0:00:12 > 0:00:16I'm calling from the council about your benefits being cut.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18You're going to lose £68.13 per week.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21£95.33 per week.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22Next, please.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26The reason that you are being capped is because you are not working.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29- COMPUTERISED VOICE: - 'Ticket number 757...'
0:00:29 > 0:00:30My worst fears are confirmed.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33It is going to be an accommodation outside of London.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- You don't...! - You've got seven children.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39It's not possible for you to afford to live in London.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42They're going to pay that figure if I go out to work
0:00:42 > 0:00:43but they can't pay my rent now?
0:00:43 > 0:00:46I'm could pick up that computer and dash it down there.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48A lot of people are suffering cos of this benefit cut
0:00:48 > 0:00:50and a lot of people are out on the street.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Would you do it, sitting down raising five children? Really?
0:00:55 > 0:00:58As men, sometimes you have to go do stuff you might not want to do.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03My son, your and the office problem!
0:01:05 > 0:01:06I'm only there for a year
0:01:06 > 0:01:08and I can be uprooted all over again to come back to London.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10It doesn't make any kind of sense.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25'The reality is that all we're doing here is saying is that...
0:01:25 > 0:01:28'nobody on benefits, people who are not working,
0:01:28 > 0:01:30'should be earning more than the average earnings
0:01:30 > 0:01:31'for the rest of Britain.'
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Hi. I'm from Brent Council.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41I've come with regards to the benefits cap.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43What?
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Brent Council's Welfare Reform Team are delivering details
0:01:47 > 0:01:50of one of the most radical welfare reforms for 60 years,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52it's called the Overall Benefit Cap.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55I hate when they've got those draft excluders.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Introduced by the Government last August,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00the cap means no-one out of work and on benefits
0:02:00 > 0:02:02gets more money than the average working family.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Put their paper back in.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06That's set at no more than £350 a week
0:02:06 > 0:02:08in benefits for a single person,
0:02:08 > 0:02:09and £500 for families.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11We usually knock on the door.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Always stand back and see if anybody looks through the windows.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Oh, someone's up there.
0:02:17 > 0:02:18KNOCKS ON DOOR
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- They sometimes don't want to answer the door.- Yeah.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22There's not much we can do.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27£29 is what you are losing per week from your housing benefit.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29My husband has no job in this...
0:02:29 > 0:02:30Yeah, if he's not working,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34- we need to maybe refer him to somewhere where he can find work.- OK.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Many will lose hundreds of pounds a week.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39The Government's message is clear...
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Hi, I'm from Housing and Benefit in Brent Council.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45If you work at least 16 hours a week as a single parent
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and 24 hours as a couple, you'll avoid the cap
0:02:47 > 0:02:49and keep your house and benefits.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51- I note that you are working. - Yeah, part-time.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Have you made an application for working tax credit?
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Just child tax credit.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Yeah, but because you are working 24 hours, you are entitled to it.
0:03:02 > 0:03:03Across the UK,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06housing benefit is usually enough to cover the rent.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09In London, as rents are the highest in the country,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12the cap could result in many people losing their homes.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Hold on. Hi, we're from the council.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Is your mum or dad in?
0:03:16 > 0:03:17Yesar Almousawi and his team
0:03:17 > 0:03:19have spent the last year warning people
0:03:19 > 0:03:22how serious the impact of the Government's changes
0:03:22 > 0:03:23are going to be.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28We're doing the visits because we're hoping to make sure
0:03:28 > 0:03:30people are aware they're being capped.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Some people just don't think it's going to happen,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35they won't be affected, they just want to put their head in the sand.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37It's good that they do come and tell us
0:03:37 > 0:03:39that they've managed to get work
0:03:39 > 0:03:42or they've managed to increase their hours, or something like that.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45That's better for them and they can stay in their homes.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Implemented by the Government nationwide,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59the cap is having the biggest impact in London boroughs like Brent.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Almost half of those capped live in the capital.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom...
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Brent is one of the most ethnically diverse
0:04:08 > 0:04:10and deprived boroughs in the country.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Up to three times a week, the council's citizenship ceremony
0:04:15 > 0:04:17marks the final stage in the journey
0:04:17 > 0:04:19of those who want to become British citizens -
0:04:19 > 0:04:22about 5,000 people in Brent each year.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25We have Dragomir Sadifimov and Mariana Todorova.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27APPLAUSE
0:04:27 > 0:04:30That's excellent. Let's do that romantic shot with the Queen.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33London's lack of cheap housing, combined with the cap,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36hits large, vulnerable households hardest.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Councils like Brent say they have no choice
0:04:39 > 0:04:41but to move them out of the capital.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The coalition Government believe the cap is fair and just,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06saves money and encourages people into work.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09The Labour Party broadly agrees.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Polls suggest that over 70% of us think it's a good idea.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16'Ticket number 163, please...'
0:05:16 > 0:05:20With access to Brent Council, filmed over seven months, we tell the story
0:05:20 > 0:05:25of how the Government's new benefit changes are impacting on families.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29He says you have to go Birmingham, no matter what.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Once you move, seven children will be without a school.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37- We will be jobless.- Ultimately, you are facing homelessness.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39If it's a private sector bailiff's warrant tomorrow,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42the eviction will be going ahead.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Awaz Osman originally came from Somalia
0:05:45 > 0:05:48and has been living in Brent for 23 years.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49He is now a British citizen.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Deadline is tomorrow for the bailiff.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56That means that tomorrow, at six in the morning, we have to move out.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59So, I called them, everything, they give us a house in Birmingham.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I don't even know Birmingham. I've never been to Birmingham.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Hey! Take it downstairs. Don't drop it.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15The rent for Awaz's four bedroom house is about £500 a week,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19but that's the total amount of benefits after his cap.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21The council believe his only option is moving him
0:06:21 > 0:06:26to cheaper accommodation 115 miles away in Birmingham.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28They're not happy. They don't want to go.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32They're losing the social life, family, friends.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35We lose everything to go to Birmingham.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39If we lose the school, that's the biggest damage we'll have.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41We have to lose our job as well.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46I'm leaving all my entire life in London,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49but I'm not going to Birmingham, definitely.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50100%.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58It's Awaz's eviction day
0:06:58 > 0:07:01and it's time to hand over the keys to the landlord.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29They head back to the council to persuade them
0:07:29 > 0:07:32they both have part-time jobs, as a van driver,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34and his wife's a beautician,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36which they believe should exempt them from the cap
0:07:36 > 0:07:38and from being moved.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41The cap is when you're not working, but we're working.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44How can it affect us? There's evidence.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47These are the papers, this is my bill letter,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50this is my contract, this is my payslip.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52What other evidence can I bring here?
