

-That's right, yeah.

Too many people, too small a space,

without, really, the ability to keep these places clean.

This house is forcing them to live like animals,

just like it says there,

rather than like human beings.

It's a horrible place to come and visit.

You wouldn't want to spend any time in here, really.

Nothing could sum up the situation in this property better.

This is not a warm family home.

If Stephen and Holly needed any more proof

that this is an unlawful bedsit, I think they've just found it.

Whenever we go through doors here in Newham,

I always feel that sort of rush of guilt

and anxiety that, you know, we're busting into someone's home.

Cos this is still someone's home, however horrible it is.

Then once you get into a place like this,

it justifies that kind of breach of privacy,

because what you see inside has to change.

It has to change, for everyone's benefit,

I mean, the tenants can't live like this.

It's an appalling way to live.

It's not something we want to see in this borough.

I'm lucky - unlike the poor souls who are stuck here,

I can leave this house.

But even as I try to get out,

there's a reminder of just how unfit this place is for people to live.

In a house like this, little things mean a lot.

We've already established here that we've got fire alarms here

which need re-batterying.

The whole system doesn't work.

Look at the front door, OK?

It's got a standard lock on it like that.

Now, you're not going to leave your front door unlocked

overnight in Newham.

If it's locked, if there's a fire, how do you get out?

Where are you going to go?

If the fire's coming from the kitchen at the back,

you're not going out the back.

That means you've got to go out through the front door.

If it's locked and you're looking for a key in the dark,

that is a horrible scenario.

But I'm glad to say, finally, that we can leave.

It's now the second time that housing officers have ordered

the landlord to turn this property back into a family home,

and they say the second time he's failed to do that.

In the meantime, they'll identify any work that needs to be done

at the property, and instruct the landlord to carry it out.

If the work isn't done, the council could do the repairs

and charge the owner for the work.

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?

Definitely someone 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 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.

Now to the West Midlands.

I'm in Wolverhampton with housing officer Clare Clifft.

She's taking me to a house which has had complaints made

by its current tenants.

There have been no complaints about the property before,

so she's visiting with an open mind.

The tenant has complained about quite a lot of things, actually.

Erm, some rotting windows,

leaks in the property coming from the kitchen ceiling.

He actually says that he's got mushrooms

growing in the corner of the kitchen ceiling.

And presumably part of our job is going to be

to differentiate between

those things which are possibly there because of neglect

by the landlord or because of the actions of the landlord,

and those things which are possibly behavioural

on the part of the tenant.

I always strongly try and advise the landlords

to always do really regular maintenance inspections

so that they have a point in time

at different intervals of the tenancy

where they know the condition of their property.

The house we're visiting appears to be a small

but well-presented terraced property on a quiet street.

There's double glazing at the front,

and no sign of rotting windows.

Hiya, you all right?

One of the tenants is Alex.

He's originally from Fiji, and recently left the British Army

after a 12-year stint in the Staffordshire regiment.

You guys have come straight from the forces.

-You haven't necessarily got a lot of possessions, furniture...

-No.

..or anything like that. Was all of that provided for you

when you were in the forces?

Yeah, that was provided by the forces.

-You lived in the barracks?

-The barracks, yeah.

-12 years in the Staffordshires.

-Yeah.

-You must have served in Iraq, Afghanistan?

-Yeah.

-Both of those.

In fact, Alex spent more than a decade in war zones,

along with hundreds of other Fijian soldiers in the British Army.

At the end of his tour, he started looking for a property to rent.

And that was the start of his problems.

And that was the big barrier for you.

You didn't have a previous address

cos you'd been in the army for 12 years.

In 2012, the government passed a law

which encourages local authorities to take into account

the housing needs of former service personnel.

And as an ex-serviceman,

Alex could be entitled to preferential treatment

by his local housing department.

But he opted for private rented accommodation.

Whoever owns them,

all rented homes must abide by safety laws.

