Interesting and shocking presentation on garage use in Hatfield. Another example of rogue operators causing problems and tarnishing the image of the private rented sector.

1. Garage Watch

2. Background
• March 2015, HFRS was called to reports of a
garage on fire in Errington Close, Hatfield
• The firefighting crew arrived and immediately
dealt with what was a “routine” garage fire
• However as crews gained access, it became
clear that someone had been living within the
garage
• Unfortunately one person was declared
deceased at the scene due to the fire

3. Unusual Design
Front Rear

4. Response
• It is not fully known if the deceased person had
rented the garage to live within or they were
rough sleeping
• HFRS needed to respond to the fatality by
investigating the cause of fire and develop a
targeted prevention strategy
• Key questions were:
• Are there any other persons living within
garages?
• If so, how many are there and how much of a
problem is it?

5. • A plan was implemented to carry out
investigations around known high risk areas
such as:
• High HMO concentrated areas
• Large garage plots
• The answer to the questions was:
• There are people living with garages
and it is a big problem

6. Investigation Findings
the three issues
1. Garages had been found which are rented for
accommodation as part of HMO housing
stock
2. HFRS had found a large amount of rough
sleeping within garages and other outdoor
locations
3. HMO “landlord dumps” and fly tipping
adding fuel to arson within Hatfield and
possibly encouraging rough sleeping

7. Garage Houses
• Pressures on housing stock and the profit to
be made have lead to a national increase of
persons living within outbuildings and garages
• These are often below standard and do not
meet building control regulations or fire safety
standards

8. National Examples
Shed in a house Converted shed in garden
source: www.telegraph.co.uk
£530pm
source: www.guardian.com
£1080pm

9. Errington Close
Signs of living within garage Rear door sealed close
Discovered post fatal incident

10. Homelessness
Homelessness is dealt with at a borough level
via:
Welwyn Hatfield Homeless Prevention Forum
Are aware of 6-10 persons rough sleeping within
Hatfield
HOWEVER

11. “there is a hardcore element of eastern
European rough sleepers in and around Welwyn
Hatfield, who have refused to engage with us
previously and in some cases they are taking the
active decision to sleep rough as they wish to
generate income from work and send it home
without paying rent”
A414 – July 2015

12. A closer look
Storage of belongings
Bedding
Common Rough Sleeping Indicators
Food/Cooking
Smoking
Alcohol
Drugs
Faeces/Biowaste
Dog Kennel Lane October 2015 - Hatfield

13. Dog Kennel Lane October 2015 - Hatfield

14. Dog Kennel Lane June 2015 - Hatfield
smoking
alcoholbedding

15. Arm and Sword Lane July 2015 - Hatfield
bedding
food
belongings
alcohol
faeces

16. Hillcrest June 2015 - Hatfield
alcohol
smoking
bedding
drugs
food

17. Garden Avenue June 2015 - Hatfield

18. Factors
Many of the locations have the same factors
which lead to the fatality at Errington Close
Alcohol Drugs Smoking Cooking Candles Biowaste Bedding
Are these locations related to
Economic Rough Sleeping?

19. Associated Issues
Non secure sites High rate of arson – 6
this year at Garden
Avenue
Drugs and sharps
High rate of fly tipping
from HMO’s enabling
arson and rough sleeping
Dereliction Hazmat

20. Landlord Dumps
• HMO population of Hatfield is heavily student
based
• Landlord dumps appear around Hatfield all
year round although there is a peak in the
summer
• Landlords are flytipping their material from
their properties to remove the cost of disposal

22. Furzen Crescent August 2015 - Hatfield
Is it beyond reason that the flytipped material from
HMO properties is not only anti-social and enables
arson, but it also enables rough sleeping?

23. FACTS
• Hatfield has one of the greatest concentrations of
HMO’s in the UK
• You are six times more likely to die in a fire if you
live in any house in multiple occupation (HMO),
compared with a single family house
• The risk increases to sixteen times more at risk of
fatal injury if you live in an HMO which is 3 or
more stories high
• Since April 2015 we have attended 10 fires within
HMO’s, 11 fires within garages and a large
amount of arson related fires around these high
risk areas

24. What is the probability of another
incident like Errington Close
happening again?

25. What are we doing?
• The Garage Watch initiative has highlighted
some high risk areas of concern
• The range of issues involved are highly
complex and require a truly multi-agency
approach to solve
• Some issues may never truly be solved
however the risk can be reduced
• HFRS is working with a number of agencies to
reduce arson, reduce flytipping and help
extremely vulnerable persons rough sleeping

26. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Hertfordshire Constabulary
YMCA
Welwyn Hatfield Housing Trust
Welwyn Hatfield Private Sector Housing Team
Welwyn Hatfield Street Wardens
Welwyn Hatfield Garage Department
Landlords Association
University of Hertfordshire
Polish Community Leaders
The Galleria
Resolve