Episode 10 The Housing Enforcers

It's difficult to imagine calling this a home.

'Everyone deserves a safe place to live.'

So, that's a dead rat.

'But with rents rising and demand increasing,

'it's getting harder and harder to find a secure place to call home.'

You can actually see the floorboards of the bathroom there.

There is clear evidence that...

-There is someone living down here.

-Yeah.

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

Someone nicked your wheelchair?

'I'm on the front line with those fighting for the right

'to decent housing...'

The amount of mould is quite shocking.

The happiest residents of this property are the rats.

'..as local councils and housing associations battle

'problem properties and slum conditions...'

This is just a scene of Dickensian misery.

It, um, absolutely pen and inks!

'..as they deal with dodgy landlords...'

-SHOUTING

-Whoa, what's that?

-Calm down!

'..nightmare neighbours...'

There's a good chance that people will be evicted.

'..and everything in between...'

It does feel like we are close to the bottom

of the housing ladder here.

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

If there's something strange in your neighbourhood,

who you gonna call?

'Today, a property inspection presents

'a rather nasty and dangerous surprise.'

I'm looking at a nightmare scenario here where there you are,

you've got your key at the door, trying to get in,

your son or daughter is playing around here,

-and then you've got this drop, straight down onto...

-Yeah.

'An anti-social tenant pushes neighbours close to the edge.'

Stressful, upsetting,

we can't cope living next door to people like that.

-Mm.

-And it's just been a nightmare for us.

'We meet the young homeless men

desperate to turn their lives around...'

It started off, the worst was when I went on

a three-month binge of drinking a litre of vodka a day,

and I tried to go cold turkey, which was the worst thing to do,

and I ended up being rushed to hospital for a detox,

cos I collapsed.

'..and a missing tenant becomes a cause for concern.'

HE KNOCKS AT THE DOOR

Strange.

So, we are still waiting to find out exactly where he is right now.

-Yeah.

-Wow, OK.

Behind every door, there's a little bit of a detective story.

Making sure everyone has got the chance to find and keep a roof

over their heads is the job of housing officers across the UK.

I'm working alongside these men and 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 you have the facilities you need

as you get older.

They also have the power to enforce a landlord to sort out

a dangerous property, or help evict a bad tenant.

It's definitely a challenging role.

Welcome to the world of the Housing Enforcers.

'I'm starting out here

'in this beautiful part of Essex coastline,

'joining housing officers Rob Goswell and Ian Kavanagh.'

Well, Rob, Ian, you bring me to the nicest places.

-Once again, a seaside town. Dovercourt.

-Yes, Dovercourt.

-Lovely Dovercourt.

-Felixstowe in the background.

-That's correct, yeah.

Well, it's a lovely day out,

but I assume we are here for a good reason.

Yeah, well, we've been called from another team,

they've reported it to us. It's our disabled facilities grants team.

'The council can provide money to homeowners,

'landlords or indeed, tenants, if they need to make changes

'to improve disabled access and facilities in their property.

'Things like ramps or stairlifts.

'The grants team recently assessed a tenant's application here,

'but they found a few problems,

'so they've sent out our dynamic duo to investigate.'

They cannot process the further works

until we've dealt with the issues.

So, effectively, at the moment,

we've got someone here who can't live in their home,

and we've got to deal with this post-haste, so they can,

you know, make their lives a bit easier.

'This grand old building is certainly handsome, and given its

'seafront location, could have been a hotel or guesthouse in the past.

'But today, it's self-contained flats, so the landlord

'has to keep it up-to-date with 21st-century safety requirements.

'Let's see if we can spot some of the issues the council's

'disability grant team discovered on their visit.

'Oh, look, there's one already.'

We have a big drop down into a basement, sort of, recess there.

It's not ideal.

-You could be down there for a while without anybody knowing.

-Yeah.

Not only that, but it looks like it's concrete,

so it's what we'd call a hard, unforgiving surface.

To use the jargon! I don't see any external light.

There are street lamps there and there,

and that is a factor that increases the likelihood of someone

falling down there.

Especially as we are potentially dealing here with someone with

a disability, you know, they may have trouble negotiating stairs,

but we're not entirely sure, so...

That's the first thing we've noticed.

'That drop could prove lethal for anyone,

'never mind a resident with disabilities.'

Naturally, I would expect to find some kind of railing, but...

Yeah, there probably was originally,

but it's been removed over the years.