So Clare is checking that the house

has the right number of smoke detectors.

All privately rented properties, as of October 1st,

must have a smoke detector on every single floor

that's got a habitable room in.

And whilst I'm trying to track down

the smoke detector on the ground floor,

I spot the problem that Alex has complained about.

I think we've found the source of the mushrooms. Look.

-Did you say the leak was in this..?

-Yeah, yeah, on the wall.

And down at the bottom as well.

Yeah, you can see the mildew is coming up.

Alex says the whole wall is damp.

Fortunately, Clare has a moisture meter

which measures the water content in the wall.

It's still red. So it's basically all the way down this side.

And then again kind of going that way, just to make sure we get...

-So we get the pattern of it, yeah?

-Yeah.

The moisture in the wall is affecting all the woodwork

that it comes into contact with.

As I move the door it became clear that the door

was only barely attached.

When you stand back you can actually see it quite clearly.

It's a big sort of fan shape that comes out from the window

and goes all the way down, across to that door frame

and then down to the floor as well.

And in the kitchen, we see the effect that

that huge area of damp is having.

Clare needs to get this growth investigated.

I'll take a picture of it,

cos I need to find out exactly what it is.

I've never seen anything like that.

If you can imagine, behind this wall is just probably

years and years' worth of water.

Water, warm air.

Ideal conditions for mushrooms to grow.

What's the danger that we're looking at here?

We've got two adult males in here.

The health impact - they appear healthy, fit,

so the health impact is going to be quite minimal to them.

It's going to be structural, because that mushroom growth

indicates some kind of massive wooden degradation

and plasterwork degradation.

All this is going to have to be hacked off.

Or I'd suggest some kind of damp survey,

and some forensic testing of the mushrooms.

Once the damp has got to this stage,

drastic action is needed.

The sooner you can get a specialist to look at any damp issues

in your home, the less likely you are to have to spend

serious money putting it right later on.

And also, it does affect the way that you can use the kitchen,

because if you're starting to lose tiled surfaces like this,

-you can't clean it properly.

-Absolutely.

The dust that comes off, you know,

the grout and the mortar, contaminate your food.

Wow.

Later, we discover that giant fungi are just one thing

in a long list of problems with this house.

I think you deserve better, if I'm honest.

I deserve better than this.

Accepting you're not as independent as you were

can be one of the hardest parts of ageing.

And after a lifetime of taking care of others,

for many older people, all too often pride can get in the way

of admitting that it's their turn to accept a helping hand.

In Kent, Swale Council's Staying Put Manager Susan Hughes

is there to give practical support to help people live independently

in their own homes as their needs change.

We're going over to the Isle of Sheppey to see a lady

that I had a referral from the health authority.

They're worried about her having a fall when she's going outside.

She can't easily get out the front door,

and even the back door is a struggle.

So they've asked to look at doing a ramp for her to get down easy.

Already suffering with a long-term lung condition,

a recent heart attack has left 70-year-old Judy Mayer

feeling like a prisoner in her own home.

My mobility is zip at the moment.

I've not been out that front door since April.

The back door, I step out with the rail,

and I have to carry the oxygen

and I have to have a walking stick,

but as far as I get

-is there, that shed.

-SHE LAUGHS

And that is it.

A situation made worse by the death of her husband, Bern, last year.

I'm still not over his death at the moment.

My husband got cancer.

He had umpteen times of chemo,

and then after that it was radiation,

and after that it was just a matter of time.

And he died in my arms in the front room.

And that was goodbye to my beloved.

My man in a million, he was.

He really was. Sorry, I can't...

Stuck in the house,

Judy does at least have someone to keep her company.

There's some clean water for you. Going to have a drink of water?

Well, with Ozzie, he was bought for me

when Bern found out he'd got cancer.

And that was my gift from him, and...

the lady did say he would talk a lot, and he does.

