Episode 18 The Housing Enforcers

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

Everyone deserves a safe place to live.

If your home is falling apart, you're going to fall apart.

But with rents rising and demand increasing,

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

-It's a stinky little hole.

-It is, indeed.

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

It stinks!

If I'm honest with you, I'm not sure whether

I would want Grace going into that house.

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

'to decent housing...'

Oh, this place is a bit of a mess.

And he usually urinates in that corner.

..as local councils and housing associations

battle problem properties and slum conditions...

The smell in there... Everything just reeks.

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

And probably here is about as far as it's safe to go.

..nightmare neighbours...

-What is she doing? Kicking you, or?

-Yeah.

-Would you want either side evicted?

-No, I wouldn't.

..and everything in between...

OK.

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

Behind every door...

is a little bit of a detective story.

Today, I meet a couple in need of more than just a helping hand

if they're to stay in their property...

Angela has arthritis of the spine.

You might have notice she's bending over.

-I can't stand up.

-She can't stand up.

-I'm all right if I'm leaning on something, but...

-OK.

But she's shrinking, you know?

We didn't want to make a fuss.

It's sort of... We've always been independent.

..a troublesome tenant is causing a nightmare

for his neighbours in Suffolk...

-KNOCK AT DOOR

-Hello. Andrew, Aimi.

I just want to talk to you about your behaviour.

Because of the police involvement, we now need to take some action.

..housing officers in Stroud rush to answer a kitchen SOS...

I'm a coeliac. I'm a diabetic,

I've got two heart problems and so has my husband.

So the problems we have actually are not as easy to fix as some people

might feel, you know?

..and in London, a routine visit threatens to get out of hand.

I know you're upset and angry,

but I haven't come here to, kind of, point fingers and have a go at you.

There's obviously some issues with the overcrowding.

She's got no powers of entry, Grace.

She's here by herself, dealing with a tenant

that won't allow her entry to the property to work

out what's going on.

At this stage, it feels like stalemate.

Finding a suitable place to call home for you and your family has

never been harder, especially for those on a restricted budget.

But low rent shouldn't mean your house

doesn't live up to the same basic standards as everyone else's.

Fortunately, there is a group of men and women who are out on the front

line battling on your behalf against bad and dangerous living conditions.

They are the Housing Enforcers.

The housing crisis currently gripping the UK is making it painful

for anyone trying to get a foot on to the housing ladder,

with first-time buyers have to fork out on average

more than £200,000 for their starter home.

And that's just outside London.

Inside the capital, you can double that figure.

Equally, councils and housing associations keeping people in their

existing homes that they've cherished for many years

can also be a challenge.

In Somerset, I'm with housing officer Belinda Eastland.

We're on our way to our way to check in on an elderly couple

whose changing circumstances have set alarm bells ringing.

OK, so who are we going to go and see today?

We're going to go and see Mr and Mrs George.

They haven't reported any repairs for many years,

but they were struggling to get in and out of the bath.

So, why would they not report those things, then?

Do you know, I don't really know.

Some tenants feel as though

if they're ringing you up and reporting repairs that they're

actually bothering you.

So, that's why it's very important to visit tenants

on a regular basis to try and get to the ones

that haven't bothered reporting things and have

outstanding issues. So we had a look to see what we could do for

them and put out quite a few repair orders to bring them up-to-date.

Belinda and her team have already been out to adapt the house to

help suit the tenants' needs.

'But this follow-up visit is a way of checking whether the

'changes have been enough to improve quality of life

-'for Angela and Nick.'

-Hello, Mrs George.

Thank you.

The reason I've come out today is to find out how you're getting on since

-Tracey was last here.

-Yes.

Because she came out and found that there were quite a few things that

-she needed to try and get put right for you.

-That's right, yeah.

And hopefully that has happened.

It's really a courtesy call today to find out how you are managing.

OK. To be honest, it's been fantastic

I have gone downhill in this last year.

I was told 30 years ago, if I looked after myself I'd get ten years,

and now I've had 30.

And I was still working until a year ago, but I've had to retire.

Angie suffers from osteo and rheumatoid arthritis

and she's diabetic.

So the pair of us have, sort of, got a double whammy.

-And gout.

-And gout, yeah, yeah.

But Tracey arranged for grab rails to be put up with your builders

-and that was done.

-Yes.

