Housing corporation sues Vlissingen tenant over home full of rats

Housing corporation l’Escaut has sued a tenant, asking the court to force the Vlissingen woman to cooperate in cleaning her seriously filthy home. The home is filled with rats and mice, and they’re spreading to the surrounding area. l’Escaut says it can only address the issue by clearing everything out of the home, but the woman refuses to cooperate, Omroep Zeeland reports.

The woman’s neighbors contacted the housing corporation on July 19, reporting that they could see mice and rats in the home's curtains. Employees tried to contact the woman, but she didn’t open the door.

A few days later, the police also responded to the home after neighbors reported their concerns about the woman. This time, she did open the door. The responding officers found a seriously dirty home, filled to the brim with stuff.

The woman showed the police officers the door a short time later, but they’d seen enough to escalate the matter and call in help. That afternoon, the Emergis crisis service went to the home with the police, enforcement officers, and l’Escaut employees.

They found rats and mice running wild through the house. Crisis workers gave the woman and her daughter oxygen because of the strong ammonia smell caused by the rodent droppings before moving them to the crisis center.

But that did not solve the problem. The rodents are spreading to other homes in the neighborhood, and the woman’s home is so filled with stuff that the housing corporation cannot effectively deal with the plague.

According to l’Escaut, despite repeated requests, the woman won’t let it clear out the house. So, the housing corporation went to court. “We have not yet been able to look under the stuff in the house, so we do not know what the condition of the house is,” a l’Escaut employee said.

The court said it realizes the need for haste in this decision - because the rodents are spreading and because l’Escaut would like to deal with the situation while the woman and her daughter are staying at the Emergis crisis center. It will rule within a week.