0:07:52 > 0:07:54This is more than enough evidence.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59As I understand it, we've offered you accommodation in Birmingham,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02which you've turned down, and the reasons you've provided us
0:08:02 > 0:08:05for turning it down are that you're in employment.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07You only, in fact, told us
0:08:07 > 0:08:10you're in some form of employment for the first time yesterday.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11I have told them before.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I said, "I'm starting work 1st of September."
0:08:14 > 0:08:16We have records of phone conversations with your wife.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19- I don't know about phone conversations...- Two conversations.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23- I said...- This was last week, this conversation was had last week.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25When I was working, she didn't even know that.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27I didn't tell her I was working.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30We've seen this time and time again, not just with yourself,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32but with a number of applicants, who, in a bid to try
0:08:32 > 0:08:35to avoid the caps, come here and present to us
0:08:35 > 0:08:38information that is not necessarily true.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40You open yourself up for prosecution
0:08:40 > 0:08:43if we do find that you've provided false information in an attempt
0:08:43 > 0:08:47to secure housing from this local authority.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52- We do not accept that your employment's genuine.- OK. No problem.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54I can prove you wrong.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- The situation really is that you've got seven children...- Yes.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01It is not possible for you to afford to live in London. Explain it to me.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05How will you pay your rent for a property that is worth £500
0:09:05 > 0:09:08and you only get £500 from the Government?
0:09:08 > 0:09:12If we go to Birmingham, you have to understand our life will go to zero.
0:09:12 > 0:09:13And I really...
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Moving from our family, our friends, our school, our jobs.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19We have to go to zero.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21I empathise with that,
0:09:21 > 0:09:26but you've got to realise that we didn't make this law.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29What we try to do is help. We did not make you homeless.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32- But you were helping us and now you're destroying us.- No, we're not.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35- As I say, you're job is under questioning.- OK, what about her job?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37You're still not exempt from the caps,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39so you can't afford to stay.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52The council's workload begins to increase
0:09:52 > 0:09:56as the news of the cap finally gets around.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59So, after I've paid my rent, what does that leave me for water,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03electric, gas, food and...?
0:10:03 > 0:10:05You just can't live on it, can you?
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- If you don't find the work... - If you don't find the work...
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- ..it's a problem. - It is a big problem, I know.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13I've been brought up and I've lived in Brent for 30 years.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16My mum and dad live here, my friends live here,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18my kid's dads live round here.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21They're talking about family value, but they're splitting up families.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Maybe I should find a nice lady and make her pregnant,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27because that's the only way I'm going to, or she and I are going to
0:10:27 > 0:10:29be able to, have a relationship and I'll get a council flat.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Cos that's how it works, isn't it?
0:10:31 > 0:10:3517, 18, get knocked up, get a council flat, happy days.
0:10:37 > 0:10:38Just take a seat.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Tracy McCarthy is a single mother with three children
0:10:41 > 0:10:44who's lost £106 a week due to the cap.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47She's also fighting an eviction.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49He just wants me out of the property.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51The possession order he tried to give it to me by hand,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- but I've refused to open the door. - Is that cos you're frightened?
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Yeah, I won't open the door to him.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59- CHILD SHOUTS - Oi!
0:10:59 > 0:11:01It sounds like you're quite familiar with eviction process,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04so you've only got to wait for one more eviction notice,
0:11:04 > 0:11:05- and don't get worried just yet, OK?- I know.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09These will then be passed over to the temporary accommodation support team.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12They will try and secure suitable accommodation
0:11:12 > 0:11:13for you and your family.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15- OK.- All right?- OK.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18I don't know where I'm going to be in six month's time,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I don't know if my children are still going to be attending
0:11:20 > 0:11:22the schools they are attending,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25whether I'm going to be able to go on to attend college...
0:11:25 > 0:11:28It's just uncertainty. That's what it is.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Usually, I can get work quite quick in a pub
0:11:39 > 0:11:41and I need work quick at the minute.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43I've been looking for a job and nothing yet,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47so my confidence is just down low at the moment.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Tanya Blake is a single mum of two
0:11:49 > 0:11:51who is desperate to find a job and avoid the cap.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Sorry, I won't keep you a moment.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56I'm just wondering, have you got any vacancies at the moment?
0:11:56 > 0:11:57- You can leave your CV.- Can I?
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Almost 60% of those capped are single parents
0:12:00 > 0:12:02and they are the hardest hit.
0:12:02 > 0:12:03- There you go.- Thank you.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08Tanya is capped exactly the same as a couple who could both work.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12I've been going online, newspapers,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16going into places in person just to hand in my CV.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Oh, Marley's got it. Thank you.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20Most of my problems would be over
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and I can get better sleep at night-time.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24That would be excellent.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28I don't know if you have any vacancies or not?
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Um, at the moment, we don't, but I can take your CV...
0:12:31 > 0:12:32That would be lovely.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Over the last few months, Tanya has had only six job interviews.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38When I get my job,
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I will never be going back on benefits in my life again.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42It's too stressful.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44I'm a person that's always been to work and they've put me
0:12:44 > 0:12:49under that title with all the others, like I live on Benefits Street.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53I'm not about that. I don't want to be known as those people like that.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02The benefit cap has contributed to a housing crisis in the capital,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05with too many people chasing too few affordable homes.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09In the past, councils were free to pay
0:13:09 > 0:13:12the market rate for rented properties, but in 2011,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16the coalition Government cut what it paid private landlords.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20They were then far less willing to rent to people claiming welfare,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23resulting in increasing numbers of evictions.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29It was the job of Brent's Head of Housing Needs, Laurence Coaker,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31to deal with the fall out from the landlords.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Some of them were taking a hit of £200-300 a week,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37which they couldn't sustain,
0:13:37 > 0:13:42so the outcome of that was that they evicted the tenants
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and they didn't re-let their property to us.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50By putting on a cap which is for the whole country,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54it hasn't worked for us, it hasn't worked for London or the Southeast.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57What we are having to do is to find accommodation
0:13:57 > 0:14:00which the households can afford by claiming the housing benefits,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03but that's outside of London, it's outside of Brent,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06and the families don't want to go there, understandably,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08because they've lived in Brent all their lives.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Many claimants are now stuck,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19often in poor housing in expensive areas, waiting to be evicted,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22their rents made unaffordable because of the cap.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27My toilet keeps seeming to flood up
0:14:27 > 0:14:32and it will be like walking in water and it's a sewage works,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34so my house stinks like a sewers most of the time.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Tanya, with her two children Rios and Kamali, were moved outside
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Brent to Notting Hill three years ago and the council paid her rent.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45This is where they have to leave poison for the mice.