-That is quite helpful.

But going forward, longer term,

you think you need further adaptations, do you?

-It is a problem with what we've got.

-OK.

So they have spoken to Tracey,

who I understand has given permission, through whoever,

that they're going to put in a wet room.

That's a great result for you, isn't it? Yeah.

Well, yeah. I mean, I'm so grateful I could burst into tears.

'The housing association has provided a set of grab rails'

in the bathroom, as well as repairing the shower and heater.

These are not huge changes in the grand scheme of things,

but you can see what it means to both Angela and Nick.

Angela has another problem with her...

She's got arthritis of the spine.

-You might have noticed she's bending over.

-I can't stand up.

-She can't stand up.

-I'm all right if I'm leaning on something.

-OK.

-But she's shrinking, you know?

I used to be five foot seven.

-What am I now - five foot two?

-Yeah.

It's great being old, it really is. It's fantastic!

-Something to look forward to!

-You don't hear that very often!

We were just wondering why you hadn't made those requests before.

You know, did you feel you didn't want to bother the association?

Yeah. Yeah, I think so.

-I think we're coping all right, aren't we?

-We're OK.

We've never, ever made claims in our lives.

We didn't want to make a fuss.

It's, sort of... We've always been independent.

'Staying independent is clearly a big concern for this couple.

'But Belinda needs to think about the future as well.'

'Given Nick and Angela's health concerns,

'is remaining in this house still a viable solution,

'even with the proposed addition of a wet room?'

OK, so we can see... I mean, this is very limited in space, isn't it?

-Yes, it is. Yeah.

-And you can't really change that.

-No.

-That's why they will remove the bath...

-Yeah.

You know, to put the level-access shower in.

You know, these things, they always...

When they've been described to you, they sound small, you know,

but then when you actually put yourself in that situation

that Nick and Ange are talking about, getting away from the bath,

when you're really limited with mobility

and getting back out into the room

and you're probably wet and possibly cold as well...

-Exactly, yeah.

-You know, it's actually...

It's actually quite...

You know, quite a dangerous manoeuvre to be able to pull off...

-Yeah.

-..because you're pulling yourself away

and there's nothing there to grab on to.

The bathroom adaptations were a fairly quick fix for Belinda and her

team, but unfortunately providing a wet room

is going to be a little bit less straightforward.

But, you see, these grab rails, we can afford to do something like

-this short-term...

-M-hm.

-..you know, to keep them going.

And often that's enough with portable adaptations.

But then if more extensive works are required,

like changing it into a wet room,

that's when they do have to go through the local authority to get a

disabled facilities grant.

Just like any other landlord, you're balancing the...

Any works that you do to a property

against the rental you're going to get from that.

Whereas, there's no magic fund for you guys.

-You have to finance yourselves.

-No, that's right.

Yeah, that's absolutely right.

It will now be down to the local council to decide whether

Mr and Mrs George get the grant they need to provide the funds for their

wet room. If unsuccessful, you do wonder how long this couple

could realistically stay here.

'It looks like Nick's doing his best to send out some positive vibes,

'courtesy of his rather unusual hobby.'

Big finish! Big finish!

Speeding up!

That's awesome!

These are African drums.

I didn't expect this when we came out today.

No, I didn't expect to be doing it.

How long have you been doing this for?

I've been doing this for about three/four years.

-I was looking for something in retirement...

-Yeah.

..and I started off with a group - the Mendip All Drummers.

-Most people go golf or...

-Yeah, I know, but...

-Not for you.

-No.

You're like the John Bonham of African drumming!

'Nick's clearly not quite ready to embrace the quiet life just yet.'

A hobby like this requires plenty of space and understanding neighbours.

It's another reason why being forced to move out of this property

could prove life-changing.

I got the feeling that this place right now to you is as important

as it's ever been, this home you've got right now.

Too right. The housing association, as I said indoors,

have been fantastic.

I didn't know this sort of thing went on.

They care. They really care.

I've asked them for things and help

and they've come along and over and above.

From our side, we were surprised that you hadn't been asking,

or hadn't expected that you could get help like the sort of help

that you were getting. What was through your mind beforehand?

Pride. Pride.

As I say, we've never, ever made a claim.

We don't want to be claimants for benefits,

but we've reached the point where we have to be.

But the system has catered for us.

