How To Get A Council House Series 4 Episode 2

there's a growing demand for social housing we can't live on the streets what life is that [Music] but councils don't have enough homes where would i go you don't understand you don't understand so they're forced to shelter families in temporary accommodation while they wait for something more permanent there's blue mold down there it's even going behind his [ __ ] but with temporary housing costing the taxpayer half a billion pounds a year there's pressure to reduce costs my sons woke up came running into him and he was screaming about a rat have you seen this and not everyone can get the help they need i'm not here it's your fault he's got bronco lighters these people all claim they're desperate for housing it is because we're white it is because we're not muslim because we're not black but who needs it the most it's absolutely disgusting how the council has treated me it is absolutely disgusting [Music] in the shadow of heathrow airport the london borough of hounslow is one of the capital's fastest growing boroughs hounslow has a very rich and diverse population which is growing we are very close to heathrow we're very well connected to central london and so housing need in the borough is rising there isn't enough social housing to meet growing demand so the council is forced to spend huge sums on temporary accommodation this mostly consists of bnb's and privately owned properties hanslow council's current options for temporary housing include this one-bedroom flat on the 17th floor of a tower block with a monthly rent of 500 pounds a privately owned studio flat outside the borough in slough for 760 pounds a month and this first floor bed and breakfast room available for 1100 pounds a month ticket number one hundred and forty one please go to counter nine nearly 200 people a day approach the council for help with housing i haven't got anywhere to go my dad's kicked me out and took my key i'm really worried because i don't know that we're gonna get a house or not i keep trying to see what i can do to get house i just need a bit of help but with a severe shortage of council homes the housing team have to make difficult decisions i'm a resident in the hounslow area yeah and and i've paid taxes for 20 years of my life so what about the council they can't do nothing i don't know whether we can help you or not that's just actually pissed me off a little bit now i've got nowhere to go i haven't got any family here i'm not doubting you that's fine but chances are we're looking at you going into a bed and breakfast kitchen wedding breakfast no it's just a room it is very upsetting not to help everyone that comes to the council for housing i do put myself in these shoes but there isn't enough council properties to go around maria who's originally from portugal and her 16 year old daughter jessica have been evicted by their landlord they're hoping the council can offer them housing all i know is i woke up at like eight in the morning my brother's waking up saying jess that the enforcement people were here we're changing the law because they don't give us time and take the rest of staff good afternoon my name is uchi how can i help you today hi sorry that's okay i was lost my job i have a business cleaner company okay and i was behind with the rent okay and this evictionized because of renters yes maria claimed she only missed two rent payments on the privately rented three-bedroom house but the lettings agent alleges she refused to pay any rent for eight months leading to arrears of eleven thousand pounds if the council decides maria caused her eviction she won't be offered any housing okay were you receiving housing benefits nothing no benefits i don't ask a husband if it i don't ask for help in the job center mr sanchez yes you know if you do not pay your rent you're breaching your tenancy agreement yeah and it would lead to eviction okay we have to assess you according to what the housing act has said we're looking at have you made yourself intentionally homeless where your renter is anti-social behavior and in your case yes you were you knew you can get some help wait so you knew that you can get help with the rent but you just didn't do it i think she's just upset the fact that people coming in from the country come into the council with seven kids about ten sheep and that and say listen i'm on the streets i haven't got a job i need a house they're saying here's your house keys you move in today it's okay it doesn't work like that it doesn't work like that i need to discuss your case with the manager yeah yeah okay i'm not racist but ask if she's english if she's born this country i don't think she's born in this country they give them houses they give them jobs and they don't even deserve it what have they done for us but done terrorist attacks oh dear speechless absolutely speechless uche brings in her boss george to help clarify maria's story hi there my name is george i am the uh duty manager this afternoon right um a couple of issues here how much were the arrays two months two months rent too much rent yes well no that's not that can't be right before the court can grant an order for possession you would owed at least 12 weeks of rent if if i don't have my children another two this one i was not sit here today i guarantee 100 i was sleeping my car i was sleeping the street but that was not here i'm sorry sir but i'm too tired now all right okay i i will i will have a show my daughter is not well i will round it over to tyler if if you can help you can help us right okay let me just let me just finish off this is where