0:14:45 > 0:14:46It's not good at all.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49One time they came and they just put the poison in a dish.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51And I found this little boy come and told me, "Mummy, what this?"
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Brent thought this was a good place for me.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58You know, they enforced this property on me with a £500 a week rent.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01You know, I just had a bar job at the time, so I don't know
0:15:01 > 0:15:04how they expected me to afford this rent.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09I had my work in Wembley, my big boy was in nursery there. No, not good.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Not good.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15The cap means Tanya has lost over £200 a week.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17"Laugh and giggle, smile and grin."
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Her rent eats up what's left, and she's got nothing to live on.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24If she doesn't find work, she'll be evicted.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28When I was growing up, I never saw my mum and dad out of work.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32I don't know how anyone can be rich and proud on benefits. No.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37To me, it's very shameful. You know? I hate being in this situation,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I hate having to rely on the government.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41I need a job and a cheaper accommodation,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45so then I've got more chance of more money to spend on the household
0:15:45 > 0:15:47and the boys, because it isn't cheap.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10'But how better to design this cap to avoid it
0:16:10 > 0:16:14'pushing people into homelessness and ending up costing more...?'
0:16:14 > 0:16:16In search of larger, cheaper properties,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19many London boroughs re-house families in the West Midlands,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22like Handsworth in Birmingham, where houses are plentiful
0:16:22 > 0:16:23and rents affordable.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26So, the beds arrived.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30They're piled up here at the moment because we don't know
0:16:30 > 0:16:32until the family arrive which bedrooms
0:16:32 > 0:16:34each person will be sleeping in.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Mark is Brent Council's man in Birmingham, and he's preparing
0:16:39 > 0:16:43for Awaz and his family's arrival from Brent later that day.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48We supply a fridge/freezer to the property and a washing machine.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52You know, as well as a cooker, that's what the clients are given.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55We always make sure the toilets are clean when people come,
0:16:55 > 0:16:56because there's nothing worse
0:16:56 > 0:16:58than coming into a house with a dirty toilet.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02This property in London might be costing
0:17:02 > 0:17:06the taxpayer about £1,500 a month.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12Here in Birmingham, the local housing authority rate is 714.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15It's quite a substantial saving on what the local authority is
0:17:15 > 0:17:18having to pay out in London, really.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26But back in Brent, Awaz is still resisting the council's offer.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28The question I need an answer to is,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30are you accepting the offer in Birmingham or not?
0:17:30 > 0:17:33To be honest, I'm really stressed and confused.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37I don't know what to choose and what to do, to be honest. That's the truth.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I need to know. The office is shutting down.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42I said to you it shuts down in five minutes.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44We started our conversation before four o'clock,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46it's almost five o'clock now.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49I don't know what to say, yes or no.
0:17:49 > 0:17:50I need to know, though.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52If I don't work next week, I lose the job.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56- The question about your employment, that will be investigated. - I know, I know.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Leave that to us to do...
0:18:03 > 0:18:05'Good morning, Brent Council. How can I help?'
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Hello, it's mark in Birmingham. You all right?
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- 'Yeah, I'm fine Mark.'- Yeah.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Mark's been on stand-by all night waiting for Awaz
0:18:14 > 0:18:16and his family to turn up.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19I'm just reporting the clients didn't turn up last night.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'Yeah, we've heard nothing this morning.'
0:18:22 > 0:18:25We waited until 11:30ish, phoned him this morning, still no answer.
0:18:25 > 0:18:31So obviously it's up to you lot at your end, now, with that one.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34That's two in a week who haven't turned up.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37It's a bit frustrating that I've wasted my time,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40but at the same time there will probably be more of these cases.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Some people really, really don't want to be here,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and others are making the best of it.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56I don't even know where I'm going, actually.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Tanya's rent is expensive.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00As a single mum, she would prefer not to work,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04but has no choice as she is desperate to avoid the cap.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05Oh, we're down there.
0:19:05 > 0:19:06Come on, big boy.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13OK, so, we're calculating that you'd have to pay a difference of £219.59p.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Per week?- Per week.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19No way can I pay 200-and-something pounds a week.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22That's almost £800 a month,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and I just don't have that kind of money every week.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29After I've paid my rent, I'm going to have to send my children out begging.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Cos I don't have no way to feed them or to pay my other bills at home.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I mean, I'm thinking just to give up my property, give up my house.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38And then to move where?
0:19:38 > 0:19:41I don't know. I'm going to have to... I don't know.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46I don't know.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53I don't blame them what they're doing,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56to get, like, the lazy people back to work, but, you know, I just had a baby.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00I'm not looking to go back to work. When he's six months, or seven, eight months and is walking and
0:20:00 > 0:20:05can go in nursery, then yeah, I'll go back to work and stay in work.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07But it's hard. It's hard.
0:20:07 > 0:20:08It's hard.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18RECORDED VOICE: 'Ticket number 29 please go to desk 14.'
0:20:18 > 0:20:20As I said, my worst fears were confirmed.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24It is going to be an accommodation outside of London, in High Wycombe.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28I am a straight man, I do very good for the family.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30I am going straight.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32You...you...you doing me like an animal.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33Let's try to move this thing on.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Listen to me, let's try to move this thing on.
0:20:35 > 0:20:41Khalid Kassem and his seven children moved from Palestine to live in Brent 16 years ago.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44I'm telling you that nothing can be done. This is all we have. OK?
0:20:44 > 0:20:48Why don't you try to stay with someone? Try to stay with someone.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I got a very big family.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56Khalid has a part-time grocer's job earning £150 a week.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58His benefits are 800 per week.
0:20:58 > 0:21:03As he's working, Khalid should never have been affected by the changes,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05but he's still being evicted.
0:21:05 > 0:21:06The only affordable accommodation
0:21:06 > 0:21:09is 30 miles away in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- I told them, if he hurt himself, you are responsible.- Sorry, sir?
0:21:13 > 0:21:17My oldest child, he told me, "If I leave the school, I'll hurt myself."
