My house has rats the size of dogs and my children had nightmares about them

A young mum says her children aged six and three are having nightmares over ‘rats as big as dogs’ in the roof space of her Salford home. The woman, whose name has been changed to Jane, moved into the property in Little Hulton in May 2023, and claims she soon found six dead rats in the kitchen cupboards.

She contacted the housing association ForHousing but claims she was told repeatedly she had to dispose of the dead rodents and fund the rat infestation control herself.

“Rats in the roof have eaten all the loft insulation,” she said. “I can hear them swarming around at night while I am in bed. They sound like a pack of dogs. I’ve been on to ForHousing repeatedly.

“Eventually a man from the council came and when he opened up into the loft space, the stench was disgusting. Rat urine can be seen seeping into one of the children’s bedrooms and the floor of the loft was covered in rat faeces.

“The man who came from the council said it was one of the worst cases of rat infestation he’d ever seen. He said they can grow to a huge size.

“My little boy is screaming in the middle of the night, they are that loud and he’s having nightmares about the rats.”

A job sheet completed by the infestation control officer, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), said: “Pest control [is] required to clear rats from [the] loft which are weeing everywhere and causing stains on the ceiling, which is making it look like a leak.

“But the tenant has been fighting for the past year about the rats. It always stinks of rat urine. The kids aren’t eating or sleeping due to rats.”

Jane claimed she could smell the rats as soon as she walked into the house last year.

She went on: “But the housing officer kept saying it was something I had to deal with myself, including disposing of the rats I round in the cupboards.”

In desperation, Jane said she wrote to the chief executive of ForHousing Mike Parkin. His reply dated today (March 28) – also seen by the LDRS – said: “I have asked once again for one of our senior managers to get a grip of this and ensure we take action.

“I have asked for updates during the day. I understand we have let you down and having suffered a rat infestation when I was younger and in rented accommodation I can truly understand how distressing this is.”

And in another message, he said: “I will hold the people responsible for this to account.”

Jane then emailed back, saying: “My children cannot live in this house and they are now having to live with different family members. I need a move asap. Thanks so much for taking the time to get back to me.

“I need to be back with my children so I need to be moved asap out of this property.”

Nigel Sedman, executive director of homes at ForHousing said: “I am very sorry for the issues Jane has been experiencing with pests at her home. We care deeply about the health and safety of our tenants and want Jane and her family to feel safe and happy with their home.

“I spoke with Jane yesterday and listened to her concerns and have contacted Salford city council’s pest control team on her behalf to ask them to visit urgently. I have also arranged for a surveyor to assess potential access points in her back garden.

“At ForHousing we want to do more when it comes to supporting tenants around pest control. We are investing more resources into this issue and working with our local authority partners on this and are arranging regular pest control visits to take action in newly emerging problem areas.”