I live 2 miles from my parent’s 6-bed home in Herefordshire that I inherited in 1980. I was born there. My father built the home. My parents really only lived in one room at the end, which I leave the way they left it out of respect. But I do store all sorts of items that I buy in charity shops in all the other rooms, making it practically impossible to move about in the house now, but I do know where everything is. I keep it locked up. The Police call me to tell me that vandals have broken windows, the Council says I ought to do something with the property, I owe them 5 years of Council Tax, am still paying household bills, the roof is leaking, there is dry rot in the floorboards, and every year I pay for new fence panels to replace those knocked down by vandals. People think I am crazy, keeping the house the way it is. People say I am weird because I am keeping a shrine to my parents. But it’s my house. I was born there. My sister won't get involved. She thinks I should see someone to get over things, but there’s nothing wrong with me apart from feeling a bit down now and again.

Last year, someone set a fire in the house. Many of my possessions were burnt or have got wet due to the rain coming in. The Council say I must do something to the house, but I can’t because I don’t have enough money. They say that I could sell the house as it is for £350k, but I don’t want to sell it as I know that a developer would buy it and knock it down. Anyway, I still get paid for the advertising hoarding on the side of the house.

I am not moving any of my stuff out as it might affect my insurance claim and I have nowehere else to store the things I want. But I don’t know where to find my parents’ home insurance policy documents. Anyway, I am too busy to do what they say right now I have so much to do in my own home. My electric was cut off last year because of non-payment. And the water was cut off in 2010 were disconnected a year ago as well. I can’t get the water back on because the Water Board say they can’t get into my house to say whether it is a ‘supply-side’ problem or my problem. They say Health & Safety means they can’t enter a home like mine. I’ll sort it after the winter. It's nobody else's business but mine.

1. Working in LA regulatory functions where we visit private property (Env Health, Planning, etc), we come across many people who do not recognise the ‘logic’ of our incremental enforcement approach (i.e. informal request/advise of consequence of non-cooperation/serve notice/consequences of non-compliance). Some colleagues see little point in progressing a case that you know you cannot take enforcement action to its conclusion because the person has a mental illness. How should a client’s mental state affect the way we go about our regulatory business?
2. I cannot assess mental capacity, but may be asked by colleagues in health/care whether I think my client lacks mental capacity. Should I be making judgements about someone’s mental capacity in such circumstances? How should I go about forming my own opinion on a client’s mental capacity in such circumstances and then articulating this to health/care professionals?
3. What are the indicators of a lack of capacity that a non health/care/legal professional should look out for?
4. Having had a first meeting with new client, I am straightaway concerned about their decision making. What should I do in such circumstances?
5. Some empty home owners exhibit a lack of will or ability to effect a decision. Their logic is ‘different’. Their inactivity seems at odds with what would be in their best interests. For example, the lady pensioner who has moved house, but has kept on the empty home to house her cats for the last 6 years. She claims the Council are conspiring to prevent her from receiving Pension Credit and Benefits (the ownership of the second home being the barrier to entitlement). She demonstrates her poverty by drawing attention to her poor diet and worn clothing. She claims her empty home is a mill-stone that costs her money to keep but she cannot bear the thought of someone else living in it. She continues to own 2 mortgage-free properties. She is volatile enough to bombard me with the full range of Anglo-Saxon invectives in the Council Office foyer and has made several complaints about the Council. The cats, (she visits them daily in her empty home), seem to be in good condition, but the neighbours complain about the cat odour. The empty home is a hoard as well as a cattery. I doubt her ability to consider a range of options and to recognise the consequences of each. Who would be best placed to help this client better understand her options about the empty home? From the info above, should I be making representations to care/health about her ability to make decisions?

I have clients who will not carry out required works to their homes. I am going to serve a Notice requiring repairs to a property on my client:

• Client A) No info available about MH diagnosis, but I do think that the person is incapable or unwilling to understand and comply with the Notice. Should my doubt make me suspend statutory action?
• Client B) Diagnosed with mild depression in the past; absolutely cannot entertain the idea of returning to the empty home; and has proved to be incapable of carrying out any changes to the empty home. Should I proceed to serve Notice given the diagnosis and my concern about her ability to act?
• Client C) History of mild depression plus a serious head injury. Prone to hyperbole. Unrealistic aspirations about what he can achieve (in terms of sequencing, funding, finding contractors and overseeing works to property). No danger to himself or others, just incapable of moving forward. He does not want any health/care agency involved.  I treat him as if he has mental capacity.  Enforcement seems the only way to get things done. Should I proceed as if he has Men Cap?
• Client D) Lady left home empty when she moved to a care home. Assessed as mentally incapacitated. Son and daughter (50 yr olds) are Attorneys but will not fulfil property responsibilities. I feel this is financial abuse by omission. In addition to Council Deputyship Team challenging Attorney’s performance, I will serve enforcement notices. Should I serve Notice on the Mother and on the Attorneys?

Home owners living alone in self-neglect with hoarding have rarely triggered full Adult Protection responses. There may a lack of referral, whether from client, GP or relative. The owner may not meet eligibility criteria for social or health care. They are very difficult to engage. Getting anywhere near to an assessment of mental capacity is very difficult. In addition, LA regulatory officers feel that the Human Rights Act means that we cannot interfere with how an owner-occupier chooses to live unless their actions affect other parties. If we have no grounds to survey a property and there is no nuisance arising from the property and the owner does not engage with us, should we do more to ascertain their care and support needs and to gather info that may be relevant to mental capacity assessment?
Can a landlord take possession proceedings where their tenant is assessed as lacking capacity?

1. Regulatory officers often assume that a lack of mental capacity is predicated on a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health condition. Please advice on non-mental health conditions that affect mental capacity.
2. Owner of an empty home resides in Rampton Hospital. I should assume he has mental capacity till told otherwise?
3. A 50 year old lived in a run down property. Historically, Env Health found this home to be in a shocking state and that the occupier (an older man) was living in self-neglect. The owner passed away and while heirs, executors and others were arguing about the future of the home, the 50 year old unlawfully occupied the property. Knowing the squatter from round town, I was concerned about his firmly held conviction that he would be able to buy the property. While verbally astute, he would become fixated about a Council/Police/family conspiracy to dispossess him of his property. I referred the matter to Safeguarding on grounds of self-neglect and because he was prepared to live in conditions that were a danger to him. CMHT carried out a phone assessment and gave him the all-clear. I gathered further info (record of ABH; injunction by care home to prevent him visiting his father) and found grounds to enter the property after he had admitted himself to A&E with rat bites. Conditions in the property were dreadful. He was then sectioned promptly. A clinician said it was incredible that given the client had had several contacts with public authorities over a 20 year period and that he was registered with a local GP for 2 years, that his condition had not been diagnosed before. What is your opinion about GPs will and ability to assess mental capacity? Is the identification of mental incapacity a particular problem among rough sleepers, homeless and squatters?
4. All LA websites make some reference to section 47 National Assistance Act removals. Are they actually used much? When is their use most appropriate in privately owned homes?
5. The prevalence of mental health problems among squatters is well documented. Now that squatting has become a criminal offence, would an assessed lack of capacity of a squatter be a factor when determining whether to take a criminal case forward?
6. Is it me, or are hoarders just not high needs enough for care/support service interest? It often feels like we are assessing people out of or away from services.