We probably need something reinstalled, suitable,

that will take any weight placed upon it or anything like that.

-Two metres, metre and a half?

-Yeah, about that, I'd say.

'The stairs into the property do have a railing,

'although this raises other safety concerns.

'Fortunately for Rob and Ian, I'm on hand to offer

'a little expertise, and I've brought my tape measure.'

-So, the gaps there are too big.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I don't know if you remember, in your travels, what the space was?

Oh... I'm going to work that... This is a guess, I'm going to work

-that it's got to be smaller than a child's head.

-That's correct.

-Yeah.

-It's a 100 mil sphere.

-100 mil sphere.

So, basically, any gap between handrails

has got to be less than ten centimetres.

What the idea is, again,

what you were saying about the fall down there, what we don't want

is someone who's had a few take a tumble and then fall between them.

I'm looking at a nightmare scenario here where, there you are,

you've got your key at the door, trying to get in,

your son or daughter is playing around here,

-and then you've got this drop straight down onto...

-Yeah.

-Oh, yes.

It's a hard surface, and it's an uneven surface, if you like,

it's steps going down, so if a small child falls out through here,

he's going to fall through,

he's probably going to land and then he's going to roll down further,

and then there's another hard surface at the bottom,

so, you've got this uneven surface,

it's not going to be a clean landing.

Because of it, it raises the potential harm

that the child is going to suffer quite, well...

Anybody who falls through here, but most likely a child,

it raises it, so that's how we'll score it up as well,

we'll take that into consideration.

'If that wasn't bad enough, there are more potential hazards

'lying in wait at the bottom of the steps.'

Yeah, you stand on the edge.

If I just actually put my weight on that, that's how loose it is.

Don't put your...

That's why stepping with my weight there means it's going up there,

-so that's far from ideal.

-No.

-You think that has just...

It's just slipped, it's just moved,

it just needs to be put back in, I think.

I was just worrying if there was a hole.

-No, there's no hole there, I don't think.

-You sure?

Yeah, I'm pretty certain, have a look.

If I stand on it, you look under.

-Done it?

-Yeah, there's a hole there.

-Oh, there is a hole?

-Yeah.

Ah, there is a hole. Right, OK, that definitely needs to be dealt with.

'With what we have found just on the outside,

'it's beginning to become clear why the council's

'disability access team referred this property to Rob and Ian.

'Later, we see just why that disabled resident needs our help.'

Um, and it's for somebody like this,

-that's why the work needs to be done.

-Yes, absolutely,

this poor gentleman, he's got to be able to live in his home.

'And I get to ask some tough questions to the landlord.'

Today Rob and Ian came along to sort out a few issues,

is that a phone call that you dread?

Anti-social behaviour - three little words that can mean

a whole lot of trouble for both tenants and housing officers.

For tenants, it's no fun living next door to noisy neighbours,

overgrown gardens, or having a collection of refuse

dumped unceremoniously on your doorstep.

And for the housing officer, well,

tackling anti-social behaviour can mean having to play the role

of policeman, diplomat and counsellor all rolled into one.

In the London Borough of Havering,

housing officer Liam is on his way to visit an HMO,

or house of multiple occupancy.

By allowing separate tenants to occupy different rooms

in the same house, HMOs play an important part in easing

the housing shortage crisis.

But increasing the number of people in a property can lead

to its own problems, like the ones facing Liam today.

We are on our way to one of our HMO properties,

where we've had a lot of issues over the last few months regarding,

er, residents causing anti-social behaviour - smoking cannabis,

partying, smashing the property, criminal damage, the works, really.

There's not many people left there,

there's only one resident left there,

he's on the verge of going to court to be evicted,

but the property's still in a bad state

and he's causing still a lot of problems there.

Even though there is only one tenant remaining in the property,

Liam wants to check the behaviour has improved,

but the resident isn't making it easy for the council.

The maintenance guys have been trying to gain access to

the property for the last week,

we've had points where he's put screws through the door,

fingers crossed he's not wedged it and we can just open the door.

If not, we are going to have to somehow force it open.

Liam is joined today by fellow housing officer Gail.

I wonder if he HAS barricaded the door.

They are hoping they will have more luck gaining access

to the property than their maintenance team did.

HE RATTLES THE KEY IN THE LOCK

That lock's dead. No lock in there.