0:21:17 > 0:21:21- Sir, don't try to emotionally blackmail us.- OK, OK, OK. I know.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23That's called emotional blackmail, OK?
0:21:23 > 0:21:27- I need you guys to bring this down a little bit. - Sorry about that. Sorry about that.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Anything happens to your children, that's your parental obligation to safeguard them, OK?
0:21:31 > 0:21:33So do not try to blackmail us.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37OK. I can go to that address and everything... But you have to sign a letter
0:21:37 > 0:21:41that if my oldest child hurt himself, you are responsible.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Which local government authority officer in their right mind
0:21:44 > 0:21:46is going to do something like that? You tell me.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50You can't sit here and protest, this is a public building, we have a closing time,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53you will eventually be asked to leave this building, do you understand me?
0:21:53 > 0:21:58OK, I get the children, you can't do anything against the children. Even touch him. I know the law.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06If Khalid wants to keep his job, he's got to travel in
0:22:06 > 0:22:10from High Wycombe which will cost over £350 a month.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15I told you, I'm confused, she doesn't want to accept it.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I don't know, what can I do?
0:22:18 > 0:22:22I want to stay with my friends, and I don't like other place,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24I just want to stay in London.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Tomorrow is the day they leave. I don't know. What can I do?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32It's very difficult situation.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37You are like someone who is in the middle of the fire.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40His behaviour at the minute, it's not really going to end nicely, the situation for him.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Eventually, if he chooses not to leave, then the ramifications,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46he will be escorted off the premises.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50You know, he's here now, and we can only provide him what's affordable, unfortunately.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Given time, it's going to get worse and worse.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Going to see a lot more cases such as this.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59He's got seven children, he needs to think very, very carefully about what he's going to do now.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07Brent's Lawrence Coker is seeing more cases like Khalid's -
0:23:07 > 0:23:12people who have low-paid jobs evicted and having to leave London.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15My fear is, where is this going to end?
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Where are going to be able house these families who are homeless
0:23:19 > 0:23:23because they been evicted from accommodation which they can no longer afford?
0:23:23 > 0:23:28Even if you do go out and get a job, you won't necessarily be able to stay because there isn't
0:23:28 > 0:23:33the supply of the private sector housing which is affordable and available.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Right, Ravington Street.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49I had a trial of a job in a bar, but that didn't go too well.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53So that really made me lose a bit of my confidence.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Tanya's getting advice from a housing expert to help her
0:23:58 > 0:24:01find a way around her expensive rental problems.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05You're in temporary accommodation, OK,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08- which means they owe you a full housing duty.- OK.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10So it means they can't get rid of you.
0:24:10 > 0:24:16It may be that what they'll do is they'll look to moving you to rent that will be within this £280.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- Yeah.- And then it doesn't matter if you work or not, because you're
0:24:19 > 0:24:24already going to escape the cap just by reducing your rent.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28the difficulty is going to be, even that £280 that you would be left with,
0:24:28 > 0:24:33you're going to struggle to find private rented accommodation that's cheap enough. Yeah.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- That's what I'm trying to run away from.- Yeah.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38- Because they're not housing you in London any more.- Yeah.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43Whether you work or not. They're housing you out to Birmingham, to Luton,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45and if I got out there, I have no support.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Maybe I could contact Brent and ask them to try and find
0:24:49 > 0:24:52cheaper temporary accommodation,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54and these are the areas that she's willing to look at.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58That would be a nice thing for you to do. But it's Brent I don't trust.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Cos they haven't helped me before.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04There's a lot of uncertainty.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Yeah. I know it's good of you, but I...
0:25:07 > 0:25:10- I mean, it's good of you on your side.- You all right?
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Yeah. I just get upset.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14BABY CRIES
0:25:22 > 0:25:27Because it's such a big document we really need to be careful about what we put in here.
0:25:27 > 0:25:32Back in Brent, housing officer Ali Tahir has got even more bad news for Khalid.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36This letter I'm going to issue the applicants with is an enforcement letter,
0:25:36 > 0:25:37we can do this lawfully.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40We've made a reasonable, adequate offer of accommodation,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and given him one final chance to reconsider his decision.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48If he doesn't, then to all intents and purposes, they're on their own.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53We're not life managers, we're not life coaches, we are what we are.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56We're housing officers. We don't have a choice in it as much as they do.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Shall we go down and give it to him?
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Councils like Brent have the power to discharge their duty to rehouse Khalid
0:26:03 > 0:26:07if he continues to refuse offers of alternative accommodation.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10He's not going to be happy. Rest assured, he's not going to be happy.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18You had an offer of reasonable, adequate accommodation in High Wycombe. I urge you to accept this.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22You've got the right to review within 21 days of receiving this decision letter.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25If you choose not to, then obviously there's nothing else we can do.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Think about your children, they're all under nine, there's seven of them.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Think about having a roof over your head.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35It may be in another part of the country, it's not too far.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37It's very, very late in the day.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40- Yes, but the children... - No. No, no. I'm not...
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Are you going to take this or not?
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Yeah, yeah. I take the home. That's because...
0:26:49 > 0:26:51After my children to school.
0:26:51 > 0:26:57Morning. Any problem, my son, your, the office problem.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59- OK.- OK.- So, you're going to take it?
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Khalid and his wife Faiza still don't want to accept the offer.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31BOY CRIES
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Are you going to take property or not?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Over here, over here. Friend, over here.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44As men, sometimes you have to go do stuff you might not want to do.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46That's your responsibility.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Take what they've given you, so they don't have to sit here tonight.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55- OK.- So, take the property, at least the family have somewhere to stay for tonight,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and then you can ask for a review, yeah?
0:28:00 > 0:28:03OK, so, would you like to come upstairs, please? Just you. Don't...
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Everybody else stay here.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13After arguing for over six hours,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Khalid finally returns to their accommodation.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20They will be evicted the next day.
0:28:22 > 0:28:28OK, I'm calling from the council about your benefits being cut.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Have you received a letter from us recently
0:28:30 > 0:28:33telling you about the changes to your benefits?
0:28:33 > 0:28:37As the changes begin to bite, the Brent welfare reform team are still
0:28:37 > 0:28:40trying to reach as many potentially affected claimants as they can.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43To £95.33 per week.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45You are going to lose £68.13 per week.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48For some it's really scary cos the shortfall is very...
0:28:48 > 0:28:53For a lot of people, some shortfalls are £20, £10. Some shortfalls are £100, £300.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57But you do understand the reason you are being capped is because you are not working, yeah?
