06/11/2017 Inside Out London

Hello, I'm Sean Fletcher.

Here's what's coming

up on tonight's show.

We reveal how landlords are raking

in thousands by renting out tiny

flats to the homeless.

And the government

is paying how much?

£938.

£938 a month for this front room?

A mammoth restoration begins

on the Houses of Parliament -

we find out just how big

the task ahead is.

Every day, the fabric of this

historic building gets worse.

The problem is, it's deteriorating

much quicker than it can be fixed.

And shaking with laughter,

a writer with Parkinson's

makes his comedy store debut.

My wife is no longer my

wife, she is my carer.

When I told my wife this,

she said," But I don't

care for you, Paul."

How comfortable would

you feel making big profits

out of the homeless?

Tonight we start with

the shocking story.

Landlords are buying up

family houses, carving

them up into tiny flats,

quadruple the rent and then

leaving us, the taxpayer,

to pick up the bill.

We send Mark Jordan to investigate.

For several years I've been

reporting on the mad

world of London property.

Tiny door.

The greed for profits

in small places.

It was just four

separate adults in here.

I've seen it all.

This is an extension.

They built it around a tree.

Why are you going to

break my door down?

Why am I going to break your door?

Because I think I'm Superman.

I witnessed the slum landlords

and challenged the fraudsters.

Is there nothing you'd like to say?

You pleaded guilty.

But tonight, richer pickings

than any TV property

Guru ever dreamt of.

I'm about to show you how shrewd

landlords are buying up modest

suburban family homes,

packing them with the homeless,

quadrupling the rent

and charging us, the taxpayers.

Welcome to a world where zone six

family homes are turned

into five tiny flats.

Divide and profit.

So this one room, housing benefit

is paying £981 a month?

It's just like being in a cupboard.

It's not that wide, look.

I can touch.

Here on the toilet,

my elbow is in the sink

and my feet are in the shower.

Someone is making a lot of money.

They've used every inch of space.

This is not a flat.

This is a single room.

It is over £1000 a month.

We are talking about ten square

metres you are living in now?

Across London, we're losing

thousands of family homes.

In spring 2016, this modest two bed

household in zone six

and it was ripped apart

and partitioned into five

and it was ripped apart and

partitioned into five tiny flats.

Now he's got half a patio door.

For them to be able to split

the room, they talk the main door

and split it in two parts.

So by giving you half the patio

door, they've got an extra

room on the other side?

Yes.

These remote suburban rooms can earn

more per square metre

than parts of Kensington.

On the street, you can rent

an entire family house for around

£1200 per month but if you divided

up into five tiny little flats,

you can earn around 4600 a month.

Gary was homeless,

suffering early dementia

and recovering from a stroke.

Over 35s, housing benefits will pay

for a single person flats.

We got a sink in the room.

It can be classed as a studio flat

and a studio flat is £1000 a month

as opposed to without the sink,

it would be a room which

is about £400 a month.

Using taxpayer's money,

the housing benefit people don't

even demand a minimum flat size.

Crafty landlords have

hit the money tree.

I have worked all my life

and paid my taxes and I think this

is what the government is wasting,

throwing their money away.

It's a scandal really.

There's even a certificate

from Hounslow Council

saying it's all legal.

If you've ever struggled

with the council over that kitchen

extension or trying to cut down

a tree, you're going to be wondering

how on earth a council allows

a small family home to be turned

into five tiny flats.

And here is how.

Each house must have

a communal kitchen.

The house can then be treated

as an HMO, a simple house share

needing no planning permission.

But the housing benefit people can

still be persuaded that it's

five separate flats.

Hey presto.

Legal, tiny flats.

So what of the one back in Hanworth?

You would never have given planning

permission on that tiny house

becoming five flats.

Very unlikely.

Is this an HMO or five separate

flats that you've authorised?

As far as I'm concerned,

it's licensed as an HMO.

But then they tell the housing

benefit people that it's five flats.

That would be for the Department

for Work and Pensions to answer.

But it's messy, isn't it?

Extremely messy and I hope

through your programme that we can

start to unpick and sort out

this terrible mess.

They are working the

system to make profit.

At the expense of the taxpayer.

Even for a child,

this room is small.

Why did you take it?

Because I was homeless

for four years.

I was desperate.

The only reason I signed is

because you have nowhere else to go.

Green Park Housing

manage this property.

There's five flats here.

They say three flats are let

and have taken a commercial risk

on people most wooden shelter saving

the taxpayer thousands

on emergency housing.

Elsewhere, other landlords provide

similar accommodation.

Investigating officer, Ben Lewis,

advises four London boroughs.

We're in Lewisham.

If you are getting £5,000 a month

on a single property and you've

got hundreds of them

operating, go figure.

It is cat and mouse, isn't it?

Yes.

