Douglas Bailie, Holylands Slumlord

I walked right into him. I was exiting the back of his house.
"Hello", I said
"What are you doing here?"
"Hokin' n' pokin'"
"What!!?"
"You see I've had Building Control out to this house, and they've been on to the Housing Executive, and they're gonna issue you with a seven day notice to seal the building or they'll do it for you"
He's sweating.
"The Building will be sealed next week."
"It's been left wide open for over a month"
"I know that"
"You do realise that people have been looting the building. Come with me"
He follows my curled finger as I lead him through his own property.
" This place is a fire hazard. Building control were furious"
I point to the open loft access hatch.
"If another fire starts it will it'll go straight through that"
"And then", he agrees, "It'll spread across to your roof"
I show him where the floorboards have been ripped up.
"Someone's been stealing your copper piping. I came in here after the fire. The hot water tank was gone. The Radiators had been knocked off the wall.
" Do you think someone was covering their tracks by torching the place?"
" I don't know"
We walk outside. I show him where looters have jemmied the back door open.
"Laird was supposed to seal the place after the fire. I told his man the yard door had been ripped off again, but you can see where it's completely rotted out. A child could have done it."
The yard door has disappeared. Only the frame remains, held together with dry rot.
"This property has been wide open for at least eighteen months. That's when it was burgled. Laird didn't secure it after that. I called the cops out a year ago because people were coming and going. The fellas last year were locked out the front so they would go in the back. I'm assuming it was still unsecured. It's a Friday. It's the weekend. can you make some effort to seal the place?"
"All the workmen have gone home"
I look at him .
"It's very dangerous"
"There's nothing I can do"
He makes some excuses, then the conversation moves on.
"I'm gonna start gutting the place on Monday. Then I'm gonna get some tenants in."
I see where his priorities lie.
"It'll be a lot of work", I say.
"Yeah", he looks hurt, "she's completely destroyed"
He changes the subject.
"Were there problems with the last tenants?"
"Laird's been putting scumbags in there for years. That house has destroyed this street. There was a family just there. They left. There was a family across the street. They left. That house has destroyed my health. I'm not a well man"
"Well I don't want bad tenants in. I don't want to be an Absentee Landlord"
This is the first time he has taken an interest in the house in six years.
"Even if it's a matter of me calling with you every couple of months"
"Do you have a number I can contact you?"
"Just get in touch with Laird. I find he's very good"
"Well he hasn't been good to me. He makes the usual promises, but in the end, nothing"
He moves swiftly on.
"Although, now the universities are accepting ownership of the problem and taking responsibility for their students"
I beg to differ, explaining how the wardens can get the universities to do nothing but issue a reprimand, Gordon Douglas, the man from Queens probably means well, but acheives nothing for us, and dealing with Anne Monaghan, the vampire from Jordanstown was truly horrendous.
He's backing away. I offer my hand.
"Alan"
"Douglas"
He never did tell me his surname. I made sure to find out. I even know his address. I left him voicemail. He hasn't got back to me. I wonder why.