'I'll be keeping all of my fingers crossed that the council agree to

'provide funds for the wet room so that Nick and Ange can keep their'

independence and continue to remain in the house they love.

In the meantime, it's good to know there are people like Belinda and

the housing association keeping an eye out for them.

Belinda, you know, so often in this programme I come across people

who actually don't know how to or forget how to ask for help

-when actually they really need it.

-They think it's too much trouble,

it's going to cost us too much money.

But that's what we're there for.

OK, so the next steps them with them -

obviously the wet room is something that's out of our control,

it's in the hands of the local authority?

Yes. Yes, it is.

But we will still help to co-ordinate things.

We'll be talking to the local authority.

We'll be getting in touch regularly for updates and, you know,

we'll be coming out to see how they're coping

-once the wet room has been installed.

-Great stuff.

I'm pleased to say that Nick's drumming skills

remain as rhythmic as ever and the couple's application

for their much-needed wet room is still being

processed by their local authority.

Fingers crossed it goes through and that Nick and Angela

can remain in their much-loved home for many more years to come.

With more than a million people currently on the social housing

waiting list, finding a suitable property

can be enough of a challenge,

but once you do manage to secure a council property,

new tenants aren't initially offered a home for life.

For the first year they've put on a 12-month introductory tenancy,

which means they have to demonstrate

they can respect the accommodation and the community.

Here in Suffolk, housing officers Andrew Weavers and Aimi Myhill

have been called out to see a new tenant

whose broken so many rules he's in danger of being evicted

even before his first year's up.

He's been in trouble with the police several times over the last few

months for being drunk and disorderly,

causing harassment to neighbours.

And when we went out there, we found most of his possessions

in the garden.

So, what we've got to do now is go and serve him a notice

because the things that have been going on have been quite serious.

He's an introductory tenant

and this is our opportunity to deal with it fairly swiftly.

The council has the power to evict an introductory tenant with just

four weeks' notice if they've obtained a court order.

But eviction is always a last resort and Andrew is still hoping there may

be a way to avoid turfing this tenant out.

This particular tenant came through the homelessness route

prior to moving to this property, so understands how difficult it is

-to be allocated a council property, so...

-So he actually knows, doesn't he?

So he knows how valuable it is, you know, what he has.

It's all very well saying, "I'll live on the street,"

which is what he's threatened to do.

-Yeah, it is. Yeah.

-It's lovely weather.

-At the moment.

It won't be long before it starts getting colder.

-Then he'll be saying, "Oh, can I have a house, please...?"

-Yeah, yeah.

-"..Mr Council Man."

-We did receive a call from a resident again yesterday

about his behaviour following our visit the other day.

-Did we?

-Yeah.

Apparently nothing had changed.

He was continuing to cause a nuisance,

-banging inside the property.

-What, even after we left?

Even after we'd left. Just causing a real nuisance and scaring people,

-not valuing the tenancy that he has with the council.

-No.

If he starts kicking off, I'll be right behind you.

What would I do without you?!

The list of complaints against this troublesome tenant is already pretty

long and it looks like you can add fly-tipping

to his ever growing charge sheet.

-That's more or less how we found it?

-Yeah, it was more or less.

Right. We'll go and have a look, have a word.

How is the tenant going to react to being served a notice

to leave the property? KNOCK AT DOOR

Good to see Andrew leading from the front, by the way.

Hello. Andrew, Aimi.

I just want to talk to you about your behaviour.

The tenant doesn't want to be identified,

but I'm not sure closing the door on Andrew is going to help his cause.

Look, I'm just going to give you this and then I'm going to go away,

all right? OK?

You don't... As I say, this is a notice of seeking possession

of the property.

The back's still bad, but I'm just going to say to you,

we now need to take some action.

And you're an introductory tenant, right?

So what that means is for a year,

you are supposed to be one of our ideal tenants.

But obviously because of the police involvement and the way you've been

with neighbours, we are really worried

that you're not keeping to your tenancy agreement.

So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to give you this personally.

All right? That's the notice.

This details everything that has...

Everything that's been reported to us recently about your behaviour,

which is what we discussed the other day.

So it's everything that's affecting your neighbours -

you know, the things in the back garden, the things at the front.

It also regards the two vehicles that you've got

on the road out here, which shouldn't be there,

which are not taxed or MOT-ed.

