Rats infest rent homes

ONE in nine privately rented homes in England has had problems with vermin such as rats, mice or cockroaches in the past year, research from Shelter suggests.

A survey for the housing charity found that 11 per cent of such places have been affected – equating to almost half a million homes if the findings were projected across England.

Almost half (49 per cent) of tenants surveyed said they’d experienced poor conditions or disrepair in the past 12 months.

More than a third (34 per cent) of private renters said they’d lived in a property with damp or mould and 22 per cent said they had suffered due to poor insulation.

A further 11 per cent of renters also reported electrical hazards, the survey of 3,700 private renters in England found.