we stand on this one here we are unable to assist you so you have to make alternative housing arrangement at this time as george has discovered the rent areas are more extensive than maria claims the council decides she's responsible for her homeless situation and she'll receive no help okay all right and thank you this is not right it's not right it's not right mr santos stated she only owed two months of rent and from thence you know i was able to see the inconsistency in mr santa's story because we all [ __ ] blacks organ here look all of them all of them work in here huh the cancer don't help at all basically the moral to this story is if you're watching from any side of the world do not come to this country if you're white because they will not help you 91 of all new council tenancies across the uk go to people born in this country and only nine percent to foreign-born applicants the common view that immigrants who approach the council are automatically housed is a myth anyone who approaches the council must satisfy the criteria which is laid out in policy last year 170 people a day were evicted from their homes in britain the highest number since records began people like 34 year old danielle who's waiting for bailiffs to arrive at her home this is a letter from the county court the eviction will take place on the 5th of january at 11 30. the large privately rented two-bedroom flat in an up-and-coming part of the borough costs 900 pounds a month in rent i lived here for eight years it's been a good eight years danielle who works as a hotel cleaner on a zero hours contract lost control of her finances and ran up renter ears several times i made mistakes i fell into a bit of debt i don't know how i fell into the debt but somehow i took the wrong path danielle shares the flat with her eight-year-old son who she's raised alone as a mother i'm really trying very hard to keep positive attitude for my son who is having a hard time understanding exactly what is going on and why we're in the situation do you have any idea where you'll be tonight no i have no idea quite worrying but no [Music] everything i have [Music] with malachi at school danielle heads to the council [Music] faced with nowhere to stay tonight her hopes now rest on being offered temporary all accommodation how are you i'm so sorry i've been affected bailey's eviction rent arrears yes when did you start a career inventories um i don't know probably about a year after i started working give or take or it could be longer than that do you receive housing benefit i do receive no housing benefit how much does housing benefit pay you um i was paying one moment 300 and some there was a time i was paying 500 and change and then it was shot for yeah and then so you don't know how much housing benefit paid do you have your housing benefit document on you no all right because obviously if you don't know how much you're meant to pay either yeah i don't think that's why we're already i know it's paying um a hundred here and a hundred days okay miss davis that doesn't help danielle claims a fluctuating monthly income contributed to her problems paying the rent if the hotel's quiet the hours get cut back how much roughly did you get a month it depends on the hours i work the last payment i got was 297 pounds and change have you got your employment contracts with you no that's in storage because okay you know the consequences of not paying rent because you have been in that situation several times with your landlord it's not that i ain't trying you told me to try and look for a better job but i don't want to i'm in debt as it is i got myself into a bit of debt not accounts for my fault but if i do a course it's more more down top so i don't know you've got a child yes i have an eight-year-old son do you have any family members in the borough at all not in the country no my mom is in barbados like my grandmother's in barbados if the council was happy to buy me and my son a one-way ticket to barbados so be it but that's not going to work yeah because why would we buy you a ticket chances are you could be deemed to have made yourself intentionally homeless but we have to investigate further into this i will go and have a word with the duty manager and see how we can assist you okay i'm just messed up the time oh make so many bad choices a fellow's mother i'm not a good example for my son right now i really ain't [Music] as danielle has an eight-year-old son the council decide to place them in a bnb while uche investigates their case further [Music] the impression that people have is that there are empty council properties just stand by waiting for them to just come and occupy but reality is there aren't any council properties available my son didn't want to move he's not happy about moving but they say everything happens for a reason we don't choose always choose the right path i don't know um i don't know i honestly don't know over one hundred thousand children in britain are living in bnbs danielle's eight-year-old son malachi is about to become one of them evicted from their old flat where he had his own bedroom home will now be this single 15 by 12 foot room where he'll have to share a bed with his mother [Music] it's not much but it's still a roof over our head and um i can't complain i could be in a worse off situation i'm happy that me and him is together [Music] just leave him away no little man has spoken so we'll be fine if the council decide danielle is responsible for becoming homeless mother and son will be ordered to leave the bnb with no family support available they'll have nowhere to go [Music] [Applause] [Music] 24 year old single mum sophie is four days away from eviction the bailiffs are going to come at half past 10 in the morning on friday and they want me to leave the property this privately rented two-bedroom first floor property has been home to sophie and her four-year-old son aidee for 18 months but now the landlord is selling up oh should we build a tower [Music] the flat costs 928 pounds a month 908 of which is covered by housing benefit i pay 19 pounds 50 per calendar month good boy i'm a full-time carer to my son can you do counting it's going to be even more difficult for a.d yeah let's do count because of his autism his whole life is structured by routine found it yay this school's only 10 minutes away from where i am now and aidy knows which way we go to school which way we come home from school are you coming to help me do some packing if lady asks i can't tell him where home is or even if we have a home because we just do not know i was born and bred in the london borough of hounslow and i think i should be prioritized but you have immigrants that come over every day they go to the council and they're housed with no problems at all the council is under pressure to move people being evicted from private accommodation but financial constraints and a housing shortage mean tenants can be left waiting something could have been done ages ago but the council didn't and now i'm homeless in four days i've been served my notice of eviction for this friday at half past 10. what happens to me because i have to be out there friday morning with my staff yeah yeah we will provide accommodation but the accommodation that you will get i don't know i can't tell you but when will i find out because as i say only leaves me four days and i have to sort out my child the day of the eviction is your true date of homelessness we will find you an accommodation on the day we will not have you before that so what happens now then what what do i do from now and let the letters uh section know that on the 8th of january you will become homeless and then they can start looking for accommodation for you okay i'll just copy this information here and i'll bring it back sorry i kept you we're going to start looking for accommodation for you and you need to come back on the 8 if we haven't called you before then what happens with all my stuff because obviously the bailiffs come in at half past ten in the morning i have to take my sons to school we don't provide storage but this isn't my fault i can't understand because this isn't my fault right okay so none of this is making any sense i've been passed from pillar to post by this council for six months now all right okay well and no one could give me an honest answer and i'm not happy about it six months ago you were only chatting with homelessness you don't understand went through the whole procedure with me you don't understand it okay you were threatened with homelessness but now you are homeless okay so there's a difference between that it's just disgusting but what can i do okay yeah all right i think it's absolutely disgusting how they've treated me and not only me but my four-year-old little boy with special needs it is absolutely disgusting and to leave me until friday when the day i'm actually meant to move out and then i have to come back here it is is well and truly disgusting and you know for a council that's meant to help their borrower and help their people is far from it [Music] even if an applicant qualifies for temporary accommodation it may not live up to expectations unemployed 19 year olds mac and sarah have only been living in temporary accommodation for two months but they're desperate to get out bad i don't know that's so bad housed by the council after overcrowding at sarah's mom's house they believe the studio flat is making their five-month-old son ill and it's only turned worse since we've been living here mac and sarah's flat costs 175 pounds a week all covered by housing benefit there's blue mold down there under the it's up windowsill the windowsill it follows all the way down his back wall and our baby boy that's five months old he's even going behind his cot he's got broncolites at the moment and he may have ammonia now because of the property and cameron's now on an asthma pump at five months it's like he smoked 40 [ __ ] a day because breathing is absolutely his glass been for breath in it [Music] are you happy for me you happy boy [Music] from the age of about five or six i went into care until i was 16. um obviously ken holmes wasn't the best for me knowing that um i'm not gonna wake up to family uh always waking up to strangers yes obviously from the way i was in care i don't want cameron going through it [Music] i want him to say well dad you've done me proud and obviously i want us to find a nice safe secure home for him his immune system is not as good as what ours is he could turn at any second and if they don't move us then we could lose him after weeks of requesting a move mack and sarah have been called in for a meeting with the housing team every time we come round to the council we get pushed away we always get tolls there's nothing we can do or there's no one to talk to i'm not going to take notes from these it is disgraceful i just hope they do move us out by today look the property is in no fixed state for sarah and my child to be living in the child is not going back there tonight he's severely ill he's now got severe bronchitis which is severe but if you can hear from his breathing he's breathing is getting worse okay the mole is not because of the damp is because of condensation