SHE KNOCKS AT THE DOOR

So, no luck getting through the front door,

but Liam and Gail aren't ready to wave the white flag just yet.

A friendly neighbour may offer them an alternative solution.

I'm going to quickly see if I can get access from the back.

The next-door garden provides

a little more unorthodox manner of entry.

-Liam springs into action.

-This... This panel.

Whoops!

Just nearly killed meself!

No, it's not a problem.

Life as a housing officer is never short of surprises.

Do you think if I lift this, it'll be all right?

-This one.

-That one? I'll do it, I'll do it.

No, this might need two people.

If you can get the other...

OK.

Liam finally makes it into the tenant's garden,

but yet again, there's no sign of him.

Got in to see if the rear of the property might be open,

to see if we can gain access, because he's, er,

wedged the door closed on the front, so we can't gain access.

So, I was hoping we might be able to get in via the rear door,

it might have been left open, but there's no windows open...

-That one is.

-Where?

-This long one.

-Which one?

-There. That one, look.

Yeah, but that's into his room. I can't go in there.

I can go in here, it's communal.

I can't go in there, it's his bedroom.

It's the council.

HE KNOCKS AGAIN

I was hoping that he might have opened the rear door,

because the front door seems like it's jammed,

but he's not responding.

He might be in, he might not, so, um, that's all I can do for now,

really, there's nothing else I can really do.

I can't gain access, so I can't really do anything about it.

Unfortunately for the team,

there is no way of gaining access to the property to see if

the final remaining tenant is still there, but the neighbour wants them

to know the scale of the problems her family have had to endure.

She is happy to let us use her voice, but not her face.

How has it made you feel, having, obviously,

the people like that next door to you?

Stressful. Upsetting.

We've been threatened.

Um...

-We can't cope, living next door to people like that.

-Hmm.

They're inconsiderate,

they're lucky to have a place to live,

and they abuse it.

And you've approached them before, haven't you,

-and asked them, politely, to...

-Politely.

-..to turn the noise down.

-Yes.

-And have a little bit more respect.

It's affected all the family.

My daughter couldn't come home from university,

so she's had to stay up. It was exams time.

We couldn't sleep at night.

We complained about our car being vandalised.

It's just upsetting, because we have to go to work,

and we can't sleep at night.

You're stressed before you even go to work.

You're stressed in the morning. The music was on, at one point,

48 hours, and it's just been a nightmare for us.

Nightmare I think just about covers it.

No-one should have to endure that kind of stress in their own home.

By working with the council, though, hopefully the ordeal

will soon be over for everyone living nearby.

What we've got there is a really good example

of how, when you've got some help from the neighbours

and all the information that we've collected

on these tenants, how helpful that is to us

and helps us to do our job properly.

Later, Liam and Gail return to the property...

SHE MOUTHS

..and this time they get in.

Hello? Council!

Anyone home?

Homelessness among young people in the UK

is on the rise. It's estimated that as many as 80,000 under-25s

experience it, either sleeping rough,

squatting or sofa-surfing.

Of course, not having a roof over your head is desperate for anyone,

but the effects can be particularly damaging for the young.

Some organisations, like Action Housing in Rotherham,

are offering radical solutions.

Nathan Watson is a key worker here.

Homelessness for young people is a massive issue and I think

that it's not discussed enough,

and I don't believe there's enough funding pumped into this field

to give these young people a good opportunity,

because some of them may be care-leavers,

they may have been asked to leave home by their parents.

They obviously have a lack of opportunity

that other people may have and, hopefully,

this is what we want to give back to these young people,

give them the opportunity in life to excel

and do the best they can for themselves.

Action Housing supports vulnerable young people

by offering them a secure place to live,

like this brand-new unit called Parkgate.

Parkgate not only provides a roof over their heads

but also life skills and training

to prepare them for a more stable existence.

Project manager Jo Beeley is making sure the place is ready

for the first residents, who move in in just three weeks' time.

Through here, we have what's going to be our training room.

Training sessions in here can be anything from pre-tenancy courses,

so, what it's like to be a good neighbour,

how to pay your bills,

the budgeting, key working sessions.

It can be substance misuse sessions,

therapeutic, but also what we think's important

to build that structure, that responsibility.

It's estimated that as many as 30% of young homeless people

have spent time in the care system.

Given this background,

many will be missing out on essential life skills

that most of us take for granted.

This room is our kitchen.

