A WOMAN was horrified after she found a rat climbing out of her toilet – before her landlord said she was lying.
Elle Silvester, 20, from Canterbury, Kent, found rats drowning in her toilet bowl two days in a row in December.
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She later saw rats scurrying around the kitchen of the rented house, which also had mould, faulty plumbing and a broken washing machine.
Elle told KentOnline: “One of our housemates woke up to find the ungodly sight of a rat in our shared girls’ toilet.
“The rat, still alive, couldn’t get out of the toilet bowl and drowned.
“We reported it and disposed of it in a plastic bag in the bin.
“The next morning, the same thing happened. Once again, it drowned and we updated the letting agents immediately.
“We thought we were being paranoid, but the same night we saw a rat run across our kitchen and hide behind our fridge.”
Elle’s landlord laid some traps, but refused to take further action after no rats were caught.
The student said: “To be told there was no rodent activity when we could clearly hear it was beyond frustrating.
“So many problems arose which made living an absolute headache.
“At first it was little problems like dripping taps, a broken washing machine and broken drawers.
“Then we moved onto having mould. We’d clean it and it would come straight back no matter what we did.
“Ultimately, the whole ordeal has been stressful and uncomfortable. We couldn’t bear the rats or mould anymore.
“It’s affected our studies and it’s affected our social and personal lives.”
Elle and her seven housemates finally moved out after her horrifying encounter with the rats in the toilet bowl.
Inspectors later found a leak in the roof, mould and fresh rodent droppings at the property.
A spokesperson for letting agent Varsity Canterbury said: “We sympathise with any tenants who encounter problems during their tenancy and we’ll always work quickly to address issues reported to us on behalf of the landlord.
“In this particular case, each time an issue has been reported, we’ve arranged for a relevant professional contractor to attend on the owners’ behalf – in some cases within hours of the report.
“It’s not always possible for issues to be resolved immediately and often they require further appointments and also action from the tenants.”
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