okay in a property such as studio flat that where you stay you have to kind of like air it constantly it means that you have to open the window the window is because he's just going to get more ill when you when you do that when you open the window you need to cover him properly look at me cover it up i mean we can't i'm sorry all the time we've got a young baby you can see he's breathing his breathing here is absolutely appalling you not have put us in the premises that is appalling because this boy don't believe he dies [Music] there you go [ __ ] stupid teenage parents mac and sarah are hoping to persuade hounslow council to move them out of their studio flat so far their efforts have been fruitless lettings officer nina heads upstairs to seek the advice of her manager hi remy i went to see mr mccauley and sarah campson i had to leave because he was shouting was being very aggressive mr mccauley is very very uh upset with his situation he won't leave today if i were to go back to him he would start again shouting at me okay i'm going to go and see him do you want me to come with you as well yeah because you've been dealing with the case yeah when i'm being called by officers to deal with a difficult situation i basically repeat exactly the same thing that the officers have said i guess because people when they see the manager they hear a different thing even though you're seen exactly the same thing or at least they feel reassured [Music] mr mccauley hello okay my name is adiremio sadia i'm the voice and lettings manager okay i've seen the picture yeah of what the property looks like now i can see the black mold yeah i can see water dripping down i could see a lot of laundry that is what we call lifestyle issues because when you're drying the clothes in the property what you will find is condensation you need to open your window and ventilate it well i don't want to live in the property no more i don't want my son to live there okay it's already got blue mold on unfortunately that's not how it works right because he's got blue mold he cannot he cannot live in blue bowl for another day he doesn't work he's got bronchitis today can you calm down please right now you've got pictures here of what the problem is can you calm down okay all right just listen please don't interrupt me okay now you're in temporary accommodation sorry can i finish please okay we have issues with that property we have issues with the flat now this is what we're going to do we're going to get one of our officers actually to come and have a look at that property as well at the um the condensation and the mold yeah nikkei thank you thank you and i cannot carry on it's okay i'm sorry look i'm sorry for getting on the wrong end of you yeah i'm sorry for saying nasty no that is for me to say to you that's a stat all right i'm thankful and i'm sorry it's okay obviously there is a lot of um frustration that's the reason why the way initially he was coming across has been you know kind of um upset i think i'll use the word offset [Music] i'm glad we stayed around because if we had went we wouldn't be in a situation where now none of them would be coming out tomorrow and now they can actually see what the problems are and if they don't resolve it congratulations to him but if not then i will be coming back council spending on b b's has now reached 000 623.000 a day tempe accommodation is a huge problem for this council bed and breakfast is the most expensive option and having to pay nightly rates simply means we are paying more [Music] hotel cleaner danielle and her son malachi are adjusting to life in a 15 by 12 foot bnb room for which the landlord charges the council 1100 pounds a month yeah the council have housed them here while their case is investigated house school look and you've got carrot and stuff on the bed oh god it's a bit cramped it's like living in a sardine box or something the place where we were living malachi misses it a lot and he loved the tv and he's missing his tv shows their previous home was just yards from malachi school half equals something eighth but the journey now takes over two hours as it involves three bus rides and then a fourth to get danielle to her cleaning job we leave here about quarter past six half past six basically when we come in it's just in have a shower get ready for bed do school work and wait for a new day to start all over again really [Music] alright enough [Music] [Applause] sophie is being evicted from a private tenancy with her son aidy [Music] when i pick aidy got from school where am i gonna take him okay once they're officially homeless the council will take up their duty to provide them with temporary accommodation very very sad to believe in it's been my home for the last year and a half as she has no idea of the size or location of the property the council will offer her she's having to pull in some favors to store her belongings i'm living things with will be my old neighbor so do you want this one up here [Music] quite scared not knowing what's going to happen [Music] my life now officially is in the hands of the council hello sophie at the council sophie is joined by her mum and sister okay the property that we're going to offer you today is a one bedroom for you and your son because your son's under a certain age that he can share a room with you right all right and you're not allowed because it's a one bedroom flat and you don't have a garden you're not allowed to keep any pets in the property now if you've got a fish that's fine i've got one for you yeah we're talking about cats so is that all okay and is it all clear if you've