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“Huge rat problem with Abbey New Homes properties”

written by ejb117 on 02/02/2020

I bought my house on an Abbey New Homes development in 2007 under a shared equity scheme in which Abbey New Homes own 25% of the properties in the scheme. Both of my neighbours in our terrace of three are also part of this scheme. I've had massive problems with rats getting into the cavity walls and up into the loft, which has been worsening in the past few years. I thought it was only me who was experiencing these issues but in October last year I discovered that lots of my neighbours on the estate are also having huge problems with rats getting into the cavity walls and up into the lofts. It's making our lives a misery, constantly hearing scuffling, pattering, gnawing, and chewing in the cavity walls and lofts and I've spent hundreds of pounds on pest control. I've contacted Environmental Health at Canterbury City Council about these issues, but they are adamant that the problem is 'the poor quality of the build' of Abbey New Homes' properties. One of my neighbours dug down the side of his house to try and find out how the rats are getting into his house and found big gaps with open access to his cavity walls. Despite being in correspondence with the person I dealt with of Abbey New Homes, he tells me that they can do nothing about it. If you're thinking of buying a home from this company, I would strongly advise you do do some thorough research first.