Birmingham Council Apologizes as Tenant Pays £1,200 for Rat-Infested Flat with Sewer in Bedroom
Birmingham City Council has issued a full apology after a woman revealed her horrific living conditions in a rat-infested flat, where she has been sleeping next to a live sewer manhole. The council uncovered the manhole in her bedroom during an investigation into the root cause of the pest infestation plaguing her Kingstanding property.
Unsafe and Uninhabitable Conditions
The 28-year-old tenant's flat has now been declared unsafe and uninhabitable, forcing her to move into temporary housing. Despite this, she is currently required to pay a total of £1,200 for both her original flat and the bed-and-breakfast accommodation. This financial burden comes after a six-year backlog of complaints about rodents, which she has repeatedly reported to the authorities.
In response to the situation, Birmingham City Council stated: “We are sorry to hear about the anxiety this is causing. Due to the nature of the work that needs doing, Ms [redacted] has been placed in temporary accommodation. We have spoken to contractors about the importance of these works, and they are now being completed.”
Health and Employment Impacts
The woman also claimed that the ongoing issues have severely impacted her health and livelihood. She lost her job at a law firm due to having to be home for repeated attempts to fix the rat problem. Additionally, she suggested that the sewer beneath her bedroom floor has been making her and her younger brother unwell, exacerbating their distress.
“Because of the stress, the anxiety, my mental health's deteriorating, I'm not getting any sleep,” she said. “I've had this issue for the past six years, I've done everything I could possibly do, it's not going to go away.”
Investigation and Ongoing Support
The council has pledged to send a team to conduct a post-works survey and an inspection for rat treatment. An officer will also be in touch to provide ongoing support and reassurance. The tenant, who was on the waiting list for about a year before receiving the keys to her Kingstanding property in 2019, noted that demand for housing has escalated significantly since then.
Soon after moving in, she began noticing signs of the pest problem, including rat faeces and chewed wires. Any efforts to bid on other two-bedroom properties have resulted in her and her sibling coming 700th on the list. She was offered compensation earlier in the pest issues but refused it, hoping for a resolution that has yet to materialize.
Legal Advice and Future Concerns
The tenant is currently seeking legal advice, fearing that if she returns to the property, the problems will persist indefinitely. “If I go back into the property and say 'yeah, I'll go back in', I'll be stuck with the rat issue and the sewers for the rest of my life because I haven't been able to get out in six years,” she added.
The council's investigation into the sewer as a possible entry point for the rats has left her bedroom looking like a construction site, with the live manhole exposed. This situation highlights broader issues with housing safety and council responsiveness in Birmingham.
