Families are sharing their horror of feeling "trapped" in their own homes that are plagued by rats and damp.
Anthony Bleakley lives with his family of six in a housing association home in Heywood, Manchester.
He told ManchesterEveningNews : "We only put this wallpaper up six months ago, it just falls off. But it's the hole in the floor below it that's the most shocking.
"We took up the laminate to show more evidence [of the damp]. I was standing on it and it just fell through."
Under the floorboards, he says he can see a "pool of water".
He added: "A lot of the water has gone now but there still is some. When it rains it fills up a lot."
Anthony, who has been living in the house for three years, has covered the gaping hole with a playhouse.
He said: "I'm a groundworker by trade so I know what's gone on."
On their road, the rising damp has affected multiple houses and is a failure of damp proof courses, according to Matthew Condrad, the director of Tenant Claim, who is representing Anthony's family.
He says the type of damp proofing the housing association used only has a lifespan of around 25 years - and now it has expired.
Two of the four kids in the home have asthma.
According to the NHS website, if there is mould and damp in the home "you're more likely to have respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma. Damp and mould can also affect the immune system".
Natalie Lake is another resident who lives on the road and fears for her children's health.
Her daughter, Jorja-Maria Lake, has recently been diagnosed with asthma.
She said: "She's only three. Her asthma gets so bad she ends up in hospital. She's very young."
Natalie's home has many of the same damp problems as Anthony's, she says.
She lifted up the laminate in different corners of her living room to expose the rotten floorboards.
She said: "When I walk around the house at night I can feel the floor breaking. I'm sure there's water underneath. It's just everywhere."
Natalie and Anthony have said that they've both been going to their housing association - Rochdale Boroughwide Housing - for help.
But so far, they claim that nothing has been done to properly combat the damp.
Natalie claims that when she had rats, it took them around three years to sort.
She added: "My mental health went through the roof with the rats. I just feel really upset and angry and frustrated."
Anthony said: "We keep reporting things but nothing is happening. They keep fobbing us off. They think they can get away with it because we live here and they've got us trapped."
The couple had plans to buy their home through Right to Buy in what would be a 'big saving', but are now put off by the 'disrepair' of the property.
He added: "We keep wanting to get the house done up but there's no point."
Lawyer Matthew Condrad told MEN: "The properties are affected by rising damp, which is rotting the floorboards, ruining furnishings, and threatening the health of residents.
"Floorboards are collapsing, and pools of water are visible underneath, from which water is rising into the floorboards, skirting boards and lower walls.
"This rising damp is due to failure of the damp proof courses. A chemical injection damp proof course has been inserted to alleviate damp, but its approximate 25-year lifespan has expired, meaning that urgent repairs are required in the area.
"Rat infestations are also a reoccurring problem, causing an additional health risk to residents."
A spokesperson from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing said: "We received a report of a rat infestation behind one set of homes on Cedar Avenue, Heywood in late 2021. Following a detailed survey, we commissioned extensive drainage work to rectify the problem. This was completed in late January 2022. We have not received any further reports of rats in this area.
"We recently received a report of damp in a home on Cedar Avenue. Our joiner attended on Friday, February 25, and confirmed that further work is required. We will undertake this work as quickly as possible.
"RBH tenants who need to report an issue can do so quickly and easily by phone, by e-mail to customerexperience@rbh.org.uk or via the MyRBH online portal."
The Mirror Online contacted Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and Rochdale Borough Council for a comment.
