Woman losing sleep over rats under floorboards
BBCRat infestations, damp and mould are causing a housing group's residents "nothing but stress".
Courtney Mannion and Anne Purchase-Walker have both complained to their landlord, housing association Thirteen Group, about the conditions of their homes on Northbourne Road in Stockton-on-Tees.
Ms Mannion said she could hear rats scratching about in her walls at night, which was "sickening".
Thirteen Group has since offered her temporary accommodation while it deals with the rats and apologised.
Ms Purchase-Walker said she contacted Thirteen about mould problems when she moved into her home in 2015 and said the advice was to increase the temperature of the house and make a hole in the door of the front bedroom.
She made a formal complaint to Thirteen, but said it then "dropped out" of the remediation process after offering her compensation.
"It has taken eight-and-a-half years to get the problems resolved," she said.
Ms Purchase-Walker is now taking the case to the housing ombudsman to help other tenants.
'Absolutely disgusting'
Ms Mannion, who lives with her two young children, said she complained to Thirteen about rats on and off for the past five years, but said the problem was worse now.
Pest control was sent to the home and rat poison put down.
But the issue now, she said, was that some dead rats were trapped under the floor, creating a "vile" odour which was "absolutely disgusting".
"I can't even get any sleep at night because you can hear them scratching. They're in the walls, banging about," Ms Mannion said. "It's sickening."
She said she was upset her neighbours on either side had been rehoused, but she "is expected to put up with it".
"It's nothing but stress."
Ms Mannion said she often slept downstairs with her children because the smell of the decomposing rats under the floor upstairs was so intense.
Since speaking with the BBC, Ms Mannion has been offered temporary accommodation while the work to remove the decaying rats is ongoing.
Thirteen's director of operations, Kay Glew, said: "When we were made aware of reports of pests, we've remained committed to working with our pest control contractor to address the issue, visiting the property four times to carry out treatment.
"During this time, we have also offered Ms Mannion and her family temporary accommodation.
"If our customers wish to move home, we can support them through the application process, where homes are allocated based on priority banding.
"We are very sorry Ms Mannion has been experiencing these issues."