0:28:57 > 0:29:01You're saying that he's too sick to go and work, but what about you, then?
0:29:01 > 0:29:05They react in different ways, some people do want to get into employment, them we can work with,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08some people want to move, we can work with them, as well.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Some people don't have an option because they can't move cos of children,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13and they can't go into employment for whatever reason.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16One of the ways that the council softens the blow is
0:29:16 > 0:29:22drawing on a temporary government fund that helps vulnerable families cope with the cap,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25called discretionary housing payment, DHP.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27We'll be able to pay Discretionary Housing Payment for you
0:29:27 > 0:29:33until the end of the financial year, which will be the 31st of March 2013.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35We're not going to throw money at people
0:29:35 > 0:29:37if they're going to sit there and just do nothing.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41It's not to delay the process, it's to support, erm,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43a solution to the process.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Yeah, but your husband can look after the kids, can't he,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48while you work? Is that not possible?
0:29:52 > 0:29:53Tanya's back at Brent.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56She's convinced her benefits were being cut,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59and believes she has to find a job.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01But there's been some confusion.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05We are paying out at the moment 500, your rent is fully covered.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07So, I came here last week, yeah?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10So can you tell me why nobody stated this to me last week
0:30:10 > 0:30:12and why I've got all these figures from last week?
0:30:12 > 0:30:15And I've been getting myself into a right tough and tumble,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18cos now you're telling me this it's kind of pissing me off now.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23As her son Kamali is under one, she was getting her top-up all along.
0:30:23 > 0:30:24But she had no idea.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26I haven't bought myself any gas,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28so my house is like a freezer at the minute.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Me and my kids are having to stay in the one room.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34I've not been eating so my kids can eat, d'you know what I mean?
0:30:34 > 0:30:37I'm still breastfeeding this little boy. Well, trying to.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39My breasts are dried up now.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42I went to my doctor's and he said it's cos I'm not eating properly,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44and cos I've had to start taking my sleeping tablets cos
0:30:44 > 0:30:46I couldn't sleep at night.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Did I need to do all that? No.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53No. I'm sorry, I'm just so annoyed and angry right now.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56I could pick up that computer and dash it down there.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03I'm all right on the money situation now cos I don't have to contribute.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06These guys will pay till March.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09But in the meantime I will still look for a job so when it comes to
0:31:09 > 0:31:13March I don't have to come in this building and deal with these people.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Cos they'll just put me in a mad home,
0:31:15 > 0:31:17send me to a mad home with all this stress.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22BABY GURGLES
0:31:22 > 0:31:23Yes, Mali.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Tanya's temporary benefit top-up will eventually run out.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Her rent is so high the council might still be forced
0:31:30 > 0:31:32to move her out of London.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37No, it was from, erm, from my work, my voluntary work.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Single mother Tracy McCarthy has also found she's being capped.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48That is £317.80, yeah?
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Like Tanya, she's getting a temporary top-up
0:31:51 > 0:31:54because she's studying, but it's also about to run out.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58- OK, so how much is the shortfall? - It is £106.26.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00- That's what your shortfall is. - A week?- Per week, yeah.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04It's not really affordable, is it, really, to pay the rent?
0:32:05 > 0:32:08More worrying for Tracy is her pending eviction.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10If you do get evicted because of the shortfall,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13we have to look at what have you done to avoid that eviction,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15have you done anything to get into employment?
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Have you done anything to move? Then we'll look at it again in November,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20review it on a regular basis to see how far you've got.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Would you be willing to get a part-time job
0:32:22 > 0:32:24if that meant that you could stay where you are?
0:32:24 > 0:32:27It'll depend whether I benefit out of it financially.
0:32:27 > 0:32:28So you would want to do a better off cap
0:32:28 > 0:32:30with the Jobcentre Plus to see what happens.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46In High Wycombe, Khalid's getting his first taste of his new home.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00They will fall down and one of them could die here on these stairs.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05This house costs £375 a week.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10An equivalent house in Brent could cost over £500 per week.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15There is no space for these things. There's no space.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24I will bring them here and see what they said.
0:33:24 > 0:33:29Healthy and good for the size of your family. Where is it, can you see it?
0:33:29 > 0:33:31You can't see it, isn't it?
0:33:45 > 0:33:47If you don't work 16 hours per week,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50we will actually be looking at moving you outside of London.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53One of those areas will be Birmingham.
0:33:53 > 0:33:54How do you feel about that?
0:33:56 > 0:33:58After all the council's efforts to warn capped claimants
0:33:58 > 0:34:01of the consequences of the benefits changes,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03the message is finally hitting home.
0:34:03 > 0:34:0716 years ago we come as a refugee in London, and now we are going
0:34:07 > 0:34:10second time refugee from London to Birmingham or somewhere else.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13That, I think, is not good.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16However, they sent me a letter and said, "You have to move."
0:34:16 > 0:34:21It's very difficult to go outside London because it is multicultural.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25We need multicultural. We don't want a problem. We need peace and love.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29I didn't ask to be moved to Manchester.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32This was thrust upon me because of the benefit cap.
0:34:32 > 0:34:33You lot found me a property
0:34:33 > 0:34:35in a place that I said I did not want to go to.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39I am not putting my family in danger for the sake of Brent Council!
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Donna Roswell has been capped and her benefits almost halved.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46She's a single mother who, despite being moved to cheaper housing,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48still needs to find a job.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51As you know, we have been engaging with you for some time, OK?
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Unfortunately, you haven't been successful.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56And I have previously discussed being an Avon rep.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Got a lot of friends, you've got relatives...
0:34:58 > 0:34:59Five children, I'm sorry,
0:34:59 > 0:35:03five children Avon ain't going to feed, yeah?
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Plain and straight, Avon, I've done Avon when I had three children.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09So please don't be talking that rubbish to me.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11It'll give you that flexibility that you need...
0:35:11 > 0:35:12Would you do it? That's you.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15Would you do it sitting down raising five children? Really?
0:35:15 > 0:35:18- Don't belittle me with Avon, what's that?- I'm not belittling you,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20I'm just saying it'll give you that flexibility.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23It doesn't give me no flexibility. Really, really, really.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28You can't just uproot families and take them out,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31you can't just make them... Tell them what they can live off
0:35:31 > 0:35:35and what they can't because you're not living with their expenses.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Everybody's family is individually uniquely different.