got any other questions for me yeah it's temporary as tenants in hounslow spend an average of four and a half years in temporary accommodation sophie could be here for some time welcome to your new home bedroom nice size not bad as it do for you and i do want it the rent on the flat is 500 pounds a month almost all of which is covered by housing benefit there's a nice size bath the cost to sophie will be just six pound 33 a week i was expecting to be sharing facilities to you know having to hide my stuff and you know having to write your name down and everything but i've actually got my own front door and i can make this even if i'm here a month two months whatever at least make it home [Music] i think you were born 10 minutes that way i bought you here and then you've gone full circle and you've got a little boy of your own now and he lived across there as well but it's nice because you know the place it's not like you don't know i know this is state like the back of my hand exactly the council did stick to their word that they would try their hardest to find me somewhere and they have [Music] hotel cleaner danielle and her eight-year-old son malachi have been living in a bnb for over a week while the council decide if they're eligible for any more help with housing bye bye all right see you later nervous stressed they say it's good for you to go down work but yet when you try to better yourself to provide for your child housing benefits pay less and you've got to pay more what what help is there there's no help [Music] at the council uche is moving closer towards making a decision so danielle is weighing about 3 000 pounds um rent she has other debts that she's owen gas electricity credit cards virgin sky she's at risk of making herself intentionally homeless which means the council will not assist her with her housing needs if that's the case then referral will be made to social services as well if social services become involved it could lead to malachi being taken into care malachi is my lifeline he is my universe a unique gift my special gift and that's the one thing that i can treasure and not share with the whole world but that's me and malachi's bonding time no one else is and to have him take him away from me i would honestly say i would kill myself i honestly would [Music] in the last four years a chronic shortage of social housing has led to councils spending two billion pounds on temporary accommodation it's growing in the cupboards it's all going all furry down there we need the council to come out and fix the problem so why pull that blue mold actually off from now yeah teenage parents mac and sarah want to be moved out of their temporary flat because of a mold problem so council officers albert and rohit have come around to inspect that's some complaints from the tenants that our conditions aren't suitable so me and rohel just had to have a look at it uh to make sure that what the tenant is saying is true because we can't keep the tenants in there the property is unsuitable as you can see from his breathing he's got but he's got severe bronchitis and because of the blue mold i can't have that with a little baby it's even going behind this [ __ ] me and elbow do a good inspection okay thank you all right thank you do you do you always dry clothes indoors yeah we're always right in indoors because there's nowhere else to put the clothes okay not there is blue mold if you can see blue most ground severe around there he's gone over the toilet as well uh the thing is um you have to do a lot of prevention work yeah because you have a lot of stuff in here the port will heat it as well so all of that creates a lot of moisture and it's got it's got it's gone it's got her escape so that's why you've got the the mold developing wash down the walls wash down the windows let the walls breathe i can always wipe the blue mold off but i'm worried in case if we wipe it off is it going to come back severe you have to you know wash it down and uh hopefully it doesn't come back with someone ventilating lieutenant was claiming the property is unlivable but it's perfectly inhabitable open some windows get enough ventilation to move the furniture away from the wall so the walls can breathe and um continue to wash them down as often as you can whenever the sea molds the lettings managers have made their decision mac and sarah won't be getting the move they were hoping for it's not suitable for our family to be living here but they've got more power over than what we had like their council we're just normal human beings um but just because we're um working class and we're not rich we still have rights with the pressure on the system so high the council has had to resort to more drastic measures to get tenants out of expensive temporary accommodation and into permanent housing more quickly the council is increasingly resorting to solutions outside london twenty-three-year-old afghan has lived in hanslow all her life she and her one-year-old daughter are staying in a temporary flat which costs the council 760 pounds a month i basically had a baby and my family was not accepting it and therefore i had to come and approach the council to house me and this is what i'm here for now to get housed because i have nowhere else to go afshaan's been told the council of founder a more permanent home which is about to discover exactly where morning is have shan [Music] so give the details of the property it's a one bedroom ground floor flat in hockley in birmingham it's okay i don't want to move to beverly hills property like i said it's a really nice property so one bedroom ground floor