They know the rules,

know how to create that smoke screen

that keeps enforcement officers

running round in circles.

Every house we visit has

that communal kitchen.

If there is planning breach,

they can argue that it has not been

converted into separate flats

because there is shared kitchen.

It is like they've got a each camp.

Things get curiouser get

curiouser and curiouser.

Housing benefit demands each flat

has a bathroom and kitchen yet here,

taxpayers are paying for flats

you can't cook in.

He put up a notice that there

wasn't to be cooking

He put up a notice that there wasn't

to be cooking in the rooms any more.

Confused?

It is a constant game of sliding

doors and smoke and mirrors.

I want Theresa May in here.

If I was working, there is no way

on earth I would pay that

money to pay in this.

So would anyone other

than the taxpayer pay £930

for a tiny place in zone six?

I placed an ad on gumtree

specifying no DSS.

It's hardly scientific but not

a single inquiry in two weeks.

Recruiting the homeless

seems so much easier.

Landlords offer their property

at churches and shelters.

I was glad that I was going

in the door and locking the door

behind me and nobody

could interfere with me.

It was from heaven.

I signed my signature on the tablet,

actually, with my finger.

I was only too pleased to have

somewhere of my own.

Successive governments have paid

fortunes to private landlords

to provide this shelter but after 55

years as a homeless charity,

Saint Giles Trust say they can no

longer be a part of it.

We have stopped housing people

in London because we feel we can't

support them any longer.

We are being asked to house people

in the private rental sector

in converted garages.

It's wrong.

They are not fit the purpose.

But they are the only thing around.

This is obviously not

where you wanted to end up.

I have been thinking,

is this the end for me?

Is this how life

finishes, like this?

It is depressing, it's very lonely.

Is this it for me?

This has been a depressing

investigation.

Millions in taxpayer money and most

councils telling me there's

nothing they can do.

But this council thinks the taxpayer

is being robbed and it can

and should stop right now.

The council, can you

open the door, please?

We have discovered there

is a self-contained flat

within your property.

They cross reference

benefit claim data against

planning applications

on their compulsory

landlord register.

The licenses for a house.

The landlord could be

fined and lose licence.

It's an absolutely disgusting thing.

We press you into a small place,

rip off the taxpayer and the poor

people there have no choice.

We need to do something.

We need to start caring

about the people who are forced

into these conditions.

With most London boroughs refusing

to take part in this programme,

I'm taking my findings to the chair

of a Commons committee

investigating landlords.

Unbelievable.

These landlords know the system

and they are running circles around

the councils and their offices.

A lot of people watching this

are going to think we are shovelling

money at these landlords.

And they would be absolutely right.

We are.

What are you hoping the committee

will be able to do?

To look at this and put questions

directly to government ministers.

How can you justify paying out

as a government this amount of money

for this standard of property?

The select committee has

a copy of this film.

It is small but it

is my home for now.

Mark Jordan reporting.

Still to come...

One of the things I noticed was that

I take some pills first thing

in the morning and as it's coming up

to lunchtime, I'm having

to take some more pills

because they are wearing off.

My footsteps which are normally

quite normal have now turned

into a David Suchet,

Poirot.

It's the mother of all parliaments.

Home to the House of Commons

and House of Lords from

the mid-19th century.

Since it was built, the Palace

of Westminster has never undergone

a total restoration.

But with the latest annual repair

bill now pushing £60 million,

the grade one listed building

is crying out for a major overhaul.

We were given a special tour behind

the scenes to find out how urgent

the situation is getting.

It's not often we get

this close to Big Ben.

This place is steeped in history

and when it was first built,

it was a state home for Parliament.

Now, it's just in

a state of disrepair.

Restoring the building will take

years and is likely to cost at least

£3.5 billion and most of the money

needs to be spent in areas many

people will never see.

It's down here below

ground in the basement

where the major problems are.

You are the chief engineer.

What is going on down here?

Down here is where

the engineering starts.

We've got ageing systems and things

like gas alongside steam,

alongside high-voltage electricity.

These are things you wouldn't have

and will want to have.

We make our way through what feels

like a never-ending corridors

of cabling and pipes,

so intertwined that the decades it's

been a case of patch and mend.

It all needs to be replaced.

It is of an age where it's

all starting to fail and this

is all part of the fire risk that

we've got with the

Palace at the moment.

Watch yourself as you come down.

They are steep steps.

The Palace of Westminster relies

on an internal sewage system

dating back to 1888.

It's now 130 years old.

If it broke down, it

would close the building.

Dare I ask, is sewage seeping in?

We have problems with these.

We have come down in the past and it

has been knee deep down here.

You are kidding?

No.

These are the issues.

Down here it is manageable

because we can see it.

Everyday the fabric of this historic

building gets worse.