Despite the tenant's unruly behaviour,

Andrew and Aimi are keen to offer him one last chance

to change his ways.

So, you've got two weeks now to let us know whether you'd like a review

of our decision, which would result in you having to come to the council

offices for a hearing. So, if you want to carry out that review,

then there's a form here that you can sign that Andrew's got.

Here's the review form, OK,

this is really important if you want to stay here.

Yeah? If you want to do it now, I'll take it away so I know we've got it.

That shows me you want to keep... You want to stay here.

Right, here we go.

"Do you want the council's decision to end your tenancy

"to be reviewed?" You want to stay? So you want it to be reviewed.

Right, so we'll tick that.

"Do you want to attend a review when...

"And have a private hearing?" I suggest you do. Yeah?

So, all I need for you to do is sign it there and date it, please.

And I need your full name and address on there, please.

Introductory tenants facing eviction do have the right to appeal

the decision. And Andrew's hoping it might lead

to a change of behaviour, too.

What I'm going to say to you now is that...

Get yourself cleared up out the back.

Get your flat sorted out.

Try not to disturb your neighbours, right?

And if you can come to the council offices

and show that you are willing to be one of our better tenants,

then you can... There's a possibility that you could keep your tenancy.

But if we think that the behaviour's going to keep going,

the decision might be... Go to court...

You know, our job is to help you keep your flat,

which is what we were saying to you.

Like I said the other day, you can either work with us or against us.

And we're happy to try and help you keep your flat.

Thank you very much. Bye-bye.

The tenant's been left in little doubt

about the seriousness of the situation.

Well, his options are to give the place up and walk away in 28 days,

because that's what the notice says,

or work with us, come to the council offices on a set date and appeal.

It can work one of three ways.

We could either say, "No, we didn't...

"We're not going to do anything. You're fine, we'll extend your

"tenancy by a further six months, or your behaviour's so bad

"we can't have this and we'll take it to court."

We've got to give this fella a chance to try and keep his tenancy,

but I think the trouble here, I think when alcohol is concerned,

I think he probably turns into a different animal

when he's had a few drinks.

He's clearly stated to us, "I don't mind being out on the street."

He's been there before.

So I don't really think he's that bothered.

But, trust me, he will be bothered and he'll want to come back.

But if he loses this tenancy through the courts,

he'll be intentionally homeless

because he's lost a perfectly good tenancy.

Later on, Andrew and Aimi are back on the estate,

this time with the police in tow.

That's his clearing up exercise.

All he's done is move it from the outside into his hallway.

His door's been damaged.

I'd like to get in there and have a look, but I can't.

Whilst housing officers work hard to avoid evicting their tenants,

sadly sometimes it's inevitable.

But when one door closes, another opens,

so when properties are vacated the race is on to get them inspected

and get them made ready for a new tenant from the waiting list.

If that property hasn't been left in a decent condition,

it could mean those in need have to wait even longer for a decent roof

over their head.

Here in Havering, community wardens Barry Armour and Liam Knight

have been called into a house in multiple occupation, or HMO,

to check that one of the residents who's recently been evicted

has actually left the property.

-Hello.

-We're waiting on the locksmith...

-He's just arriving.

Colleague Vanessa has been liaising with the single female tenant

but despite her best efforts, the resident refused to pay her rent.

I know with this particular tenant we've really, really helped her.

We've really tried to help her,

getting her housing benefit back in place.

But then she goes and gets herself a job and then doesn't let them know.

You know, it's really difficult,

so we're liaising with housing benefit.

But it's been hard, this particular tenant.

We like to help our tenants as much as we can.

And which we normally do.

But after missing yet another rent payment,

the council's been left with no choice but to evict,

something that's not the preferred result for anyone.

And although the tenant might no longer be around,

there seemed to be plenty of her belongings still here.

Is she allowed to leave them here?

-She's not.

-Just on the staircase in front of someone's front door.

That's not, that's...

That's not the point, is it. It's in front of someone's door.

It's a fire hazard, it shouldn't really be here, should it?

No, it should not.

She's already left. Her boxes are outside.

She's already left the property. As you may see, it's empty.

Her belongings ain't allowed to be here. They'll have to be removed.

I'll move them if you want to show me where to put them,

just so they're off the staircase.

Luckily, Liam's around to offer up a safe pair of hands.

Heavy, this one.

-Careful!