It's a training kitchen. We've got two ovens,

two sinks, and this will be where all the clients come and cook

and socialise.

There is going to be a big dining table for them to sit and eat,

we'll be able to do some cook-and-eat sessions with clients,

what is healthy eating, you know,

what do you do with a potato,

what do you do with vegetables,

and how you batch-cook, so living on a budget,

those kind of things.

It might seem simple, but for the young people who'll live here,

this training could be invaluable.

And Jo's keen to get them started.

I'm very excited. I think we all are.

I think there's a real buzz around our organisation at the minute,

that this building, this project, is giving us

something more than we've ever had before.

We've got something real that...

that is really needed within Rotherham for young people.

23-year-old Chris

and 21-year-old Aaron

will be amongst the first to move in.

Before he came onto Action Housing's radar,

Chris was training as a chef, then it all went wrong.

The reason why I got kicked out from my mum's is, like I say,

I was at uni, but I was getting depressed,

I wasn't enjoying the course,

I had a lot of family problems

and I just kind of turned to drink.

I was just drinking ridiculous amounts.

Drinking every day, getting dependent upon it.

It started off, the worst was when I went on a three-month binge

of drinking a litre of vodka a day, and I tried to go cold turkey,

which was the worst thing to do,

and I ended up being rushed to hospital for a detox,

cos I collapsed, and it...

That was probably the worst...

The worst time.

More than two-thirds of homeless young people

leave home because of a family breakdown.

With young people often considered a low priority by councils,

it can leave them facing homelessness alone and scared.

I would say it's very important to be around other people

because I...from my own experience,

I used to shelter myself away from people,

and it didn't do me any favours.

The new place that we're hopefully moving into soon

is going to have a communal kitchen,

but everyone's got their own flat with an en suite,

and there's going to be more staff and more activities.

They're going to have a communal room

so that all the residents that normally shelter themselves

in the flat and not socialise,

they've got the opportunity to socialise.

Chris is hoping the move to Parkgate will help him get his life

back on track, and enable him to reconnect with his family.

I haven't spoken to my family for a long time,

cos I knew that I didn't want to have any contact with them

until I knew that I was better,

and I'm slowly but surely getting there.

Aaron's also desperate for a fresh start.

He's been in temporary accommodation after finding himself unemployed.

I got into cannabis, I had to move in here because I couldn't

move back into my mum's because my sister and niece have moved in.

I went to the council. There was nowhere for me, apart from here.

I couldn't move back into my mum's cos I've got ADHD and all that.

So I had to move in here.

For Aaron, the new centre could also be a valuable stepping-stone

to securing his own council tenancy

and getting work as a builder.

I've already got my Level 1 in construction,

cos hopefully, after that,

I'd be able to get my CSCS card and then go straight back on site,

so it's all good.

Once I move out of here, move up to Parkgate,

I'll be moved on.

If I pay all my bills,

do all my rent, keep my flat tidy,

I'll be moved on to my own accommodation, which is what I want.

Later on, it's moving-in day...

Chris? Are you ready?

..although things are not quite running according to plan.

Chris has not got up on time this morning.

Just grab a few bags, we'll move up with them.

Defending our right to a safe place to live

is the job of housing officers right across the UK.

This is how they live.

It's almost like he's declared war on everybody living here.

-Everybody?

-It's not just you guys.

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

Whoever was here had their last couple of parties

and then decided to give it up.

Hitting the streets,

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

This is a good example of a good old waste of council time.

..as we make sure a house is a fit place to call a home.

There's a strong smell of damp.

You notice it as soon as you come in the property.

We're going to have no choice but to take them to court.

Job well done.

Back in Dovercourt in Essex,

I'm with housing officers Rob and Ian,

inspecting a house in multiple occupation.

One of the tenants requires improved disabled access,

such as decent railings or a ramp,

but our assessment has thrown up some serious safety issues.

We have big drop down into a basement.

You could be down there for a while without anybody knowing.

So far, we've only inspected the exterior.

Time to see if things are any better inside.

So, what's the story here? What do you think so far?

Well, I mean, I've looked around in one of the flats upstairs,

and there's a fire door on virtually every room,

which is not something we would ask for.

There's a fire door on bedrooms, living rooms,

even the toilet had a fire door...

-This may have been a guesthouse.

-Or something. Originally.

It's got a full fire alarm system. We've even got emergency lighting.

Risk of fire is always the main concern

with houses in multiple occupancy,

so that's good news.