The problem is it is deteriorating

much quicker than it can be fixed.

There are examples of this

around every corner.

It is showing signs of wear

after a century and a half.

Tom Healy is in charge

of the restoration programme.

You see this ornate

stonework around us?

If you look up here,

you can see the white

staining where the outer

stone has flaked off.

That is water damage caused

by a gutter above leaking over

many decades possibly.

Because the gutters are buried

inside the stonework, we often don't

know that they are leaking

until water comes through like this.

Until it is too late?

Exactly.

How much of this damage

is there around?

You see it everywhere.

Eventually it will crumble

and it will be safe.

--Won't be safe.

From the ground, this historic

building exudes grandeur but it's

from above that you can

see the decay.

You can see the roof over there.

It is covered in rust.

Letting water in and they are in

urgent need of repair.

They need to be taken off,

taken away and cleaned up.

How many of them

are we talking about?

Thousands.

The costs just mount up.

It's very expensive but equally

the building is extremely valuable.

If you think about moving people

elsewhere, the costs probably

wouldn't be greatly different.

In fact it would probably cost more

at the end of the day.

Given the history of the building

and the history of the site

and medieval palace that was here

before, and the huge amount

of things that have gone

here from the point of view

of political history,

it is critically important

that we carry out this work.

The plans have been controversial.

It's been recommended that MPs

and peers move out for six years

so work can begin but some

want to stay and that would mean

it would take decades,

costing the taxpayer

an extra £2 billion.

A final decision has now been

delayed for at least 18 months.

However, restoring the capital's

most famous landmark can't wait

and has already begun.

And not without disquiet

after it was announced

Big Ben would be silenced.

Scaffolding will be around the 96

metre tower for around four years

while conservation work takes place.

To get a closer look,

we need to walk all the way up.

The single spiral staircase has

334 limestone steps.

There is some visible damage to

the plasterwork from condensation.

Here we go into the dial room.

It is surreal to think I'm standing

behind one of the famous clock faces

in the world but all is not well.

The biggest culprit is water causing

cracks and corrosion.

You can see the magnitude

of the task ahead of us.

If we leave it in this

state of any longer,

there is going to be really serious

damage and there would be a risk

of some of it being irretrievable.

The clock will be dismantled piece

by piece and all four of the seven

metre wide dials carefully

cleaned and repaired.

The lights replaced

with low energy LED's.

I take a quick peek

at the mechanism behind the clock.

This is an incredible

piece of history.

It was made in 1854 in the Strand

by the clockmaker to the Queen

and it was installed in 1859.

To this day, it is kept accurate

by adding or removing old penny

coins to the pendulum.

Tread carefully as you come up here.

It is very rare to get access

to the top of the tower.

This is where major

work needs to be done.

These are cast-iron roof tiles

which we have the rout the Palace.

They are about that wide,

that tall, that thick.

It takes two men to lift each one.

And these have to be taken off one

by one and repaired?

Indeed.

Meanwhile back at ground

level the floor of one

of the grandest rooms,

the Royal Gallery,

has seen better days.

This is where the Queen

attends state functions.

It is not the only room that needs

re-tiling and it's taking

a decade to do them all.

Andy is a professional

stonemason doing the work

as they would have done in 1800 's.

It's a learning curve at first

because it is a slightly different

way of what you would be doing it.

It is a bespoke building.

Nothing is square and flat.

Hence a lot of tape measures

and you get it as level as you can.

Added pressure when you think

some of the handmade

tiles cost up to £1000.

Renovating this symbol of democracy

could become one of the most

expensive and complex renovations

ever attempted in the UK.

Paul Mayhew Archer is a comedy

writer and the name behind sitcom

classics like the Vicar of Dibly

and Mrs Brown's Boys.

Seven years ago he was

diagnosed with Parkinson's,

a disease for which there

was currently no cure.

But determined to stay positive,

Paul has set himself new challenges

to stay as healthy as he can.

One of which is to perform stand-up

for the first time at Soho's

world-famous comedy store.

18 months ago, I stumbled in front

of the television camera to make

a little documentary called

Parkinson's, the funny side.

Now I've stumbled back

in front of the same camera

to make a little follow-up.

Follow me.

It was the funny side because I'm

a comedy writer who used to write

something set in a village called

Dibley.

Sorry, wrong church.

And it was Parkinsons the funny side

because I've got it.

It has gone on, isn't it amazing?

One of the things I noticed is that

I take some pills first thing

in the morning and as it's coming up

to lunchtime, I'm having

to take some more pills

because they are wearing off.

My footsteps which are

normally quite normal have

now turned into David Suchet.

What a pity he never

used his little grey cells to solve

the mystery of Parkinsons.

Anyway, walking is something

I've done since, well,

since I could walk.

It's good to try new things

because that can light up

new bits of the brain.

