As regular readers of these pages will be aware the owner of a private property at the centre of a rat infestation in **Fourth Street agreed earlier this week to carry out works to eliminate the problem.
I first contacted the authorities about this problem on Friday 6 May so this reaction follows over three weeks of constant pressure on the local authority to track the property owner down and advise them of their legal responsibility to maintain their property to an acceptable standard.
As part of this process, and following an inspection carried out on Monday morning by pest control officers, the owners/landlords of other private properties in the area which may be contributing to the problem have also been contacted with the same request to keep their properties to a decent standard and free of rubbish accumulations which can harbour vermin - this includes the back yards of properties too.
Although this particular issue in Fourth Street may hopefully be drawing to a close there has been a lot of confusion, misunderstanding and deliberate misrepresentation locally and on social media about where responsibility lies for dealing with things like rat infestations in private properties.
Contrary to popular belief the council has no legal right to enter a private property to inspect it or to tackle things like infestations until the landlord/property owner has been allowed a strictly defined period of time to address the issue themselves. This is a legal requirement beyond the control of the local authority.
A link to the Citizens’ Advice page sets out the process whereby a local council can play a part in contacting the landlord or property owner and engage informally at first to encourage them to carry out remedial works. If the landlord/owner refuses to carry out the works required, or ignores the council’s request, then a legal process comes into play - and this can be a drawn out and costly exercise. Obviously this isn’t in anyone’s interests so the aim of the local authority is always to urge the landlord/owner to agree to carry out remedial works to their property as soon as possible - and this is precisely what has happened with the case in Fourth Street following my intervention with the council on behalf of residents.
For information this is the link to the relevant page on the Citizens’ Advice website: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-in-rented-housing/repairs-common-problems/repairs-infestations-of-pests-and-vermin/
In addition to those measures set out above it is expected that the council’s Selective Licensing Scheme, adopted by the authority in April this year after four long years of campaigning, will assist in holding private sector landlords to account for the condition of their properties. Full details can be found in an article published last year elsewhere on this site: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+licensing+scheme&max-results=20&by-date=true
**Full details of the issues at Fourth Street, including links to background information, can be found in a series of articles published recently on my blog:
Sunday 29 May 2022: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2022/05/vermin-in-fourth-street.html
Monday 30 May 2022: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2022/05/update-report-on-vermin-in-fourth-street.html
Wednesday 1 June 2022: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2022/06/progress-with-vermin-issue-in-fourth.html?m=1
Finally, with reference to the ongoing issues at Fourth Street, let’s hope the landlord stays true to their word and reacts sooner rather than later to this problem. The residents of Fourth Street and the surrounding area deserve nothing less.
If you have concerns about any similar incidents in your area please contact the council on: https://www.durham.gov.uk/environment or if you prefer you can get in touch with me direct at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk and I’ll do whatever I can to help.
