Rats in rented house - would you move?

[BubblesWoo]

I’ll start by prefacing I have a horrible phobia of rats so unsure if I am incapable of viewing this logically.

DP and I rent a 1920’s terraced house. The basement/old coal cellar is sealed off and inaccessible. In front of the kitchen window the old access is concreted but is cracking and dipping (but not moving).

Moved in in September 2021 - when replacing the washing machine found an invoice for rat treatment done in March 2021 for the previous tenant. Bad sign 1. Hoped it had been dealt with although the invoice said unable to access cellar.

January 2022 heard rats behind the washing machine scratching 😭 spoke to the letting agent who sent pest control out - they laid poison and sealed up a hole in the concrete and the rats seemed to die within a week. The pest control man told us he really needed to access the cellar to check for other access points but the landlord/letting agents didn’t want to do this and as I didn’t want to kick up a fuss. We also pulled the washing machine out and stuffed the holes with plastic bags and laid snap traps as an extra measure.

No further issues until today when I found my tulip bulbs I was storing in the cupboard under the sink had been munched and found one with clear bite marks on half eaten (there is a hole in the back of the cupboard for the water stop tap and for the plug for the washing machine). Pest control are coming out again on Monday.

I’m assuming the pest control man will just lay poison again and if he can’t access the basement to seal any entry points it’s just going to keep happening and the rats will keep coming back. I’ve specified this in an email to the letting agent.

The properly is also in the process of being sold to another landlord. Our tenancy is up in September. Should we just cut our losses and move? It’s a shame as we love the area and the neighbours are nice. However I hate rats and am really scared we’ll tie ourselves into another 12 month tenancy and keep having rodent issues.

Should add I spoke to the neighbours who advised they and the previous tenants also had issues with rats. Eughhhh.

ideally I want the landlord to pay someone to open the cellar and deal with the problem properly - I also want the pest control man to check under the kitchen kickboards and bait under there - he refused to move the washing machine and do this last time. Unsure if the landlord will want to pay to do this.

I have no experience with rats/rodent control so don’t know if that’s actually his job or something me and DP should be doing? Help 😩

But how are they getting from the basement into the house if it's sealed?

I would move and be thankful it's only a month and a bit to go. You could be stuck in a tenancy with rats. It seems the landlord knows about this problem already and doesn't want to do anything about it.

I have no idea 🥲 there’s a hole in the floorboards with some pipe work going down into the cellar/basement behind the washing machine so I'm assuming from there.

No idea what’s in the basement as old entrance under the stairs is floorboarded over so it’s just a storage cupboard now. Don’t know if they’re getting in via the cracking concrete at the front or from a neighbouring property?

Easily. The fuckers can chew through almost everything. Get into the walls, under floors and use them to get around.

I’d tell the EA they can either choose to sort this out properly or you can report to Environmental Health.

For starters, use steelwool to plug any visible holes, not plastic bags.

It can be quite a complex problem, if ongoing, and it appears ongoing. I'd get out when you can.

@Mally100 im thinking this too - it’s a shame as for all other repairs the letting agent and landlords have been really good. They just don’t seem to want to find the access points and I can’t go ripping up the floorboards to access the basement without permission. 😞

I’ve got a copy of the pest control invoice from before we moved in as well in case they try and say it’s our fault we have rats.

Im constantly cleaning and disinfecting everything and hate using the kitchen in case the rats have been crawling on the worktops. If I’m honest it’s actually making me quite unwell - embarrassed to
say I cried today when I realised they were back.

You'll see evidence if they have been inside your kitchen and on your worktops, stove, etc - ie, sizeable pellets of their rat poo.

Definitely get out as soon as you can. Rats will chew through anything (but including electrical cables causing fires). They also piss on everything.
if the landlord won’t sort it properly, just leave

@milkyaqua that’s somewhat reassuring. I haven’t seen any evidence on the actual work surfaces, just heard them last time and found the evidence this time - my eaten tulip bulbs!

no food is kept in the lower cupboards and will be going to buy glass jars tomorrow to seal everything in the top cupboards.