I've decided to have a go

at stand-up comedy.

First, sit down comedy,

or to give it its proper name,

my Parkinson's ballet class.

So, any tips on doing stand-up

comedy for my ballet buddies?

Don't freeze.

Don't freeze.

One of the symptoms of Parkinson's

is freezing, where you stop moving

for a couple of minutes

or even longer.

I heard of someone who got stuck

on the Circle line and had

to go all the way round.

Again and again and again.

They couldn't get off the train?

No.

If I use comedy to keep my spirits

up, what do others do?

These exercises are giving us

an aid against this.

Sorry.

Sorry.

OK.

We are generally cheerful people.

We are.

Honestly, we are.

My wife, Julie, has

noticed the changes in me.

He did go to the fridge the other

day and was getting me something

and I was cooking it.

He opened the fridge and went...

I think I said something

like, "OK, take all day.

" I shouldn't have said that.

It is that sort of thing.

He didn't used to do that.

Feeling pretty smug that I'd

got off the Circle line

and hoping I don't freeze,

I shuffled to London's West End

for my first ever go at stand-up.

Good evening.

I'm first.

Time to get some tips, starting

with quickfire comedian, Tim Vine.

This is what I do sometimes.

If I forget my act,

I go over to the piece

of paper and I go left leg,

right leg, left leg,

that's the running order.

Lucy Porter tries to reassure me.

For your first gig

at the Comedy Store,

that's pretty good going.

No pressure, then.

Tonight's event is the brainchild

of comedian, Rob Deering.

His father was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease 17 years ago.

He's 75 now so it was quite early

and not early as some

of the people I know.

About my age, in fact.

I think it's good

to laugh at things.

Important to talk about things.

People say this about

all kinds of things.

If you see something as difficult

or challenging or even something

that people don't normally talk

about, you should talk about it.

Unfortunately, my medicine

from earlier is wearing off

and I'm not feeling great.

I'm a little bit off at the moment

because they haven't kicked in yet.

I am slow and my hands don't really

move very well at all.

You've just taken some pills?

Just taken some pills.

Don't sleep.

I was feeling pretty dopey but I am

hoping they're going to kick in.

Hey, everyone.

I'm on the front page.

Look.

I'm going to sit down again.

Oh, that's lovely.

Give a huge welcome to Rob Deering.

Our next act has got Parkinson's.

Welcome to the stage,

Paul Mayhew Archer.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

According to the Parkinson's UK

website, every hour,

someone in this country is told

they have Parkinson's.

That's pretty serious.

That means some of us are being told

at three o'clock in the morning.

Wake up.

What is it?

You've got Parkinson's.

Go back to sleep.

I was diagnosed at 11 o'clock

in the morning by a friend.

I went to see him.

I was telling him I've got an arm

that didn't swing very much

and my handwriting was rather small.

He said, "I don't want

to worry you but I think

you might have Parkinson's."

I don't know what he had said

if they didn't want to worry me.

I've always regarded

Parkinson's as a new episode

of my sitcom life really.

It is sometimes the funny

thing is that people say.

There was a neurologist,

he said he had a delivery a bit

like a roller-coaster ride.

My wife asked him, "Does Parkinson's

affects life expectancy?"

He said, "Well, we used to think it

did but then about six years ago

we decided that it didn't.

But now we think it does."

My wife is no longer my

wife, she is my carer.

I know.

When I told my wife this, she said,

"But I don't care for you, Paul."

And I said that I'm doing all right.

I'm doing some comedy

and having good laugh.

He said, "Oh, Paul, it's so good

to laugh while you can."

I still can and in fact I'm

going to have a laugh at three

o'clock tomorrow morning when I ring

someone up and tell them

they've got Parkinson's.

Good night, thank you.

Come on.

Give me a high five.

Come on.

Paul, brilliant.

Tells people what it's

really about and tells

people not to be afraid.

Just face it.

Love the man.

Loved that, I absolutely loved that.

Looked like it.

Brilliant.

I think Paul was absolutely amazing.

I think he started big,

he finished big and he was even

bigger in the middle.

You'll be here every Friday

and Saturday night now.

It would've been nice if you left

something for the rest us.

I love him.

He needs to come back again.

Comedy.

It may not work for everyone

but my goodness it works for me.

Inspiring stuff.

I look forward to seeing

what challenges he will

turn his hands to next.

For the next series of Inside Out,

we are on the hunt for a London

based family with kids to take part

in a special programme.

We are looking for a family

who don't exercise as much as they'd

like to and are willing to take part

in a four-week trial

to live more active lives.

If you fit the bill,

we'd love to hear from you.

Get in touch.

And that's it for

this current series.

Tonight's programme will be

available on the iplayer.

Head to our website.

We will be back again in the New

Year. I will see you then.