"Rats have forced me out of my rented home"

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The rise in complaints about rat infestations must be ‘tackled with urgency’ says the Housing Ombudsman for England. The number of social housing tenants complaining to the Ombudsman about rats in their property has risen ten fold in the past four years, from 71 complaints in 2019/20 to 759 in 2022/23. The government says the Social Housing Regulation Act has introduced new powers to crack down on poor practice by landlords. But we've been hearing from tenant, Michaela Ali, who says rats have ruined her life. The rise in complaints about rats and other pests is likely due to various factors, including increased awareness of the complaints procedure. The British Pest Control Association says they saw pest patterns change considerably under the lockdowns introduced in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this episode of our 5 Minutes On podcast, the BBC's North of England correspondent Fiona Trott has been hearing from tenants in Greater Manchester about the problems they’re facing right now. (Image: Getty Images)