-And it's two steps there, not one!

Good save, Liam. I don't think anyone noticed.

It looks like the tenant's left another gift for the team.

So, she leaves yesterday's dinner just out on show.

Lovely!

After clearing a path, it's now up to Liam and the team

to try and get this property back into action as soon as possible.

It will be let out, soon as, I'd say, within a week or two,

it will be out and someone will be in there.

It will be cleaned up and straight back out.

there's a list waiting for this. There's plenty of people waiting

months and months to get in these rooms.

So as one goes out, they come straight back in again.

So the turn-around's quick.

See if she'll come and pick up her belongings.

If she don't, they will be removed.

Evictions are always a last resort.

But unpaid rent means there's less money for the council

to fund other essential services.

And it sounds like this tenant had really pushed her luck.

She is approximately £5,000 in arrears,

so, we chase her for the money.

It's not just kissed off.

You know, we do follow up.

Make sure that we are repaid.

-Done.

-Good man, well done. Thank you.

-A bit longer than 30 seconds!

-Yeah!

-Make sure it works now.

-I was going to say, yeah!

We'll be locked in!

Because this is a property with multiple tenants,

there are strict health and safety regulations

that all residents need to adhere to.

But Liam's spotted a potential issue that could provide a serious problem

for any new tenant of the flat.

As you may see, they're using incense in the communal area, which,

in my eyes, from the years of experience, they're smoking drugs

in the property and they're trying to disguise the smell.

So we'll now start patrolling

and checking if there is any smell of cannabis.

If there is, we'll then go down the route

of taking tenancy agreements and getting them evicted.

In their tenancy agreement they're not allowed to smoke drugs in their property.

So we'll be sending letters as well regarding wooden shelf,

fire, it's a fire hazard.

So that would have to stop as well.

So we'll be lettering them to let them know

that needs to stop straight away.

A fire in a property like this would clearly be catastrophic

for all the tenants. And Liam doesn't want to take any chances.

With the potential hazard logged,

there's just time for a few final checks.

I'll go back to the office, advise the team

that an eviction has taken place

and then the maintenance officer will come over, carry out a visit,

look to see what needs to be done, which, looking at the room,

it just needs a good clean, the carpet,

but we will need to replace a bed

because the tenant's taken the bed and a wardrobe,

because that's what comes with the room when we let it out.

So, not content with taking five grand away from the council,

this tenant is also leaving them with a bill for new furniture, too.

It's lucky we have our housing heroes on hand

to help sort out these problems.

Super warden. Going to put my pants on the outside.

Pants on the outside. Cape on and I'm going to fly to my next job.

-He's not joking!

-I'm not joking.

-We'll see you.

-See you later.

-See you soon.

-I'll get that request over.

-Yes, please do. Have a nice day.

This flat will be ready for a deserving tenant in no time at all.

That's gone very well. It's nice and quiet.

The tenant's left before we even arrived,

so that there was no hassle.

The room is clear.

There's a few boxes left to be picked up at a later date.

We've moved those into a safer area, and job's a good 'un. Yes.

That's ready for re-let probably in one week, two weeks' time.

Defending our right to a safe place to live

is the job of housing officers right across the UK.

Fire Service turned up, didn't they?

There was no need for them.

-There was a fire.

-There was not.

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

This one's the worst that I've seen.

The amount of mould is quite shocking, actually.

Hitting the streets...

-Hello.

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

Warrants have been issued and they can be enforced.

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

-Is that one there?

-Oh, look at that.

-There's another one.

-Yeah.

I know I've got somewhere I can call home and it's permanent.

It's got to be a good thing.

Meanwhile, back in Suffolk,

housing officers Andrew and Aimi were dealing a tenant

whose antisocial behaviour

was making his neighbours' lives a misery.

I just want to talk to you about your behaviour.

This is a notice of seeking possession of the property.

Because of the police involvement,

and the way you've been with neighbours,

we now need to take some action.

The tenant was told he'd be turfed out unless he changed his ways.

But after the council offered to review his eviction notice,

news has come that things haven't improved.

We served him notice to seek possession of the property.

As soon as we served it and we walked away,

we subsequently found out that he kicked off a little bit.

Damaged the door, for which we're going to ask the police

to deal with that as criminal damage.

And caused a lot of noise issues and...

..started ranting and raving at neighbours

and that's come from the police.