0:35:38 > 0:35:39We can't help it.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41We did try to assist her.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44We referred her to Jobcentre Plus to try and find employment.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46There wasn't any jobs of her choice.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51For now she needs to be a bit more open minded on what kind of jobs
0:35:51 > 0:35:54she wants to get into. I think that will help her.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57Is she willing to do that? I don't think so.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03SIRENS WAIL
0:36:11 > 0:36:12I'm a little bit scared.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16Cos it's too far away.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20She is sick. Who is caring about the children?
0:36:20 > 0:36:25Nobody. And they told me, OK, here now there is a community.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27I can't trust anybody here, isn't it?
0:36:29 > 0:36:33She can't see any future in this area, and when I look to her,
0:36:33 > 0:36:38I think like something is burning inside her heart.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05BABIES CRY
0:37:27 > 0:37:29Are you going to sing it?
0:37:29 > 0:37:31# Good night, Lola
0:37:31 > 0:37:33# Good night, Lola... #
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Tracy is still fighting her landlord's attempt to evict her.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42On the 4th of November, that's when he wants me
0:37:42 > 0:37:45out of this property but I don't intend to go.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49It just keeps me awake at night wondering what's going to happen,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52whether I'm going to be shoved in a hotel and forgot about.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56They're threatening to put me down Luton, I'm not happy about that.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59I want to stay in the Brent area.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02To uproot a family and put them outside of London,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05it's not really practical because, like, my family network's
0:38:05 > 0:38:09in London and my friends are in London, it's where I want to stay.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Tracy's bringing up three children alone,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17and is unsure whether she's better off on benefits or working.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23Tracy volunteers part-time and studies three days a week at college.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26People have that attitude that single parents are single because
0:38:26 > 0:38:30they want to be and they get more money if they're a single parent.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33It's not the case. Basically, I'm in a full-time job as it is.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36I don't sit at home watching Jeremy Kyle.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39I want to go out and work, I want to go out and be busy
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and keep myself busy.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44But to go out and work cleaning toilets all day long
0:38:44 > 0:38:48and things like that, for minimum wage,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51what are you setting your children when they're older?
0:38:52 > 0:38:55I don't know if I'm going to get the court letter through the door
0:38:55 > 0:38:59saying, "You're being evicted on such-and-such date." You know,
0:38:59 > 0:39:00I could do without the stress.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11Khalid has returned to Brent
0:39:11 > 0:39:14to complain about his house in High Wycombe.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16The stairs are a problem?
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Yes, they're very dangerous for the children.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20It's a very long stair to the second floor.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23We found this one. Look, in the mattress, what we found.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26The children woke up at night, they said, "What's that?" Like this.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28It's not healthy for children.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32On the train, if I travel from Wycombe to my job,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36it would cost me around £400 a month.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38- Yeah. - I can't afford it to be honest.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46He's brought in photos of what looks like an infestation of...
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Could be woodlice or... I'm not sure, some kind of beetle.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52The fact that you've got open stairs there,
0:39:52 > 0:39:54I don't know if the landlord...
0:39:54 > 0:39:57But this is his responsibility, isn't it? It's highly unlikely
0:39:57 > 0:40:00- that these sorts of issues are going to make it unsuitable.- Yeah.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02What I need him to be leaving today with is the fact that this is
0:40:02 > 0:40:05the area that he's going to be living in
0:40:05 > 0:40:07in at least the foreseeable future,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10so what's he doing about the children's schooling for instance?
0:40:10 > 0:40:13- He said he's been working since 2006 in Harrow Road.- Yeah.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Seems pretty harsh to have to say to people,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17"You might have to give up your job."
0:40:17 > 0:40:18Why's he got to give up his job?
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Because it's in Harrow Road and he's saying it costs him
0:40:21 > 0:40:24£300 or £400 a month commuting from High Wycombe.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27But where's he going to live?
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Well, exactly. I'm going to have to say, "It's your house or your job."
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Yeah, well, or say to him, "Find your own accommodation.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36- "We can help you with deposits, et cetera."- I've said that as well.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40If he can find a property that is affordable in Brent...we can't.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45'..on benefits earn more than you would
0:40:45 > 0:40:48'if you actually went out and worked.
0:40:48 > 0:40:49'This is not going to be some sort of
0:40:49 > 0:40:52'punitive programme of mass homelessness -
0:40:52 > 0:40:53'that is not going to happen.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56'Of course we won't allow that to happen, but we are saying...'
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Since the reforms began,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02homelessness in London caused by landlords ending tenancies
0:41:02 > 0:41:06has increased by over 300%.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Evicted families are regarded by Brent as technically homeless,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13and many end up in temporary hostels waiting for their turn to be moved out of the borough.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17OK, this is our second room.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20This is where we put usually our food
0:41:20 > 0:41:23and our plates and cutlery and all that.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27Cos we can't leave it in the kitchen otherwise people take it or use it.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34Mumino Kulmiye is a British citizen who came from Ethiopia 12 years ago.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37She's a single mother and for the last three months,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40together with her two daughters, has been living in an emergency hostel.
0:41:42 > 0:41:48We use for everything this room. Our food, our, you know, our clothes.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52Bedclothes. Everything is inside this room.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57£616 for two rooms per week.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01It's not worth the money they're saying cos that room is really small.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04It shouldn't be that much money.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Hafsa's family were evicted because of rent arrears.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Due to the cap, the council can't find any affordable housing
0:42:11 > 0:42:14in Brent, so they're moving them to Luton.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19I've lived in Brent for nearly all my life - like, 12, 11 years -
0:42:19 > 0:42:25and I like it here. And I have a lot of family here so I can't just move.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27And in Luton I have nobody. I don't know anyone there.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29I've never been there in my life.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33And plus I'm doing my GCSEs soon so I can't move to another school,
0:42:33 > 0:42:35so they're ruining it for me.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38So...I'm refusing to go.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44Yeah, they have to drag me out.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52- Hello.- D'you want to come through? - Yeah.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56Tracy's back at the council, still trying to find ways to make
0:42:56 > 0:42:59her finances add up and avoid being moved out of Brent.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04So if you've still got your work you would have to pay about
0:43:04 > 0:43:06£4 towards your rent.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10- The cap only applies if you don't work.- OK.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12If she was working 16 hours on minimum wage,
0:43:12 > 0:43:16Tracy's total weekly income would be £811.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19And if her rent stayed the same, she would have more money to live on.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23- So you'd have £328.37 left roughly. - Per week?
0:43:23 > 0:43:27- For your living expenses, yeah. - I don't believe that figure.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29- I think that's wrong.- It would be...