No, after reading your update, I'd move unless you can get an iron clad guarantee from new landlord/letting agent that they will be properly eliminated and prevented from coming back. But even then not sure if I'd ever feel truly comfortable in the house

If you are leaving, please call environmental health out to deal with this problem. It will spare the next tenant a problem. The steel wool suggestion is a good one and that worked wonders on a rodent problem I have been dealing with.

@scoobydoo1971 I think we will be leaving after reading the replies. I definitely will report to environmental health - I have a feeling the last tenants left the invoice as a warning as it was on top of the washing machine, below the work surface.

Can they give us a bad reference if we push for environmental health with this? We have always paid rent on time etc. If I’m honest I would be happy to be evicted if it meant I got a rat free home!

Get out ASAP. I had a rat infestation at my previous flat and I'll never get over it. They were sewer rats, getting in via the loft (it was a 1st floor flat). They are so incredibly destructive, destroying literally EVERYTHING. The rats in the loft chewed through live wiring which was surrounded by loft insulation so a massive fire risk.

They decimated a silk bridesmaids dress, several favourite childhood teddy bears etc and an endless stream of other possessions. There were no limits to the chaos they could cause and a hamster I had at the time became ill and died. The vet who examined my poor hamster just before she died said it was highly likely to be caused by airborne virus/pneumonia from the rats even though they were isolated to the loft.

Use every method of chemical warfare possible (except glue traps) and make sure pest control come back regularly to remove the bodies - you do not want poisoned rats being eaten by owls or other animals. The bodies also stink to high heaven. Most of the rats killed within the loft at my previous property were bigger than dinner plates, NOT including their tails. Some were visibly pregnant and the smell was absolutely horrendous.

Get pest control and environmental health involved immediately. Leave no stone unturned in terms of trying to block them off. Your landlord sounds extremely irresponsible and this alone would give you good enough reason to end your tenancy.

Good luck.

God, leave.

After reading this thread, I want to burn my own house down, just in case, never mind anything else.

Just go 🤢

Did the pest control people absolutely confirm that they’re rats, not mice? We also live a 1920’s terrace and have had the occasional mouse issue, especially when our neighbor was doing some renovations. Mice can also make quite loud scratching noises, but we’ve found that some strategically placed old-fashioned mouse traps do the trick, more effective than pest control for us. We actually cancelled our pest control service as their methods didn’t seem to work.

Rats are pretty large, tbh, it’s much easier for tiny mice to get through holes. I’ve seen the odd rat around dumpsters here and they were huge!

I agree that the landlord should take action and you should certainly call Environmental Health if you need to-but I’d also try sone old-fashioned mouse traps and see what happens.
I know they’re not nice, but they work.

Report to your local LA environmental health department.

Then give notice and also tell the LL you have reported.

No way would I stay. Rats are filthy and can chew their way through anything.

Much more likely to be mice, why do you think they're rats? Poison and traps will get rid of them. If you move there's no guarantee they won't be anywhere else you move either.

I've lived in places with rats, addressed the issue, and it's not worried me.

However, in these circumstances, because the issue cannot be resolved, I would move on.

It's not healthy or safe to have rats in your home and if access isn't given to solve the problem, I think most people wouldn't find it acceptable.

I would move.

I'd move.

@Squiff70 oh god that sounds horrendous! We’re definitely leaving 🤢.

Will see what the landlord says about giving access and report to environmental health if they don’t.

To PP, the pest control man told me they were rats - he said because of the smell? And the fact there were gnaw marks on the wood - who knows though?

Move!

This is the landlord's problem to fix and it sounds like they don't want to address it properly.

I remember living in a converted house in East London and we had mice coming in from the garden and from the roof/chimney as well. A friend of mine in a posh part of London also had the same issue. They are everywhere in the city and they can squeeze through the tiniest holes to get into dwellings. You are more likely to have mice than rats, although again they are very common in urban areas!

I got a cat and never again had problems with rodents...but seriously cut your losses and move somewhere where the letting agency and landlord do their job correctly.

@Squiff70 😧🤮