But will the disabled tenant's flat be just as safe?

-That was good.

-Yeah.

Good afternoon. Tendring Council.

Hiya. We need to inspect your room...

We're allowed inside,

although the tenant doesn't want to appear on camera.

It's clear, though, the extent of the challenges that he's facing

and why improved access and facilities could prove very welcome.

We've got a front room that the tenant,

who clearly is going through quite a lot of health challenges...

-Absolutely.

-And it's for somebody like this,

-that's why the work needs to be done.

-Yes.

This poor gentleman, he's...

He's got to be able to live in his home,

and until we can come along and give it the OK, he can't.

So, to make his life better,

cos we're up on the...second floor?

I'd say it's second.

Second.

So we need to be able to make sure he can get up to his flat.

Get up to his flat, indeed, yeah,

so he's got access, he's got safe access that he can use,

but first things first.

We have to get every other hazard within the property sorted out

before they can even consider what they're going to do.

He's in a stunning place here.

They're lovely big flats, aren't they?

-Big flats.

-Seafront.

Fine location.

Right over the seafront, lovely balcony.

-Rob's making the most of that.

-Rob's sunbathing.

There's clearly plenty of work needed to make the place

more comfortable for this tenant, but looking around,

I'm encouraged by what the landlord's already provided.

Self-closing fire doors, but internal doors.

-Usually, you'd expect to see them on HMO front doors.

-Exactly.

So each individual unit would need that so they could contain a fire.

The door that opens onto the means of escape, effectively.

-Right.

-It's well above what we would ask for,

if we were to come in and this was not up to standard.

-We've found a property that's over-spec'd.

-Over-spec'd.

-Wow.

-I know. We don't often find that.

-No.

We certainly don't, but at the end of the day,

it's all about ensuring the tenant has somewhere to live

that's safe, secure and accessible.

It's interesting, looking around,

again, the evidence of family life...

He seems like a naval guy,

which is what you'd expect, coming to near Harwich,

and here we are, just trying to make things a little bit easier...

to be able to enjoy his flat again, properly.

But, you know, there are many stages to the process.

Not straightforward at all.

So, while the exterior needs some work, internally,

the landlord seems to have taken his responsibilities seriously,

and exceeded the safety requirements.

That landlord is Harry Ruparelia,

who also owns a number of other properties in the area

as well as the corner shop.

I get the feeling he's quite well known around these parts.

Most of my tenants come through me

because the word of mouth is, I've been here 25 years in this town,

and so I get, every day, calls,

have I got accommodation,

because I...

probably am a good landlord.

And then dealing with the council.

I mean, today, Rob and Ian came along

-to sort out a few issues.

-Yeah.

-Is that a phone call that you dread?

-No.

I used to.

I used to dread when it came

because I'd rather they come, and if there is something wrong,

I'd rather correct it than fight with them.

-They also know exactly where to find you.

-Yeah. Definitely.

So you're there, open all hours.

They can find me, they phone me all the time

and I answer my phones. I don't ignore.

Do you think landlords get a bad press, generally?

Yes. They definitely get a bad press.

People don't understand. It's not easy. You put your own risk

and if your mortgage is not paid,

nobody is going to help you out.

I know there are some landlords who...rogue landlords,

but the majority of landlords are decent landlords.

What would happen, then, for a lot of your tenants

if you weren't providing them with housing?

They would be homeless.

Definitely. Because in Tendring, there is no accommodation.

So if people like us are not there,

then...

..it will be chaotic,

because they'll have to put them in bed-and-breakfasts,

which is going to cost the councils a lot of money.

We don't often get the chance to see housing challenges

from the other side of the fence, so to speak,

so hats off to Harry for fronting up to the cameras

with his side of things. But where does that leave Rob and Ian?

We've got a few issues here to deal with.

There is issues there, as you know,

with getting in and out of the property,

-so we'll try and get this done as soon as possible.

-Yeah.

-The landlord seems to be on board, so...

-Irrespective of who's here,

whether we've got somebody who's applying for

a Disabled Facilities Grant or not, the work still needs to be done.

We have tenants here, anybody could move out,

the gentleman applying for the Disabled Facilities Grant

could move out,

and somebody else could move in and we've still got those hazards,

they don't go away until we ask the landlord to deal with them.

So, probably without knowing it,

-he's actually done the other tenants a favour.

-Exactly.