So, he didn't take kindly to our visit last time

and it's not really the way to go if you want to keep your tenancy.

With this troublesome tenant causing more misery for his neighbours,

it's looking increasingly unlikely

that he'll be allowed to keep his council property.

So, Andrew and Aimi are here with the police,

to collect evidence for any potential legal proceedings,

as well as to check if there are any other issues.

It's asking people just to take a little bit of time out,

to complete this, to find out if there's been any problem

with various different types of antisocial behaviour.

So it does give us a good idea

of what's going on in the neighbourhood.

Everyone's got to have one.

We know we've got a particular person here who's a problem to us,

but we're seeing if there's more antisocial behaviour

being caused by anybody else.

So it's not just this, you know, just this one person.

We're trying to find out

if there's any other antisocial behaviour in the area.

When Andrew says everyone's got to have one,

he means everyone, including the tenant

whose behaviour caused the problems in the first place.

Our little man up here, he's entitled to have one of these.

So he can have his say on antisocial behaviour as well.

Ironically.

Well, by looking at the state of the property,

I think the tenant is an expert on antisocial behaviour.

That's what was outside.

That's his clearing-up exercise.

All he's done is moved it from the outside into his hallway.

His door's been damaged.

This has been damaged. That was damaged, the bit before.

But it was hanging off last time, but that's completely...

I'd like to get in there and have a look, but I can't.

We will. Eventually.

And the less said about the back garden, the better.

Survey drop complete,

it's now a case of waiting to see what the neighbours have to say.

-How many have you put out?

-32 or so.

32. Great!

Lovely job.

We can now find out how many we get back and see if the problem

just centres around this property

or if there's antisocial behaviour all over the street.

Once all the information is collected,

the council can make a decision about the rest of the estate.

But as far as this particular tenant's eviction is concerned,

it could soon be the end of the line.

Obviously keep you up-to-date with the old possession action as well.

Cos there's going to be a hearing at our place, informal.

So we'll let you know how that goes.

I don't think he'll turn up, if I'm honest.

If he does, he's got the opportunity to come and have his say.

From what I've seen, I don't know if he'll be coming.

-We shall see.

-All right, fella. Well done. Cheers, mate.

Despite Andrew and Aimi doing their best

to get this tenant to change his ways, they've since learnt

he's caused even more damage to the flat.

Even though evictions are always a last resort,

the council has to take the safety of other residents into account.

So, they have now repossessed the property.

It will be repaired and made ready

for the next tenant on the waiting list.

Here in London, rising rents and property prices have led

to an increased demand for affordable housing,

a demand that arguably isn't being properly met.

Especially when you learn the number of rough sleepers

on our capital's streets has more than doubled in the past five years.

With so much pressure on finding a roof over your head,

it's little wonder that some landlords, and indeed some tenants,

might be tempted to cram more people into a property than might be safe.

Today I'm in Brent, with housing officer Grace Briody.

She's on her way to investigate

one of her Housing Association properties,

where she's been tipped off

there may be a case of some serious overcrowding.

So the reason that I want to visit this property is because

we had some electrical contractors that were due in for an appointment

-last week. Early last week.

-Yeah.

When they went in, they found there was so much junk

and potential hoarding in the property,

-they physically couldn't get to the electrical points.

-Right.

They also noted that they believe there could be up to nine people

-living in the property.

-Right. OK.

Which obviously is not what we have registered.

Breach of tenancy. Is that what it comes under?

Yeah. It is a breach of tenancy.

It's difficult because obviously without making an appointment

they can refuse us entry.

If we make an appointment, they're aware we're coming.

It's an interesting position Housing Associations are in

because you have kind of all the responsibilities and obligations

of a social landlord, which you are.

But you don't have the powers,

you need the backup from either the police or the council

to be able to get your side of things, as a landlord, really.

You can't just sort of bust in there and...

..and find out what's going on.

-Yeah.

-You're kind of caught between two stools really.

Yeah, this is where the problems begin.

As Grace says, this visit might not prove to be straightforward,

as the tenant doesn't have to let her in to investigate.

Hi. It's the housing officer. Is your mum home?

The tenant doesn't want to be identified.

But as there's clearly a child on the premises, Grace knows

that the issue of overcrowding has just got even more serious.

Yeah, I'm the housing officer from Hythe.