Despite a clear need for a ramp,

funding from the local health authority will cover less than

half of the £926 it will cost to build,

leaving Judy to make up the shortfall of more than £500 herself.

We sent her a form to ask her to pay the difference,

and it's now been about three weeks and I haven't had the form back.

So I phoned her up and she said that she hasn't actually

quite managed to save the amount yet,

but she's saving it out of her pension,

which I thought was quite sad.

Rather than admit she couldn't afford to pay, but desperate

to stay in the home she shared with Bern,

Judy's plan was to soldier on bravely,

stuck in the house until she could raise the money.

My husband fought to keep this house going, with the cancer,

and so to me this home means an awful lot.

I just haven't got it.

Luckily Susan's on hand to help.

So I'm going out to see her to see how much money

she has managed to get, and then I'll go back

and look for funding for the rest so we can get the ramp done for her.

Cos the sooner we make it safer for her the better.

We don't want her to fall.

And with an average cost of £6,000 to adapt

a property for somebody like Judy, compared to £26,000 a year

for residential care, there's a very strong financial case

for helping older people to live independently in their own homes.

Hello. Susan Hughes.

-Oh, hello.

-Hello...

Straight away it's obvious just how much Judy needs that ramp.

So if you go out now how do you get out?

The back door?

I go the back door, but I have to have...

I've got a rail on the back door which I will show you.

Yeah, OK. We'll go and have a look at it.

Yeah, let's go and have a look at your back door then.

But your front door's a no?

Access at the rear of the property isn't much better,

and it's clearly taking its toll on Judy's ability to do even

the simple things we all take for granted.

-The back door is there.

-Yeah.

-That's where...

We had a referral from the Health that said they do need to get you out.

So there's not much difference to the front or the back.

They're both difficult, aren't they?

Except I've got that nice bar there.

Yeah. You have got a bar that helps.

Oh, you've got a lovely garden.

-I haven't seen the end of that garden since April.

-Right.

Armed with the full picture of Judy's financial situation,

Susan will be able apply for a bigger grant

from the Health Authority to cover the shortfall.

-So you have been trying to save a bit to get to this amount, haven't you?

-I have, yes.

So how much do you feel you can pay at the moment towards it?

I've got the 300.

-You've managed to save the 300?

-Yeah, yeah.

So, right, if I say we change this to 300,

and then I'll get the rest topped up from then. Is that OK?

-Yeah, that's fine. Thank you.

-So that'll make it easier for you.

It'll make it a lot, lot easier for me

-We just want it done as soon as possible for you as well.

-Yes, please.

Given her difficult circumstances,

Susan's hopeful Judy shouldn't have to wait much longer.

I'm sure I'm going to get the OK for the rest of the funding.

So if we can get that we could hopefully get it

-looked at in the next week.

-Oh, lovely.

-Maybe a week or two.

-That would be wonderful.

-And then you can get out.

Lovely, yeah. Thank you.

After feeling isolated for so long. it can't come soon enough for Judy...

Just having the ramp to be able to go out that back gate

and walk out that front and see the neighbours that have always

said good morning to me will be everything to me.

It really would. Honestly.

I know it's a simple little thing, but it's everything.

..even if admitting she now needs help to look after herself doesn't come easily.

You don't realise it when you've always done it,

and now people are having to do it for you, that's not very nice.

It really isn't.

It's a situation that Susan knows very well.

I think half of it is just the pride and, you know, what can you do?

You're not used to people helping you, so you don't ask for it.

Later, we'll be back in Kent,

to find out that pride doesn't necessarily need to lead to a fall.

Oh, this is just lovely.

Oh Sue, I can't tell you.

Back in the West Midlands, we've uncovered a serious case

of fungus at ex-serviceman Alex's rented house in Wolverhampton.

Water, warm air. Ideal conditions for mushrooms to grow.

'And it's soon clear that mushrooms growing out

'of the kitchen wall aren't the only thing wrong with this place.'