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Well, that's the figure the system's giving.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34They're going to pay that figure if I go out to work
0:43:34 > 0:43:35but yet they can't pay my rent now?
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Obviously you've got a cap at the moment on benefits, haven't you?
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Yeah, but then I'm still going to have the cap, aren't I?
0:43:41 > 0:43:43No, if you start work the cap doesn't apply to you -
0:43:43 > 0:43:45you can get more than £500 a week.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Most of the time you are better off in work.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55Only if you work full-time maybe then sometimes it will be
0:43:55 > 0:43:57hard to work out.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59But 16 hours, if you do the minimum for working tax credit,
0:43:59 > 0:44:01you are definitely better off.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03- Use the lift to get down, yeah? - Yeah.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05- Thank you.- That's fine, thank you.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09I'm staying at college. It means I'm going to struggle but,
0:44:09 > 0:44:12well, I'm hoping that cos I'm in studies,
0:44:12 > 0:44:15they'll continue to pay my rent.
0:44:15 > 0:44:16But we'll see.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26You know, older one, really, she says, "I'm not going.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29"Definitely I'm not going with you. If you want it, go.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33"I'm staying in street." Really. She was angry. She was very angry.
0:44:33 > 0:44:34- She's 14, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:44:34 > 0:44:39Mumino's elder daughter Hafsa is still insisting on staying in Brent.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43- You need a house, isn't it? - Yeah, need the house.- Exactly.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45So it's for you to talk to your children, tell them.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48You are the mother. You can't just leave her there.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50You are supposed to be telling her what to do.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54Can't I have a right to say...?
0:44:54 > 0:44:56No, this house. Really.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59- I'm not happy, definitely, if you... - I know, I know, I know.
0:44:59 > 0:45:04But if you refuse, we'll stop working with you. You can't come to us for help.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06And the B&B where you are,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09we're going to cancel it within seven days.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14Mumino will have to find her own cheaper property or get a job.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18She hasn't worked for 12 years and the council's deadline looms.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21I don't think she'll be able to make it on her own.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24She can't find the deposit cos most of the estate agents
0:45:24 > 0:45:28will ask for one month rent, one month deposit, which is ready hard.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31Even me, I'm working, I can't afford to do that.
0:45:36 > 0:45:37'They think we are being hard'
0:45:37 > 0:45:40and they don't think it's happening, actually.
0:45:40 > 0:45:45They think it's just you making a decision on their behalf.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54# If you're happy and you know it nod your head... #
0:45:54 > 0:45:56'I like coming here, I like volunteering,'
0:45:56 > 0:46:00I like coming to the centre. It's something that I enjoy.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Helping out in a children's nursery may help with Tracy's career plans
0:46:04 > 0:46:08but it won't stop her being capped and moved out of Brent.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Ramona, look, magic!
0:46:10 > 0:46:13'When I mentioned to them that I'm doing voluntary work,'
0:46:13 > 0:46:18it's not recognised by the council, it's not recognised by the homeless unit.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22'They said it's irrelevant for my moving process,'
0:46:22 > 0:46:29so they're happy for me to be homeless on the day that my eviction comes
0:46:29 > 0:46:31and they're happy to put me in a different area,
0:46:31 > 0:46:34so all this will completely be gone.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37CHILDREN CHEER
0:46:37 > 0:46:41'I would be happy to get a paid job but it's just uncertainty really.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44'I don't know where I'm going to be, what's going to happen.'
0:46:44 > 0:46:47It's going to affect everything.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Tracy's decision not to work is a gamble.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53The council might continue to financially help out
0:46:53 > 0:46:56but if she's evicted, she could end up like Mumino,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58living in one of Brent's B&B hostels.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07We don't have the time!
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Mumino's moving today with her youngest daughter, Hannon,
0:47:10 > 0:47:14but needs to pick up her belongings stored with family and friends.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20This is the hardest thing I ever see in my entire life, really.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21Even...
0:47:23 > 0:47:27Her elder daughter, Hafsa, hasn't turned up.
0:47:27 > 0:47:34She says, "I'm not going, I'm not going. Luton is not my area. I don't want to go," so...
0:47:39 > 0:47:41We'll meet again.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46I'm feeling a little bit sad because usually we visit each other.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50We can't if I move there. Because it's a little bit far.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54I need money, a lot of money, to travel here, so...
0:47:54 > 0:47:56SHE SIGHS
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Oh, no.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24Mumino's arrived at her new house in Luton with Hannon,
0:48:24 > 0:48:25her younger daughter.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- Do you like it?- I'm not sure.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31Hello, I'm Donna from TL Properties.
0:48:31 > 0:48:36Mumino's weekly hostel bill in Brent was over £600
0:48:36 > 0:48:42but in Luton this three-bedroom terraced house costs less than £170 a week.
0:48:42 > 0:48:47This is the living room-cum-dining room. Through here's your kitchen.
0:48:49 > 0:48:50Here's your bathroom.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53It can't be fine, the kitchen and, you know, toilet.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55It is legal.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58- Oh, no!- And then upstairs, we have three bedrooms upstairs.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05We've got a big Arndale Centre just five minutes away.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08You've got a little shop down the road on the corner.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14Oh. This is not a sitting room. Why did they say sitting room?
0:49:14 > 0:49:19Open-plan lounge-diner. That's what most of the houses look like now.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23- Do you think that this looks like a sitting room?- Yeah.- Be honest.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25It is not really. It is not.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Luton, and, again, bad house.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33This area is crap, really. It's crap. For me.
0:49:33 > 0:49:38If this one is in London, I should say, "Oh, at least I have a house
0:49:38 > 0:49:43"in London and my children in school, same school," but now I don't have a good house!
0:49:44 > 0:49:47And also I'm changing everything, you know.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50I think it's best to make a phone call to them
0:49:50 > 0:49:52see what they say, sort it out, through them.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Mumino makes one final plea to her Brent housing adviser.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04Do you think it's possible to come back in London? Yeah?
0:50:04 > 0:50:08I can't carry on this hard life, really!
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Because you're pushing me something and I don't want it, really!
0:50:11 > 0:50:14I'm not in stress! I must be stressed, really!
0:50:17 > 0:50:18Why are you closing?
0:50:19 > 0:50:23What's happening? Are you going to take the property or are you deciding not to?
0:50:25 > 0:50:28- Yes, I do. I don't have a choice. - You've got to take it. Right, OK.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30Yeah, I don't have a choice. I have to.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45What are you doing?!