The reason I've come today, I'll be honest with you.

I think we had some electrical contractors

who tried to come in last week. One of the things they identified

was there were quite a lot of people living in the property

and they were a bit concerned, they weren't able to do the tests

because there was a lot of clutter in the property.

It turns out the tenant isn't happy at Grace's line of questioning.

She claims the contractors didn't complete the work at the property

because of a rat infestation.

The tenant's now getting very agitated and claims her complaints

to the Housing Association about the rats have been ignored.

As her voice gets louder, I think our chances of getting inside

to investigate the overcrowding are getting slimmer.

OK, I know you're upset and angry,

but I haven't come here to kind of point fingers and have a go at you.

There's obviously some issues with overcrowding

and that's why I've come here - to see what's actually going on,

to see if there is something we can do to resolve it.

As the tenant's temper continues to heat up,

I think it's wise to make a move, in case they threaten to boil over.

I'm going to take the cameras away, Grace.

-Are you happy here?

-That's fine.

It's just another stark reminder

of the daily challenges faced by housing officers,

not just here in London, but across the whole of the UK.

Decided the best thing to do was probably step away

from the property and let Grace try and do her job.

I say try, because she's come to try and establish

what's going on in the house.

The occupier of the house, the main tenant, is saying,

we have rats, but no-one's helping us.

Grace is saying, well,

we need to get inside the property to be able to help.

So, you have a main tenant who's not letting anybody go in.

It kind of highlights the point that we were talking about.

She's got no powers of entry, Grace.

She's here by herself, dealing with a tenant

that won't allow her entry to the property

to work out what's going on.

At this stage, it feels like stalemate.

And if I'm honest with you,

I'm not sure whether I would want Grace going into that house

because the tenant is in a very high state of emotion.

And so, OK, there's a discussion going on now,

which feels like a bit more reasonable,

with another member of the household.

So I think if we keep the cameras away,

I'll go and listen in and see what's happening.

If I'm told to go away again, I will.

Because I don't want to make Grace's job any more difficult.

It's at times like this I'm reminded that housing officers often have to

play the role of social worker,

diplomat and investigator all at once.

Grace has managed to calm the situation

and learnt that due to the housing crisis,

this tenant's extended family have had no luck in finding

an affordable property in London, so they've moved in with her.

There are now nine people living here.

Not just a breach of tenancy rules,

also a serious health and safety issue, too.

With the situation now calming and the tenant agreeing to arrange

an appointment with the Housing Association,

it feels like this visit is ending on a much more positive note.

It was really interesting, early on there,

I felt the door just about to close. Do you know what I mean?

But then you managed to pull it back by saying,

you know, you're being totally honest with them, but saying,

this is what I'm trying to achieve. That's in your benefit.

That's my approach. You know, it works for some people,

it doesn't work for everyone.

I have found that by just being completely honest,

right from the beginning,

I win the trust quicker.

And it helps me to help the tenants and that's what it comes down to.

It's almost an impossible situation for you, because there you are,

you're taking the responsibility and saying,

I want to help you as much as possible, but the overcrowding,

moving that family, gaining entry to that house,

that's all out of your control.

You actually can't do any of those things.

I can't. But then that's why, for example, when they open the door,

the tenant was being a little bit agitated and aggressive.

But by standing my ground and reassuring her about

why I was there and being very honest about what we'd been told

and why I'd come today,

I like to think I've now gained a little bit of trust there.

So I will get into the property at some point further down the road.

And that is where I can start to resolve those issues.

-It's baby steps?

-Yes.

-Little by little. Get there.

-Come on, then.

Well, despite that visit, the resident failed to turn up

for the appointment that Grace had arranged.

Grace has since written to her twice to try and engage,

but there's been no response.

So, today the Housing Association has been unable to help further

with the issue of overcrowding at this property.

Overcrowding remains an issue for housing officers all across the UK,

but if a resident doesn't respond,

it remains incredibly difficult to tackle.

If you're a social housing tenant,

day-to-day upkeep of your property is your responsibility.

But when it comes to things that require

a little bit more than a screwdriver and a washer,

that's where the council and Housing Association step in.

Although most tenants might welcome the chance of their home

to enjoy a spot of modernisation,

for some residents change and upheaval can present

plenty of worries, too.