He's called it in,

he's given you guys a chance to come in and have a look,

which will sort out things that they might have wanted

-to have done for some time.

-Exactly. And to be honest with you,

if it wasn't for our disabled team

coming in and inspecting the property,

we may never have heard about this,

unless a tenant makes a complaint.

So I would say to any tenants out there,

make a complaint if you've got a problem with your housing.

You live with things every day and you just make do.

You don't realise just how bad they truly are.

And you don't want to find out in worst way,

-by something bad happening.

-Exactly.

And that's what we're here for, at the end of the day.

Just to make people's life better in their homes.

Good work, guys.

-Thank you.

-Brilliant work. Brilliant work.

-Thank you.

I'm pleased to say that, since our visit,

the landlord has completed almost all of the work

identified by Rob and Ian,

but at present, the tenant's disability grant is on hold

while more investigations are carried out

to assess whether the accommodation is suitable for his needs.

Earlier, in Havering, housing officers Liam and Gail

tried to access a multiple-occupancy property

to tackle tenants about their anti-social behaviour.

We're stressed in the morning.

The music was on, at one point, 48 hours.

Although there's now only one resident remaining,

Liam and Gail were still having problems tracking him down.

But they've returned and it looks like they can get into the property

using a more traditional method this time.

They've made it inside.

Will the troublesome tenant be here?

Hello? Council!

Anyone home?

Abandonment notice on that.

He's still not been back, has he?

Cos he would have taken it off the door.

It doesn't look like there's much sign of life,

and the last tenant didn't bother to tidy up either.

No, it's not changed.

It's been like this since... It was exactly like this

-when I came here last time.

-See, there's a black bag in here.

Two weeks ago, that knife was on the side.

Do you want me to chuck that black bag out?

-We can do.

-There could be maggots.

The knife and all that on the side was exactly the same

when I came here last time. No-one's been in here.

Upstairs is the same as well.

This is one of the rooms of a resident

that has abandoned the property.

He was evicted at the end. He abandoned it, then got evicted.

He's just left his belongings and left.

He left the windows open. We closed the windows.

But it's been left like this for three to four months.

There is no sign of him coming back. We did leave it open

because his belongings are still in here,

and he's got a right to get them,

but it's got to a point now where we're just going to clear it out

and lock the door. As you may see, they have to change the whole door

because they've actually kicked the door in to get in here.

This is how they live.

Bit of a state, really.

Although disappointed about the state of the property,

there is at least the relief that the anti-social behaviour

might now be at an end.

This is the worst HMO that we've had in the borough.

Every day we came here, they didn't care.

We walked in, it stank of cannabis.

They'd walk into their room

and we'd see them walk into their room.

I'd knock on their door and they wouldn't even answer the door,

even though I've seen them walk into the room.

They'll just close the door, lock it and hide.

So they didn't want to help themselves.

The neighbour broke down crying in front of me before

about the problems. They'll switch on music and leave it on overnight

and go out, and just leave the music playing,

just so it annoys the neighbours,

threatened them, damaged their vehicles.

There's a bus stop outside,

they've been abusive to people getting on and off the buses.

This is just an ongoing bad problem here.

Now that we've actually been able to gain access,

we're going to have to arrange to have clean-ups,

doors replaced and secured,

and the place put back to its normal state

before we can start putting people back in here,

so we suspect now that number two has been abandoned,

so we'll probably write up a letter this week and serve it,

and if they don't contact us in seven days,

we will then enter the room,

clear it out and start work on the property,

getting it back up to scratch and getting it back out rented.

But a further examination reveals that getting this property

back into action might be a bigger job than Liam was hoping.

As you can see, they've stuck screws in the door

and were screwing them closed into the frame

to stop us from gaining access, so it stops us from getting in.

Every time we tried to open the door, it was locked.

When they wanted to leave, they'll unscrew it.

So when I came in here, there was a power drill on the floor there,

and they were drilling it closed, locking themselves in,

and as you can see, the screws are still in there.

Yeah, as you can see, the door frame is cracked,

the inside's cracked, and the ceiling's cracked,

where they've actually tried to gain access

by kicking and slamming the doors, cracked it to pieces

and actually made it pretty brittle.

This is all stuff that's going to have to be repaired

before we rent it back out,

so this is not good for us, this is in the centre of Romford,

this property's worth a lot of money

and the disrespect that the residents had for it,

they just didn't care. They'd just break things, damage things,

and walk away and think it's fine,

and it's us who pays for it at the end, you know?

