Mum-of-four speaks out against housing provider over 18-month RAT INFESTATION at village home near Northampton
A mum of four living in a village near Northampton says her family has been forced to live alongside rats for over a year – and claims their housing provider has failed to act.
The mum, who lives with her partner and children in Walgrave, says the problem started in December 2023. But despite months of complaints to Futures Housing Group, she says little has changed.
After finally being moved out in March this year, the family returned in May to what she describes as a house still “full of rats.”
“We came home to rat poo all over our bed,” she said. “The rats are still in our house. It’s really, it’s awful.”
The mum, who the Chron has chosen not to name, says pest control was sent several times – but the issue was never resolved.
“They just send pest control, that was it, then we'd have to report again that they're still here. It was just a circle of that non-stop,” she said.
Her children, aged 13 to 16, are struggling to sleep due to the noise of rats beneath their beds.
She said: “They're waking me up in the early hours of the morning crying. And this is my older children. They've had to go through exams with barely any sleep.”
The mum claims the house is still in a poor state, with droppings in cupboards and poison left on bare floors.
“All they keep doing is pumping poison through the house. They’re leaving it on my floor. There’s no carpet. So we're constantly breathing this poison in.”
She also says Futures has gone quiet since the family moved back in on May 2, and has since complained to the Housing Ombudsman as well as get lawyers involved.
The mum said: “They've taken it upon themselves with the solicitor to ignore us. Not caring if my kids were safe, not caring about us at all as their tenants.”
With no recent support, the family says they’ve had to take matters into their own hands.
The mum said: “I'm catching these rats myself in the end. We’ve bought cages. We've caught massive rats. Like, they're not little, they're huge.”
The family has lived in the home for nearly 11 years with no previous issues. The mum added: “All I want is a safe, warm home for my kids. I want a normal life and I want to live in a normal house that I pay normal rent for. That’s it.”
In response, Futures Housing Group issued the following statement: “We are very much aware of the rodent problem at the home. We have been trying to resolve it for some time but it is proving to be a difficult challenge.
“We are now dealing with a formal complaint from the family through their lawyers and they have also raised a complaint with the Housing Ombudsman.
“As part of our response to that we are carrying out a full investigation. We will formally respond in line with our complaints policy and comply with any relevant instructions or recommendations from the Ombudsman.
“In the meantime we will continue trying to prevent the rats from returning and do our very best to support the family during the process.”