0:50:45 > 0:50:50After over two years in her rented house, Tracy is finally being evicted.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52The landlord's here.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56Grab the baby, grab the baby!
0:50:57 > 0:50:58Mum, Mum, Mum!
0:51:00 > 0:51:03The landlord tried to illegally evict me.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08One day when I was out he come round, bolted up the door
0:51:08 > 0:51:10so that I couldn't get in again
0:51:10 > 0:51:15and, erm, I ended up having to climb through a bathroom window heavily pregnant.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18I'm not really bothered about the landlord.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20I'm just more worried about where I'm going to be tonight.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23Wherever I'm going to be, it's going to be upsetting for the kids.
0:51:23 > 0:51:29If I'm put in a bed and breakfast, I'm not going to be able to keep these in their bedtime routine.
0:51:31 > 0:51:32It's just going to be a nightmare.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Here! I'm leaving here today!
0:51:38 > 0:51:41- Being evicted.- I can't believe that.
0:51:41 > 0:51:42Give me your number.
0:51:45 > 0:51:46Where's my phone?
0:51:48 > 0:51:52I'll ring you. Bye, Buster, bye, Lola. See you later.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54- I'll ring you.- Definitely.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01There's people on benefits, they're grand people.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04It's not their fault that their benefits have been cut down.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07There's the very best of people that gets benefits, like.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16I own a few properties and I wouldn't let a thing to the council now.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19Last resort.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24I'm not giving him his case. Why should I?
0:52:26 > 0:52:29He's chucking me out of the property, so...
0:52:29 > 0:52:30Come on, Buster.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Good morning!
0:52:35 > 0:52:38Tracy now has to return to the council and declare herself
0:52:38 > 0:52:40and her family homeless.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46# ..Twinkle, little star
0:52:46 > 0:52:50# How I wonder what you are. #
0:52:50 > 0:52:52- Hi, Tracy.- Hiya.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57You got to be near Wembley, don't you? OK, let me hold onto this.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00At the council, Tracy's worst fears are confirmed.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03There's not a house available. Just a hostel.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05The main thing, Tracy, is that you're not on the road.
0:53:05 > 0:53:10You and your children will have a roof over their head and we've taken that into consideration.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12I could be there for over a year.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15No, you don't have to be there for over a year. Why would you say that?
0:53:15 > 0:53:17Because I've known people with this exp...
0:53:17 > 0:53:22But it's-it's not people's case, it's your case. And I always...
0:53:22 > 0:53:26My kids are going to be uprooted and everything, and we're going to just be stuck in a room.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31Hopefully, it won't be for very long.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33But just remember, at least you've got somewhere to go
0:53:33 > 0:53:36so you and your children won't be homeless, yeah?
0:53:36 > 0:53:39- Yeah.- All right? OK.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00I knew it, my postcode. Oh, God.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07It's just going to be a nightmare, I know it is.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18In the last year, due to the Government's welfare reforms,
0:54:18 > 0:54:23276 households have been moved to accommodation outside of Brent.
0:54:24 > 0:54:30Across the UK, even though councils have tried to help claimants avoid the cap
0:54:30 > 0:54:34over 38,000 families were still affected.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37What's difficult to predict are the long-term consequences
0:54:37 > 0:54:40of the Government's new reforms on the lives of those forced
0:54:40 > 0:54:42to leave their homes.
0:54:45 > 0:54:53After seven months, the experiences of the Brent families we've followed have been very different.
0:54:53 > 0:54:58I am stressed! You doing me like an animal.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Khalid drove 30 miles each day to take his children to school
0:55:02 > 0:55:04and to keep his Brent job.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09Following a council review of his case,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12they moved him and his family back to London.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17Seven children, they will be without a school. We will be jobless.
0:55:17 > 0:55:22A council investigation proved that Awaz and his wife were legitimately working.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25They moved to Birmingham but rarely live there,
0:55:25 > 0:55:28preferring to stay with family in Brent.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32Donna's never actually moved to Manchester.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35And after 15 years on the housing waiting list,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38she got a cheaper council house in Brent.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41I never thought the day would come when I'd actually have...
0:55:41 > 0:55:43my own property.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46To know that I'm still local, the entire family's over the moon.
0:55:46 > 0:55:51She's now got a full-time job in a children's nursery.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55The Government's intention is to encourage people back into work.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59But so far, only around one in ten of those capped has a job.
0:56:03 > 0:56:08For Tanya, the council managed to find a cheaper private rented property back in Brent.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11I'm just a lot more at ease now and a lot more relaxed now.
0:56:11 > 0:56:17Cos I can feel like I have a future now, I can afford to get on with my life now.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19But she is still unemployed.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25Mumino found a part-time job but is still capped.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29Hafsa never did join her in Luton and stays with family in Brent.
0:56:29 > 0:56:30They rarely see each other.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33I'm feeling what all mum feel.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36Not feeling well when my daughter is other places.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38It's hard, it's very hard.
0:56:38 > 0:56:43It's not good, really, what they're doing, cos...they're just splitting up all the families.
0:56:43 > 0:56:48We see each other, like, once every two weeks or sometimes once every week.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53And the longest I haven't seen her was, like, probably three weeks.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55I just want us to all be together.
0:57:03 > 0:57:04No fridge locks...
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Tracy and her family of three are currently living
0:57:07 > 0:57:12in a one-room hostel in Brent, waiting for a new home. Somewhere.
0:57:12 > 0:57:17'If I'm here in September, I doubt it whether I'll be able to go to college.'
0:57:17 > 0:57:21There's a lot of people praying for me, I'm praying for myself and for my children.
0:57:21 > 0:57:26And I'm just hoping that I will be able to get out of here
0:57:26 > 0:57:29as quick as possible, basically, and then get into some kind of temporary
0:57:29 > 0:57:35flat or something, to enable me to have a steady life with my children.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37Don't jump on that bed.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46- IAIN DUNCAN SMITH: - 'Nobody on benefits, people who are not working,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50'should be earning more than the average earnings for the rest of Britain.'
0:57:50 > 0:57:57Fine, so you're getting £255.07 too much, according to the cap.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02The benefit cap, it's affected your household,
0:58:02 > 0:58:06which means that your current accommodation is not affordable.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09- NICK CLEGG:- 'The Government is announcing the most radical overhaul
0:58:09 > 0:58:11'of our welfare system since its inception,
0:58:11 > 0:58:16'driven by a simple overriding principle.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20'The purpose of welfare is to help people INTO work.'