Contact Details | Online Services | |
Phone: | 024 7637 6405 | |
Fax: | 024 7637 6214 | |
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Service Unit: | Regeneration and Public Protection | |
Filthy and/or Verminous Premises
Premises that are considered verminous (which includes rats, mice, insects or parasites including their eggs, larvae and pupae) and/or in such a filthy condition as to be prejudicial to health (which usually means that there is a large amount of rotting food or human or animal excrement inside the property), can be classified as Filthy and Verminous premises under Public Health Act 1936. Such properties are frequently characterised by an accumulation of material that can make access to premises difficult and that may present a physical or fire risk to the occupants or those of adjoining premises.
Officers in the Environmental Protection Team, under the provisions of the Public Health Act 1936 or the Environmental Protection Act 1990, can take action to remedy such premises. These cases must be dealt with sensitively and normally in partnership with Adult and Community Services and other organisations.
Once the Council has been notified of such a premises, an officer from the Environmental Protection Team will carry out an inspection of the property to determine if enforcement action is required. If this is necessary discussions with the owner/occupier will take place to try and gain an agreement to remove all rubbish and articles and to thoroughly clean the property. If the owner/occupier fails to comply, the Council can serve a statutory notice requiring the property to be cleansed and all rubbish and filthy articles removed. It should be noted that the Council cannot use these powers to deal with properties that are merely unsightly, untidy or in a bad state of repair.
Failure to comply with the requirements of the notice may result in either prosecution and/or the Council carrying out the works in default (i.e. appointing a contractor) and recovering the costs back from the owner/occupier.