So, from here, there'll probably just take their stuff,

move away and they'll have to go to another council

because we will not house them again,

and they'll do the same thing again, end up in an HMO,

they'll treat it the same way, with no respect, damage it,

and end up being evicted

and they'll just go round in one vicious circle,

so, no, feel sorry for... I feel sorry for the landlords

because they're the ones who own the properties

and they're the ones...

It's their properties and they're getting damaged. So...

It's a sad day, but we have to deal with it.

Life of a warden!

Never a dull moment, Liam,

but at least the property is safely back in the hands of the council,

and that means that it won't be long before it can be offered

to those in need of a safe and secure home.

And with the tenants gone,

at least the neighbours can finally rest easy.

One of the things you learn pretty early on

when you spend time with housing officers

is that there's no such thing as an average day.

You never really know what you're going to find

behind each door you enter.

Here in Southampton, I'm with Hyde Housing Association officer

Stephen Key.

He's discovered a few signs that all might not be well

with one of his tenants.

I've seen that the garden's overgrown in the back,

so it looks like he may not be able to...

-Are we talking about a young guy, someone a bit older?

-Older guy.

Housing officers soon learn to spot the telltale signs

that a tenant might be struggling,

so a timely visit can stop problems building up in the future.

But there are immediate and worrying signs

that things might not be right at the property.

-He'll definitely be in.

-He's in?

-Yeah. He doesn't go out.

It's just him getting to the door which is the problem.

It takes a little bit of a while?

Just want to check over the back because I...

I can't see his commode there,

-because he has a commode near the door.

-Right.

So I don't know if...

Is the back gate usually open?

Yeah.

Just want to make sure that he's...

that he's not in the kitchen.

HE KNOCKS

Strange.

Given the tenant's health problems,

Stephen knows it's unusual for him to be out of the house.

Alarm bells are beginning to ring.

So, Stephen, you seem a bit concerned about the situation here.

-We've knocked on a lot of doors.

-Yeah.

-And not gained entry.

Why in this particular case does it concern you?

Because usually the resident generally is housebound,

so he wouldn't usually leave the home

unless he had care or support to take him out.

After failing to rouse the tenant,

Stephen decides to investigate further, and after a quick chat

with one of the neighbours, he discovers some disturbing news.

He advised me that yesterday he had concerns for the neighbour.

He didn't see any lights on for the last two days

and he was worried about him possibly...

..being in some sort of danger, so he called the police yesterday.

They turned up and broke into the property

and they found no evidence of him being there.

-So we're still waiting to find out exactly where he is right now.

-Yeah.

Wow. OK. Behind every door...

-Yeah.

-It's a little bit of a detective story

-and it's sort of a personal drama...

-Always.

-..going on.

-Yeah.

This new development is clearly a big worry for Stephen,

so he starts calling around other agencies who work with the tenant

to see if they can shed some light on the situation.

I was wondering if I could speak to someone about someone

you guys are involved with.

I've just got some concerns because I've gone to visit him today

and he's not at the property.

So I didn't know if he had been put into care again

or if he had been admitted to hospital.

Finally, after several tense calls, he makes a breakthrough

as one of the agencies reveals the tenant is safe and well.

So they know where he is.

But they're going to wait until tomorrow to let me know.

Presumably data protection and all these sort of things

come into play here, where they are only going to be telling you

the information you need to know in your role,

but it sounds like they are being cagey

or they're being careful, at least,

about how much information, they don't want to give you

-more information than you need to do your job.

-Yeah, it's...

I can understand why because it may be something quite sensitive

to the person and the family,

so it may be that tomorrow when I get a call I'll know more

and it's probably better that

it comes from the person that's been dealing with him

than someone that's got notes on the system, which tomorrow they will

probably be able to give me a lot more information on where he is.

I can tell Stephen's relieved,

even though he still doesn't know exactly where the tenant is.

It must be frustrating

when he has the best interests of the tenant at heart.

We all appreciate the need for privacy and the need for...

But does it actually get in the way sometimes of you being able

-to do your job?

-Sometimes it can.

It can slow a lot of processes down, so we could, for instance,

if they were able to tell me, we would know where he is

and if there was anything we could do.

It's probably going to be better when we speak to them tomorrow

so we can get a better picture of where he is

and what we can do to help him, if there is anything we can do.

