How to Get a Council House has gone behind the scenes to show the human face of the housing crisis gripping Hounslow and much of the country.
Viewers of the Channel 4 documentary have met a colourful cast of characters, including those facing a night on the streets and the housing officers trying to help them, during the first three episodes.
Ahead of the fourth episode on Tuesday (May 31) which will examine the hot topic of so-called beds in sheds, we look at what we've learned from the TV programme so far.
Hounslow Council really likes Birmingham
Housing officers kept extolling the virtues of Britain's second city, 100 miles from the borough, as they offered to place people in properties there.
And who can blame them, when according to the voice-over a four-bedroom house in the midlands costs £750 a month, compared with around £2,000 in Hounslow?
If proposed changes to the council 's housing policy go ahead, many more people could be offered homes far outside the borough.
Housing officers don't trust all the stories they hear
They said they've heard too many porkies over the years to automatically swallow the latest tale of woe served up to them.
One of the most common fabrications, they claimed, was that of people falsely claiming their children lived with them full-time in the hope it would bump them up the queue for a new home.
"I've heard all the stories. You have to come up with new stories now," said one housing officer.
Sometimes honesty is the best policy
Billy thought he needed to play the bluffing game to get a council house but when he told the truth instead it paid off and he was given his own flat after eight years spent sofa surfing.
The 60-year-old was so delighted to finally have his own place, he endearingly told the camera crew how he had spent an hour in the shower when he first moved in because it was such a luxury.
"His honesty was quite refreshing and because he was honest I felt I could work with him better," said the housing officer who helped him."
Immigrants don't get first dibs on council housing
Contrary to what many people believe, and views frequently expressed on the programme, it was made clear immigrants have to go through exactly the same process as anyone else seeking a council house.
The show's makers said 91% of council housing in the UK goes to people born in this country.
Florin was eventually given a house in Birmingham after arriving from Romania with his wife and five children, but Lisa decided to return to Bermuda after failing to get a council house despite having a chronic medical condition.
Peter Matthew, director of housing at Hounslow Council, said the number of applications from people born overseas was increasing and this was a trend he expected to continue.
Mouldy walls are no guarantee of a new home
The council receives lots of complaints from people about mould in their home, but officers claim the residents are often to blame.
Mac and Sarah said the mould in their home was harming their baby, who had bronchilitis.
But when inspectors visited they told the couple they needed to open windows and move furniture away from the walls to improve the ventilation, especially with washing being dried indoors.
Don't wait to seek help if you fall behind with rent
Many people approached the council saying they were being evicted after falling behind with their rent.
But in many cases officers said they had made themselves intentionally homeless by failing to pay their rent.
People who approached the council when they were struggling to pay were more likely to get help to stay in their home or find a new one than those who only did so when they faced eviction.
Zero hour contracts are blamed for evictions
A number of people said they had fallen behind with payments as they were on zero hour contracts, with no guarantee of regular work.
Monica and Fredrick, who had three young children, said his fluctuating hours had made it impossible to afford their monthly payments of £1,260.
Being a housing officer is not easy
It was hard not to feel sorry for the housing officers at times, given the abuse they faced from desperate homeseekers.
Councillor Katherine Dunne stepped in to defend officers following concerns about how they appeared to conduct themselves in the second episode, saying the programme only touched upon what were often very complex cases.
She expressed her pride in the council's housing officers, who she said "have a hard and often thankless job".
The concerns appeared to centre around the apparently blunt treatment of one woman who had lived in Hounslow all her life and struggled to hold back the tears when told she must move to Birmingham.
But it does have its rewards
When Beverley and her son Zayn, who has epilepsy, learned they would be allowed to stay in their home they were overcome with emotion.
"I can't thank you enough," Beverley told the officer, who said in the nicest possible way "I hope I don't have to see you again".
Despite their gratitude, when they were interviewed outside the civic centre they struggled to recall the name of the officer who had helped them.
It's often the children who suffer most
You have to feel for the children caught up in the housing crisis.
Sapna's 12-year-old daughter Sita burst into tears upon learning they would not be able to take their cat to the B&B where they were being temporarily placed following their eviction.
When Danielle, a cleaner on a zero hours contract, was told she had made herself intentionally homeless she chose to emigrate to Barbados rather than risk losing her eight-year-old son Malachi, whom she described as "my universe".
There are not enough council homes for everyone
Last year, just 8% of those on the waiting list received a council home, according to the show's makers.
Mr Matthew said Hounslow's proximity to both Heathrow and central London meant demand for housing was rising.
The shortage of council homes means the council often offers residents private rented accommodation instead, which can be well outside the borough.
The show told how a 16ft x 12ft room in a B&B cost the council £1,100 a month.
That explains why the council is trying to build more of its own housing to reduce the huge sum spent on temporary accommodation.
getwestlondon recently reported how more than £12bn worth of homes are sitting empty across the capital in what was described as a "scandal".
The next episode of How to Get a Council House is on at 9pm on Tuesday May 31 on Channel 4.
