Housing Ombudsman: Orbit Group must pay Erith rats case compensation

Jim Smith and his family spent years reporting a persistent rodent problem in their housing association property in Avenue Road, Erith.

The association, Orbit Group, has apologised after the Housing Ombudsman found there had been evidence of a “major” rat infestation in the house before the family even lived there.

No evidence could be provided of any attempt to fix it before the Smiths arrived.

“What’s gone on is a shambles,” said Jim.

“The man from the Housing Ombudsman said he has never come across anything like this.”

The ombudsman has ordered Orbit to pay more than £3,000 compensation.

Orbit has also admitted that it owns other houses in Avenue Road with rat problems too – but has now vowed to fix them once and for all.

Rat infestations in Avenue Road, Erith, are believed to be down to extensions which were added onto the rears of the houses (Image: Charles Thomson)

Hotels

Jim, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and spina bifida, moved into the house with his wife and four children in October 2018.

The family, who previously lived in Welling, first reported rats in May 2019.

They reported them again in January 2020, but the Housing Ombudsman found Orbit did not act until January 2021 – and even then, the problem continued.

By spring 2021, with the family still reporting rats, they were moved into a hotel while repair works were carried out.

“Putting four kids in a hotel for 15 weeks does harm,” said Jim. “The older kids are under mental health now.”

And it was in vain, he said, because almost as soon as the family returned home, so did the rats.

Jim Smith said the years-long ordeal had left two of his children requiring mental health intervention (Image: Charles Thomson)

Rats

One cupboard was so infested, said Jim, that the family had to block it off and stop using it.

During a visit by the News Shopper, it remained sealed up.

“The kids were sitting there doing their school work and you could see the door moving,” he said.

“We had a punchbag up against it to keep it closed but their tails were sticking out under the gap.”

The infestation left the family living in unsanitary conditions. 

“As soon as you walked in the house, you could smell dying rats," said Jim.

He had to throw away a collection of Charlton Athletic FC memorabilia, including match programmes, going back to the 1970s.

“All my match programmes were soaking wet with rat urine,” he said. “Our wedding photo album was chewed to pieces as well.”

He said the family was now asking loved ones to send them their own photos from the big day, to put together a new one.

In November 2022, pest controllers found evidence of “heavy rat activity” in the house.

Two months later, Environmental Health also noted “obvious” rat activity.

The cupboard where the rat infestation was previously concentrated was still sealed up when the News Shopper visited (Image: Charles Thomson)

“Failure”

After investigating, the Housing Ombudsman found the family’s home had been rat-infested for a “considerable period of time”, with “potential health implications”.

It found a “failure” by Orbit in 2020 to investigate properly or arrange specialist help.

Orbit also “failed to comply” with a 2021 recommendation by Environmental Health to fix the problem.

Orbit accepted responsibility for around 19 months of delays in dealing with the problem, between September 2019 and April 2021, and admitted that its failures contributed to the problem reoccurring.

The ombudsman ordered Orbit to pay the family £3,293.44 compensation.

One of many rats which infested the Smith family's home, caught in a trap (Image: Jim Smith)

Apology

Orbit has now upheld a separate complaint by Jim.

It said it was “truly sorry” and the attitude towards the family from its staff had been “unacceptable”.

The company gave them a further £470 compensation.

During our visit to Jim's home, a neighbour, who did not wish to be identified, said they too were an Orbit tenant and had a rat infestation.

Orbit has admitted multiple properties are affected. The problem is believed to be linked to rear extentions added onto the properties after their original construction.

“We are very sorry about the issues that Mr Smith has experienced," Orbit said.

“Mr Smith has not received the standard of service that customers deserve and we recognise the negative impact that this has had on Mr Smith and his family."

It said it was "committed to providing a long-term solution for all affected residents.”

“Once our surveys are complete, the remedial works will need to be resolved with the local council and then go through a procurement process,” it added.