Rats in the loft-can I claim for this?

Peakma

We have contents insurance,and accidental damage.
we recently noticed noises in the loft,and put a humane trap up there,but nothing caught.so reluctantly put down poison,my partner said there was droppings all over,half an hour later you could hear them scuttling around fighting each other for it.anyway a week later,the noise has stopped but there is a serious stench coming from there now.Tomorrow we are going to have to start the dreaded task of emptying the loft.the thing is we have lived here the best part of 10 years,and things have frequently been put in the loft,until we need them again,or I get around to selling them on ebay,or car boot.
It is a daunting task to get everything down sort through it searching for dead rats,and then decide what to do with it all.I really dont want to put it back,it is truly frightening how much we have accumaled.
So what do I do?Do we have a right to claim anything? If so would it just be stuff with obvious visual rat damage?Or is everything up there a right off?
My partner says we should just skip it all,as rats carry diseases such a wielles(?)
Is it wrong to resell/freecycle stuff thats been put up there that still seems untouched and o.k.
In all there must be £100's of £'s worth of stuff a lot of it is in sacks,other is in boxes or just chucked up on its own e.g beds,rugs,toys,pram,high chair,travel cot,vacuums,an absolutely stupid amount of sacks full of everything from(god this makes me sound like a slob-but really I'm not,quick last minute space clearing for visitors to our tiny house!)ironing piles,baby clothes,vintage clothing,childrens out grown stuff....Old hi fis and valuble big speakers the list goes on and on.
I cant wait till its done,but really dont want to do it!
So can I claim and if so how do I go about doing it?
The problem is it is a rented house,and there are holes everywhere where rats can get into th loft,it has been an on going problem since we first came here,the land lord does hardly any maintainence,but the rent is low,compare to others in the area.Where do we stand with this?Does he have to sort it?I know he can just put up the rent so we have to move or say he needs to do major work,so he needs to evict us.We seem to spend so much on the up keep of this house,but it is our home,and want to stay here.

dave_behave

You will need to check the exclusions on your policy....... as far as i'm aware, most policies exclude damage caused by vermin, so it is unlikely you will be covered.

Have you thought about getting some professionals in to clear the problem?? It will cost, but it will save having to go through it all.

Peakma

Thanks ,I rang insurer.We are not covered for vermin.bit of a pain.Still got to sort it all out 2morro.It would of been good to get some money back on it,but hopefully it wont all be ruined.

dmg24

haggle,

Stop promoting your own website. It is not allowed.

Registrant:
Edward Hennessy

Registrant type:
UK Individual

Registrant's address:
The registrant is a non-trading individual who has opted to have their
address omitted from the WHOIS service.