A block of flats in the heart of Edinburgh’s city centre has been riddled with vermin left to run wild, claim raging residents.
Speaking anonymously to Edinburgh Live, a tenant of the Cowgate block, run by Castle Rock Edinvar on behalf of Places for People, says “dead rats” are being found in people’s homes. They also feel "abandoned" by their landlord and local authority in dealing with the issue.
They add that the problem has not been adequately addressed for years and that “huge rats” are often seen running around the stairwell and communal bins. Neighbours claim that rats are often spotted in broad daylight travelling between council-owned black street bins and the stairwell bin storage.
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They say landlords Places for People asked tenants to pay for exterminators out of their own pockets. One source states that their landlord provided a black box trap to deal with the issue but they feel this is inadequate.
One source said: “We have been suffering very badly with mice and rats within the building which is a housing association run by Places for People. It has been an ongoing issue that has never been properly addressed for years.
“My neighbour is suffering so badly as she is directly above the bin storage. She's been placed in a one bedroom overcrowded flat and can't open her kitchen windows due to being faced with the odour and contamination from rats and pigeon nests.
One neighbour on the same level was just rehoused by Shelter and has also complained. They claim the whole surrounding areas, including the Tron Square, Stevenson Close and the Cowgate are overrun with huge rats.
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“They are often found running the streets or lying dead even during daylight. They run between the council owned black street bins and our stair bin storage," the source said.
“This has been reported to our housing provider and the council multiple times. We were told by Places for People to pay for exterminators ourselves for our own properties.
“They laid one black box in our common stair foyer which has been there for months. The problem is from the outside but nobody seems to want to address the issue.
"The council came out and dug holes in the walls around Tron Square and left a few black boxes as well. And I was told by the environmental health team that the area isn't a priority for cleaning as tourists don't frequent it.
“But now the rats are living in the bottom of our stair and have chewed through the bottom of the stairwell. The stair cleaners were ordered to do a deep clean on the stair but they informed us that the bin store is overrun with them. People are even finding them in their homes.”
Places for People has said that they are looking to tackle the issue as soon as possible whilst working alongside Edinburgh City Council.
A spokesperson for Places for People Scotland said: "Places for People Scotland is committed to ensuring our customers can live safely and enjoy their homes. We are responsible for the upkeep of communal areas and have recently taken several steps to address a pest control problem which we were made aware of.
“This included a thorough clean of bin stores where some of the issues appear to have arisen. We will take steps to fill in holes in customers' homes to try to resolve the problem.
“We remain committed to working with tenants and the local council to ensure the problem in this city centre premises is resolved as quickly as possible."
The council say that they were not notified of the issue until earlier this week and have said that they have since surveyed the area and identified the main source of the problem.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The area was surveyed yesterday afternoon and the main source of the problem was identified. This has been communicated to the property owners Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association who have advised that they will take appropriate action immediately.
“The council is also in discussion with the Environmental Health team regarding enforcement if required. Our Pest Control team has placed secure bait stations along the street and around the council bins.
“Weekly service visits have been arranged to get this problem under control in conjunction with the work being carried out by Castle Rock Edinvar”.
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