A HOUSING firm has come under fire after it ended a free pest control service for residents.
Grangetown ward councillor Adam Brook said the decision by Beyond Housing came at a time when the majority of its tenants were “already living on or below the breadline and struggling every day to make ends meet”.
Cllr Brook said: “This is in the middle of a cost of living crisis and a noticeable rise in rodent issues evident in the number of complaints I have received over the past few months.
“I have to ask why they feel it is necessary to remove their obligation as social landlords and expect tenants to pay for such help from other organisations.”
Cllr Brook, an independent, said Redcar and Cleveland Council, to whom Beyond was now directing tenants, did have a limited pest control service available, but the treatment cost upwards of £85.
He added: “That is a month’s shopping to some families.
“Beyond Housing owns 90% of the housing stock in Grangetown alone and I feel they have a duty of care to residents.
“They are now directing all of their tenants to the council, having scrapped their free service without warning or consultation.”
He said he intended to raise the matter at a full meeting of the council next week to request a “plan of action”.
‘Not their problem’
Rob Hanley, who lives in Tennyson Close, Grangetown, and is a Beyond Housing tenant, said he had seen rats on five recent occasions scurrying around in his back garden.
He said: “No wonder these pests are going to breed if no-one is killing them.
“They come through from one side neighbour and go out the other side, so there must be other people seeing them.
“They [Beyond] never informed anybody that the service was getting stopped.
“It just looks like they are not bothered anymore and it’s not their problem.”
Mr Hanley, 75, said he enjoyed spending time in his back garden watching birds, but made a point of keeping his back door closed.
He said: “Something has to be done about it or it is just going to escalate.
“I think more residents would be unhappy if they knew about it.”
A spokesman for Beyond Housing said the free pest control service had only been discretionary.
He said: “Pest control has always been a discretionary service to customers and not part of their tenancy service agreement.
“We will always work with customers who need help and we would be pleased to work directly with Councillor Brook in identifying cases where intervention and support is required, especially in instances of financial hardship.”
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