So we've got what looks like an exposed live...

It's the brown wire, so that's going to be the live wire

coming straight out of the ceiling rose.

'Now watch closely, viewers,

'because I'm about to do something very, very stupid and dangerous.'

OK, that's not live.

Then it might be switched off.

Is there a light switch there?

Oh, that's that one and that's that one, I think.

WIRE SPARKS

Oh. That's live.

-OK. You all right?

-Yeah. Good.

-You OK?

Yeah, I can't see very much.

'Now, don't worry.

'Because the cable in the ceiling rose had bare ends,

'my electrical safety screwdriver touched

'both the live and neutral wires, shorting it out.

'Hence the rather dramatic flash-bang.'

That's definitely, er...

-That definitely needs sorting out.

-Yep.

'There's a moral to this story.

'A professional electrician would never use a DIY safety screwdriver,

'and would have isolated the cables in the ceiling rose first.

'Clearly it's much safer to leave any sort of electrical

'testing and maintenance to someone who knows what they're doing,

'as Clare is quick to point out.'

Do you know what I'd ask for?

I would... What I would be asking for

in your position is an electrical safety test for the whole place.

You would ask for an EICR, which is an electrical installation condition report,

which will look at the whole electrics.

'Landlords renting out private accommodation must make sure

'all electricity and gas fittings in their properties are

'safely wired and working properly.

'The light in the front room clearly isn't.

'The electrical problems continue in the kitchen.

'I've spotted some high voltage appliances

'plugged into a mains extension cable.'

We've got a hotplate here, which is Alex's,

it's his main means of preparing food.

There's no oven here, it's just that hotplate.

It hasn't got any sort of mains spur, which is what you'd expect.

Instead, it's coming off this, what, three-way extension lead there.

So really, really not acceptable.

'Extension leads are not supposed to be used for high voltage

'appliances such as kettles and Alex's hotplate

'because the cable could melt and start a fire.

'They should each have their own socket.

'Alex and his friend are doing their best,

'but this home is failing them on so many levels.'

The other thing is here you haven't actually got very much

-food preparation surface at all, have you?

-No.

So you've got that bit there, and it's directly underneath the fungus.

I mean, that's not, that's not acceptable at all.

We expect at least 500 to 1,000 millimetres worth of work surface,

and it shouldn't really be right next to the sink drainer.

'Just off the kitchen is the downstairs bathroom.'

A large gap.

So again, we've got all the tiles coming off, so they're just not fit for purpose.

And what's going to happen is the water's going to down...

Water's going to go straight down the side if you have a shower.

..infiltrate under the tiles, and the tiles are going to start to lift.

'There are laws in place to ensure that landlords

'maintain their properties.

'They're there to keep people safe.

'This place is very poorly maintained,

'and it appears that the source of the damp problem is a little

'more obvious than I first thought.'

-This is never, ever a good sign.

-Oh-ho-ho!

-Never a good sign.

-Look at that!

-So where there's plants there is?

-Water.

-Exactly.

-Moisture.

'It looks like there's a leak in the flashing above the kitchen extension.

'Rainwater is seeping into the wall of the house

'and the timbers of the extension,

'hence the rot and the plant growing out of the windowsill.

'When Alex and his housemate moved in two months ago,

'they were given an inventory of the house, documented in photographs.

'It shows the problems have been there before they moved in.'

So in two months it's got quite bad.

And you can see just a little mini-mushroom at the top.

However, look at that.

And that is actually much worse.

So to be fair, renting this out like that is really, really...

I'm actually quite shocked for this particular company

because they never really come on our radar.

'The various problems with the house are serious.

'Under the current regulations,

'it should never have been rented out in this condition.'

I'm not being funny, Alex, but you've served the UK

for 12 years as a soldier, and this is where you are now.

Can you make sense of that?

-WHISPERED:

-No.