In Stroud, housing officer Elaine Booth and trainee Zoe Whitehead

are off to visit a tenant with disabilities,

whose kitchen is due for a refurb,

but they're in need of a little reassurance first.

The couple we're about to visit contacted me when they received

a letter with a start date for their kitchen,

quite concerned and anxious about the timescale it was going to take.

Jan and husband Phil share this council bungalow,

but after Jan suffered a stroke,

the rest of her health deteriorated, too.

All which means that the prospect of seeing their kitchen ripped out

is a daunting one.

I'm a coeliac. I'm a diabetic.

So that's gluten, sugar,

I've got two heart problems and so has my husband, so we have no salt.

You know, and then we don't have fats, either.

So we have a very complicated diet.

In our minds we worry about it so much, you know.

We both said we can't have it done.

We really can't go through all this.

Even though Jan's new kitchen will be designed to be

more wheelchair-friendly, her fears still remain.

So Zoe and Elaine have been doing their best to reassure her.

It's not worth them getting, not upset, but worrying about it,

having sleepless nights, which is what she was doing

at one point before I went to speak to her.

'I came round, had a chat with the tenant.'

-Hello. You all right?

-You OK?

'Put her mind at rest, talked of solutions on what we can do'

so they can still have their meals.

And next week we're going to start the kitchen.

Hiya. How are you?

-Hello.

-You all right?

-Yes, thank you.

-Good.

-Good.

-Nice to see you again.

So, next week a new kitchen.

-Yes, all systems go.

-How are you feeling?

Not as nervous as I was, to be quite honest,

now that you've sorted a lot of it.

Yeah. So, start Monday.

Then obviously rip out.

Electrics, kitchen fitted.

Do appreciate it very much, you know,

that you're going to try so hard

-for us to get it back together again.

-It'll be good.

With Jan and Phil's restricted diet,

preparing food might be a little bit difficult during the renovations,

but it looks like they've got a plan.

What about your meals - have you got all that sorted?

Yes. Somebody's been kind enough to give us a little cooker,

-rings and a stacking tower for vegetables.

-Yeah.

So Phil can still cook for me every day and in the evenings.

It will be a big upheaval for you.

-We are grateful to you.

-You're welcome.

Are there any details you want to show me,

-so I can give it to the builders, or whatever.

-I'll show you the pipes and then we'll...

-Go for it.

The upside of the disruption from this scheduled refit

is that the council are also now able to make changes to the kitchen

to better equip it for Jan and Phil's specific requirements.

-So we're going to put in a wider door.

-Yeah, so Jan can...

The cooker's going to come over here because of the unit, Elaine.

-Yes.

-So, they're talking like moving that.

That way because it's not right where it is.

If there's a unit there, they'll tile all around there.

Yeah, if we put worktop, we always tile wherever there's worktop.

OK, so, plug socket in the tiles.

Change can be scary.

But it looks like Elaine and Zoe have managed to provide

the right kind of support for Jan and Phil.

Nobody looks forward to upheaval,

but people have really taken us into consideration and listened to us,

you know. I'm really going to try and help.

-Thanks very much.

-You're welcome. You're welcome.

As I say, I'll pop in quite a bit next week as well.

And I am on the phone. All right?

Really appreciate what you've done for us.

-You're smashing. You really are. Ain't she?

-Yeah.

-You take care.

See you next week. Definitely see you Monday, anyway.

-I'll just see you out.

-All right? OK?

-Bye-bye!

-Goodbye.

Bye!

It now seems that both parties just can't wait

for the kitchen to be finished.

I'm going to pay her a little visit

and we're going to have a nice cup of tea in her brand-new kitchen.

My sister said, when it's all done, Jan,

we'll have a kitchen-warming party,

so I might get my brothers and sisters and the children

and the grandchildren, you know, and a little yee-haa sort of thing.

A big deal to her.

A big deal. And to see happy tenants, that's the end goal.

Well, after the council contractors got busy,

I'm pleased to say that the kitchen is now complete.

There's better wheelchair access and the new layout means the couple's

strict dietary demands can be met more comfortably.

Like Jan said, upheaval is never a pleasant experience,

but I'm sure it all feels worth it in the end.

Well, as we've just seen, being a housing officer means

a daily dose of tough choices and difficult decisions.

But it's all in a day's work for the men and women fighting

to ensure we can enjoy a safe place to call home.

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

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