A young woman was forced to live in a shipping container for three months after her flat was completely overrun by rats.
Tia Henderson, 20, who was in foster care until she turned 18, has lived in her ground floor housing association flat for two years, and said everything there was fine until July this year.
She started hearing scratching sounds in her wall and thought she was “going crazy”, until she noticed two rodents scurrying around her kitchen one day while she was sitting on the sofa, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Tia immediately called pest control, but while an exterminator put poison down, he warned her one-bedroom flat, managed by Great Places Oldham, was likely to have a “big infestation”.
Six months later, the problem hasn’t been resolved, meaning Tia has resorted to sofa surfing and sleeping in a shipping container and her friends’ car.
After she contacted Oldham Council, she was offered temporary accommodation, but none would accept pets, meaning she would no longer be able to live with her dog and best friend, Tinny.
She felt like she couldn’t let her companion go, so now Tia has been classed as “intentionally homeless”, which means she can end up losing the right to some kinds of support.
Oldham Council admitted that rats were likely to have gained access to her home through holes in the wall and said her pet food attracted them. However, Tia says her dog’s food was shut in a container.
Some repairs have already started, the council said, adding that there had been “access issues” to fix the problem due to the property being vacant since Tia left.
She has now been offered temporary accommodation and has been assured the problem will be fixed “as soon as possible”, and is expected to be able to move back in over the coming weeks.
Tia says that she was “mortified” and “instantly felt itchy and horrible” when she first saw two “baby rats” playing on her kitchen rugs about a foot away from her.
“My flat was clean and tidy so I had no idea where they had come from,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
“Pest control came out and put their first lots of poison down. When they came to check it a week later it was gone. I was told there must have been a big infestation for it to be eaten that quickly."
As she was offered no emergency accommodation that accepted dogs, she decided to move into a shipping container at an animal centre where she volunteers, before later sofa surfing.
"I made a commitment to my dog when I got him. A dog is for life. I have no family, he is my only family. I explained that he saved my life and kept my mental health stable,” Tia said.
A spokesperson for Oldham Council, said: “We are sorry to hear that one of our residents has been dealing with an infestation in her property.
“We can confirm that this resident is currently living in temporary accommodation while the issue is addressed, and some repairs are carried out. We have offered to pay for the temporary accommodation and, once complete, she will be able to move back into her home.
“No other tenants in the block have reported an infestation problem, so our housing team is confident that the problem is down to a combination of holes in the wall allowing for access, and pet food attracting the rats.
“We are working with this tenant to action the repairs and put into place any preventable measures.
“Some repairs have been done to the property already and further repairs have been identified. As the property is currently vacant, there have been some issues with access which has delayed the remaining repairs and pest control being carried out.
“These repairs are a priority, and we are working with the resident to have these carried out as soon as possible.
“Further investigations will also be carried out to rule out any other potential access points. The council and Great Places are supporting this resident to make sure she can move back into her home as quickly as possible.”
In a joint statement, housing association Great Places and maintenance contractors Wates Living Space said: “We are sorry for the issues Tia has experienced with her home and we are working with her to carry out repairs that will allow her to return as soon as possible.
“We are committed to providing and maintaining homes that protect the wellbeing and safety of our customers and we are in regular contact with Tia to arrange access to the property to carry out the necessary repairs.
“We have also agreed to install new flooring, provide new white goods, and provide replacement furniture so that Tia can return home.
“We are carrying out an urgent review of what has caused Tia to have to move out of her home and to ensure we respond urgently to any findings it may identify.”
