Problem with rats?

Jon_01

Not sure this is the right forum for this?

Near us we have a flat with 3 garages below. The middle garage is stuck open by about a foot and has been for the 3 years we've been here. It looks to be full of rubbish and has rats going in and out.

Not a problem I thought, call the council and they'll sort it out... far from it.

Dealing with rats is a chargeable service (they say) and as they can't find out who the garage belongs to and so can't bill anyone they're not interested in doing anything about it! (it's not helped by some of the residents of the line of houses not recycling and just dumping food waste in bags which get torn open by the rats and local wide life. Another issue the council don't want to deal with).

Anyone know if the council have a obligation to do something about this, or are they really able to ignore it just because they can't charge someone to sort it out??

Thanks

agrinnall

Housing board would be a better place to raise this.

Jon_01

agrinnall wrote: »

Housing board would be a better place to raise this.

Been there and environmental heath and refuse and street cleaning. All say if the council can't change for removing the rats they're not interested...

bigisi

Jon_01 wrote: »

Been there and environmental heath and refuse and street cleaning. All say if the council can't change for removing the rats they're not interested...

No. agrinnall means you should post the query on the housing board on the forum.

Les79

Probably not the place like, but do rats ACTUALLY cause health problems these days? I've never quite got my head around it like.... Obviously in food places you don't want them, but I just sometimes think that they are the both:


1. A throwback to times of the past when they allegedly (strong evidence to suggest) carried really harmful parasites/germs/whatever


2. The biggest "pest" creatures which are visible to us and "invade" our homes, so bear the biggest brunt


Just curious really, and not intending to dilute your dilemma.


As per your dilemma, sadly you're not really a "consumer" so can't speak of your rights. If you contract with the council for removal of the rats then you ARE a "consumer" I guess....You pay for service, and you expect to receive said service. You can either pay it and then try to find liability with respect to someone else and ask them for the money back/take them to court. Or compel the people who are liable to contract with council. Or pay the fee and leave the issue. Or just leave the rats. That's your "consumer rights"

Jon_01

Les79 wrote: »

As per your dilemma, sadly you're not really a "consumer" so can't speak of your rights. If you contract with the council for removal of the rats then you ARE a "consumer" I guess....You pay for service, and you expect to receive said service. You can either pay it and then try to find liability with respect to someone else and ask them for the money back/take them to court. Or compel the people who are liable to contract with council. Or pay the fee and leave the issue. Or just leave the rats. That's your "consumer rights"

Unfortunately only the owner can pay to get the council to do the work. A document has to signed to give them access to the property. Only the owner can give this. The council can't (or won't, don't know which) find out who owns the property...

charlotte1994

I think only the owner can pay for the council to take care of the rats. In the meantime, you could buy some of the poison blocks, they don't work straight away, so the pests don't see them as poison and then they take them back to the nest, all the rats eat it and bobs your uncle. No more rats.

m0bov

Go knock on some doors at the flats and find the owner, prolly rented the flat out and not bothered with the garage. Also find out who the free holder is or agents and contact them.

agrinnall

bigisi wrote: »

No. agrinnall means you should post the query on the housing board on the forum.

Thanks, I guess I should have quoted the OP's first line to make it clearer, but I mistakenly thought that someone who has been a forum member for 12 years and has posted over 5,000 times would have at least a vague idea of the boards here.

ssparks2003

Les79 wrote: »

Probably not the place like, but do rats ACTUALLY cause health problems these days? I've never quite got my head around it like.... Obviously in food places you don't want them, but I just sometimes think that they are the both:


1. A throwback to times of the past when they allegedly (strong evidence to suggest) carried really harmful parasites/germs/whatever


2. The biggest "pest" creatures which are visible to us and "invade" our homes, so bear the biggest brunt


Just curious really, and not intending to dilute your dilemma.


As per your dilemma, sadly you're not really a "consumer" so can't speak of your rights. If you contract with the council for removal of the rats then you ARE a "consumer" I guess....You pay for service, and you expect to receive said service. You can either pay it and then try to find liability with respect to someone else and ask them for the money back/take them to court. Or compel the people who are liable to contract with council. Or pay the fee and leave the issue. Or just leave the rats. That's your "consumer rights"

No, they are perfectly fine if you exclude
Arenavirus
Bartonellosis (Trench fever)
Capillariasis
Echinococcosis
Hantavirus
Leptospirosis
Rat bite fever
Rat tapeworm
Salmonellosis
The Plague
Toxoplasmosis
Trichinellosis
Tularemia
Weil’s disease

Apart from that they can do a lot of damage to houses

Les79

ssparks2003 wrote: »

No, they are perfectly fine if you exclude
Arenavirus
Bartonellosis (Trench fever)
Capillariasis
Echinococcosis
Hantavirus
Leptospirosis
Rat bite fever
Rat tapeworm
Salmonellosis
The Plague
Toxoplasmosis
Trichinellosis
Tularemia
Weil’s disease

Apart from that they can do a lot of damage to houses

Always good if you quote sources..


I think you have viewed this site: https://www.rentokil.co.uk/rodents/rodent-borne-diseases/


If so, reading this unverified source it doesn't associate ALL of those conditions to RATS exclusively...