It may be that he has had to return back to care.

Stephen's experience demonstrates yet again

how the life of a housing officer is anything but routine.

Fortunately a follow-up call with agency services confirmed

the resident had been temporarily put into care

while his needs were reassessed.

I'm pleased to say he is now back living at home

with extra support in place, so a happy ending.

It's a big day back in Rotherham.

The opening of Parkgate,

a new nine-bedroom accommodation unit for homeless young people.

It was always going to be a mad rush.

We've been based here trying to ensure that everything's ready

for opening, but as you can imagine,

you're never fully ready, no matter how much preparation you do.

This morning, key worker Nathan and colleague Sue were picking up

Parkgate's very first residents, Aaron and Chris,

from their temporary accommodation, to take them to their new home.

But they seem to be having trouble getting Chris out of bed.

Chris? Are you ready?

Chris has not got up on time this morning.

That should be everything there that I need.

He's partly packed,

so he's just rushing around now to get his stuff together.

He shouldn't be too long.

Just grab a few bags, we'll just move up with them,

so you've got summat to move with,

and then we can come back and we can do this in your own time in the day.

Whilst Chris gets himself together...

-Good morning.

-Morning.

..Aaron's raring to go.

It means a lot from moving out of here into Parkgate. It's all good.

I can't wait to move.

Homelessness amongst young people is on the rise,

so schemes like this one can prove invaluable to Aaron and Chris,

especially when struggles with drugs and alcohol

have made their situations more challenging.

This could be a brand-new start.

But what will they make of their new home?

Spot on.

Can't complain with this.

It's nice. Very nice.

Clean. Fresh.

Yeah, like it. Really do like it.

Looks good.

It's a proper bathroom.

-So what do you think, then, Aaron?

-It's all good.

It's becoming reality now.

Obviously we've got Aaron in, we've got Chris in,

it's nice to see that they're settling in.

It's nice to see big smiles on their face and...

just to see them obviously enjoying theirself

and relaxing in the new accommodation.

They go in the drawer!

Someone messing my room up already.

Obviously Aaron's ultimate goal is to be looking at getting a CSCS card

so he can be working on site building or looking at

getting an apprenticeship, so hopefully this accommodation

now provides him with a stable home to go out and achieve that goal.

It seems Aaron has already started

putting his practical skills to good use.

On Friday I built these wardrobes, chairs in all six rooms.

On Thursday I were working outside, working on the maintenance,

moving blocks, basically being a labourer.

It's all voluntary but at the end hopefully you get your CSCS card.

So it's all worth it in the long run.

And they're still standing, look.

They're not falling to pieces...

They're not falling to pieces, so it's all good.

Time to check out the facilities.

So obviously that's the communal kitchen, Chris,

so obviously this is where it would be like a training kitchen,

-so obviously you're helping out young people at cooking.

-Yeah.

And having trained as a chef before becoming homeless,

Chris is well placed to help with the running of the unit.

What we'd like to see Chris doing, because he's a trained chef,

we'd like him to see us, working alongside us as a volunteer

so he can sort of take in some of our young people under his wing,

showing them the basics in cooking, and giving them skills,

which I think you are up for, aren't you, Chris? You would like to do.

-Yeah. Once I get this off.

-Yeah!

-SUE:

-Are you happy, then, Chris?

-Lovely.

-Is it like you expected?

Better, better than I expected. This is brilliant.

-It's lovely inside, isn't it?

-Yeah. Definitely is. I can't fault it.

-Everything's here you need.

-The white is very crisp and clean.

That's what I said, yeah, it's really fresh, even though

the building outside looks older, inside it's quite modern, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It is nice.

-Deceptive facade.

-Yeah.

It is definitely a deceptive facade.

With the boys settled in, Nathan and the team can now begin

preparing them for their lives ahead.

Young men aren't the most notorious for expressing theirself

but I mean, you can see by moving them young men in today

what it means to them.

I mean, hopefully, the ultimate outcome is that these young people

gain the skills which they need to maintain the tenancy

and they move on into independence

and they no longer need guys like us to support them.

That's the end result.

I'm happy to report that since that visit,

both Chris and Aaron have reconnected with their families,

and thanks to the guys at Action,

they are now looking to move into their own properties very soon.

We wish them well.

That's it for today, but join me again next time

when I'll be back on the front line with the housing enforcers.