I think you deserve better, if I'm honest.

I deserve better than this, yes.

-And you and your friend deserve better than this.

-Exactly.

'I think the reality of Alex's situation has just hit home.

'But Clare has spoken to the letting agent,

'and it seems there is some good news.'

It appears that, you know, everybody is well aware.

It looks like the landlord knows the conditions,

you know, and what needs doing.

I believe that there's a quote in for about £1,900 worth of work.

So none of this is going to come as a surprise to him,

which is good, cos he might've had a damp survey done already,

and they might already know what it is

and where it's coming from and what needs to be done.

-And then I'll come back after 28 days.

-OK.

And we'll check in then.

All right, then, I'll see you soon, OK?

Thankfully, since we filmed work, is now under way at the property.

A new kitchen and bathroom have been put in

and the house has been rewired.

The landlord told us he'd employed an agency to look after maintenance,

but they'd failed to carry out the necessary work.

When we talked to the agency, they said the tenants had wanted

to move in quickly and had viewed the property.

After the complaints, the agency said they worked closely with

the landlord to resolve the problems.

Alex and his friend are now happy about the work that's been done

and are staying at the house,

so no further action will be taken by the council.

Earlier, in Kent, Susan Hughes needed to find additional funding

after hearing 70-year-old Judy was saving money from her pension

to contribute to the cost of an access ramp.

I've not been out that front door since April.

Less than a month later, and with a grant secured,

the new ramp's already been installed.

Susan's back to see how Judy's getting along.

Right, so how's it been then?

Oh, marvellous, Sue. Absolutely marvellous.

-And you've managed to get out and use it?

-Oh, God, yes.

Just a few weeks ago Judy felt like a prisoner in her own home.

Thanks to her new access ramp that's all changed.

The only way I can describe is it is fantastic.

Absolutely fantastic.

Because I can see people instead of standing at me front door or me back door,

I'm out there being able to see people again, my neighbours.

-Oh, it's the way they've done it as well.

-Yeah.

-The slope, the little wall, it's lovely.

-That's good.

It really is lovely, Sue, I can't thank you enough.

It was heartbreaking seeing Judy trying to struggle on

without the ramp because she didn't want

to admit she couldn't afford it.

So rather than when you were feeling very, sort of, isolated, stuck at home indoors.

No, I feel liberated, to be honest. That's the word.

Just getting out the steps, it was so difficult,

and now I haven't got that difficulty.

She can't wait to show Susan her new-found independence.

Down here is a piece of cake. I just level myself with the brakes

-OK.

-Like that.

So the brakes help cos they pull you back?

They pull me back.

Now Judy's had a taste of freedom,

it looks like there's no stopping her.

And then this is just lovely. Oh, I'm away.

-SUSAN LAUGHS

-And what's it like being out now?

Oh.

Cos you've not been able to get out. That's good.

I say good morning to people when my neighbour comes round.

-Oh, Sue, I can't tell you.

-Oh, that's good

Luckily for Judy, Susan and the council's Staying Put team will be

there to help her adapt the house as her needs continue to change.

So if there's anything else just come back to me.

If you need any other rails or anything else you know my number.

-Yeah.

-Just give us a ring. But I'm glad that's got you out,

-and made you a bit more independent.

-Definitely.

So for the foreseeable future, Judy will be able to carry on

living in the home she's loved for so many years.

And she couldn't be happier.

Well, I'm just so thrilled.

I'm sat out there, I'm just thrilled to bits with it.

When I saw that little wall I thought they've made it look

so neat and, you know... It's just lovely.

Helping people to carry on living independently for longer

might all be in a day's work for Susan,

but seeing Judy so happy makes today a particularly good one.

At the end of the day, sometimes you can go home

and you know you've made a difference to someone and you can

go home very satisfied that you've improved somebody's quality of life.

That's it for today.

Join me next time, back on the road with the Housing Enforcers.