Wheatley Homes tenant in Glasgow says she has become her own 'rat catcher' amid infestation fears

A social housing tenant in Glasgow says she has trained herself to become a rat catcher in her own home.

Linda McDonald, who is partially sighted, believes rats have been entering her home through vents and pipework.

She said she was left by her landlord Wheatley Homes to deal with the problem alone, claiming the stress has taken a toll on her health.

“I’ve trained myself now so that the minute I hear a noise, I know where one is,” Linda told STV News.

“I know what direction it’s going in, I know how to deal with it.

Rats have been entering Linda's home. — Rats have been entering Linda’s home. STV News

“I’ve had to physically deal with disposing of rats myself in this accommodation. I’ve been bitten and I am fearful.

“People say to me, ‘how do you remain there? I would have left, I would have fled the accommodation’.

“This has been a gradual process over the seven years, where I’ve basically trained myself to become a Wheatley Homes tenant rat catcher, if you like, in order to live in my accommodation.”

Linda’s situation comes as a new survey highlights wider problems within Wheatley Homes, Scotland’s largest social landlord.

A survey of 51 tenants carried out by the campaign group Living Rent showed almost three-quarters (74.5%) had reported mould or damp in their homes.

Of the 51 who completed the survey, 37 made a claim about mould or damp and more than a third (34.2%) said they had been living with the issue for more than five years.

Despite tenants raising issues with their housing officers, many say landlords are failing to sort out the problems quickly.

In Linda’s case, she is scared to open the cupboard under her kitchen sink in case a rat jumps out.

“I’ve placed a black bin liner down so that I can hear them when they come up the back of the unit,” she said.

“I’ve fought with rats in here many times. I’ve had them freely running out of the cupboard and running about the floor.”

Linda wiping down her kitchen worktop. STV News

A spokesperson for Wheatley Homes said: “We take all reports of rodents seriously, and our pest control team has visited the home on a number of occasions. There have been no further reports of rodents since May.

“We agreed to delay the upgrade of the bathroom because the tenant wanted an occupational therapist assessment.”

Wheatley Homes also said they respond to mould reports within two days and treat it within 15, but just 12% of tenants surveyed by Living Rent said those targets had been met.

“Our response times meet or exceed Awaab’s Law standards in England,” the spokesperson added.

“If the 37 people in this anonymous survey are our tenants and have reported mould, that would represent just 0.08% of our homes in Glasgow.

“While 0.08% is still too many, it is just 0.08%. It doesn’t reflect the strong processes and reporting we collect for the Scottish Housing Regulator.

“We asked Living Rent for further details, but they haven’t provided them.”