flat and the rental is like you're looking at like 98 pounds per week which is so cheap and it's a one bedroom it's a ground floor so you want me like you know with the stairs with the baby um and it's not far from the city center i've heard actually some bad stories about birmingham as well this area is a really nice area it's cheaper to live in birmingham i don't want to live in london there's not even an option to me but this is all we have available at this present time making your offer bottom line is i can't move to birmingham well obviously i've got your record because you're making yourself intentionally homeless so we're making an offer i never said that i wanted to get a choice if a homeless applicant turns down a property the council can discharge their duty and offer no further help so can you tell me how this is can you tell me how this is suitable for me we get properties come in as well you want me to go all the way to birmingham and waste my time for walks that's not fair it's not fair at all that i've waited nine months not even that since 2013 october i was homeless okay so it's just not gonna just need to know are you refusing this offer of pride rented accommodation at the end of the day the council will do what they want to do they they will never understand what's going on with me or the people in my position making your offer bottom line is i can't move to birmingham so what i'm going to do is i'll do the discharge duty letter i'll be down now you can't do the discharge you'll do it right now i haven't exactly said yes or no so you can't use it you're saying yes then to go well if i need to go and view it i need to go and view it don't know if you don't view you will move in when we do viewings in birmingham you don't just go on view because a long distance you actually go and move in this is what happens yeah i really need to move on now if you're taking something obviously you need to move on you need to you need to go and do this to other people but this is my life here i've got questions you can't tell me no that's fine i'll answer your questions but if there is your happy family to your roof i need like 10-15 minutes to think about this okay big life-changing videos i've lived in houses and all my life okay so do you want to go and think about it and come back yeah i need to go yeah okay i think she is very unhappy it's not a nice situation to be in you know i've got young kids and i totally understand how she feels but because of the shortage of properties this is what we are doing and we are moving people into the private rented sector anywhere in and out of london there's no there's no choice now in housing i feel like i've actually lost so many people in my life i feel like these guys must hate me as well something so they're just telling me to move don't want to but they're just chucking me out there like they don't want to see me miss have shan come back in you're moving me to birmingham by the end of the day i don't want to move to birmingham yeah so okay so you're trying to see i should just obviously permanently move to birmingham that's an option right okay so i can see if the landlord's through the weekend okay so this is your off letter give me all the details of the property yeah okay thank you very much thank you yeah thanks for nothing [Music] i've never even been to birmingham i've never ever been there so i don't know what to expect you know they're not the ones that are fighting for a place for where they've been brought up themselves they don't have to move far away they're not getting told what to do just not trust the house no council because they're never going to help number you please go to count the council have come to a decision on danielle it's hard not knowing what they're going to decide where's the next place my son's going to sleep morning daniel if she's found to have made herself intentionally homeless she and her son will be asked to leave the bnb where they've been living well i've called you into the business we've made a decision we have found you internationally homeless okay because you've been evicted for rent areas and we made enquiries we checked everything income and expenditure and you know it's your responsibility you're rentable you fail to do that okay so that's it okay so here's the decision letter okay and then you know you have to make your own arrangements from there okay yeah okay also we will be referring this letter to social services because there is a child involved okay all right that's fine okay okay thank you you take care evicted from the bnb and told she'll receive no further help danielle now faces the possibility of social services taking her son into care it is a concern that social services are getting involved because that boy is my universe malachi is my universe there was a little bit of hope but that's gone that's diminished i cannot see that the situation on temporary accommodation can improve [Music] with rising demand this council will continue to spend money it doesn't have really shrinking stock increasing private sector rents looking at all of that temporary accommodation i think is set to become worse how to get a council house it continues at the same time next week tomorrow night on four friends through thick and thin one born every minute is at nine next tonight though a new life behind bars awaits in the premiere of the award-winning spanish thriller locked up you

Channel: BRUTUALTRUTH

Views: 494,788

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Id: ktoY9OnZtu4

Length: 47min 28sec (2848 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 21 2018