Students are worried about stepping on the rodents (Picture: Getty/Google)
University students are considering a rent strike as their halls of residence are infested with rats.
Undergrads living in Leadmill Point and Archways halls of residence in Sheffield say ‘almost everyone’ has rats or mice in their homes.
All the residents are studying at either the University of Sheffield or Sheffield Hallam University.
They say they’re not even able to take off their shoes around the house due to the risk of stepping on vermin.
One student, who didn’t want to be named, first saw rats in her flat in October – only a month after moving in, adding that ‘almost everyone’ has rodents in their flats.
She told the BBC: ‘There are so many roaming around we can’t go into our kitchen without wearing shoes.’
Residents at the halls are threatening to withhold rent (Picture: Google)
The landlords say they’re working with pest control and contractors (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Another said they had seen rats in their bedroom and kitchen, explaining: ‘We are paying to stay here in a proper way and they [the landlord] should handle it as soon as possible.
‘How can we stay in our bedrooms living with mice and rats?’
A third student said international students were expecting better conditions in the flats due to the adverts for the building, saying ‘we are paying this much, we were expecting something to be nice’.
A University of Sheffield spokesperson said: ‘If any of our students face issues in privately-owned accommodation, we recommend they make contact with the University’s Student Services Information Desk SSiD or the Student Unions’ Student Advice Centre, who will be able to support them in making a complaint.’
A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam added: ‘Any students who need support can access specialist help and advice from our Accommodation Services and Student’s Union.’
A spokesperson for Unite Students, which runs the halls of residence, told Metro.co.uk: ‘We are committed to doing what’s right and always give student welfare and safety our utmost priority.
‘We are working closely with pest control and contractors and are also offering weekly cleaning support to residents.’
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The university halls infestation comes as new figures show thousands of rats, cockroaches and bedbugs have been found at NHS hospitals in England as the health service faces huge repair bills.
The Guardian’s review of a Freedom of Information response found hospital bosses are having to spend millions of pounds on pest control after discovering lice, flies and rodents in children’s wards, breast clinics, maternity units, A&E departments and kitchens.
There have been more than 18,000 pest incidents at English hospitals in the last three years – and more than 18 every day last year.
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