Local woman claims rats have infested her home since Hurricane Irma

A local mother is living with rats in her home and has been for about half a year; she claims her landlord isn’t doing anything about it.

There are rats in the kitchen, on the stairs and even in the walls.

“It’s crazy. Rats are in the whole house, traveling the whole house,” tenant Mikia Rochester said.

Rochester said rats have taken over her and her neighbors’ Mayport Landing apartments.

“She told me she killed like, 20, rats within a 24-hour period. Who has to live like that,” Rochester said.

It’s been a problem she has been living with since Hurricane Irma and she said despite calls to her landlord and code enforcement, rats are still in her home.

“They just tell me there’s nothing we can do, that’s not a reason to let you out of your lease,” Rochester said.

But Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said it is a reason.

“They are required under state law to fix that problem to your satisfaction or you don’t have to live there,” Carson said.

There is a form tenants can fill out and give to their landlord.

“You have to give seven days’ notice, but once you’ve given notice, they fix the problem or you’re free to leave,” Carson said.

We went to Suncoast Property Management to see if there are plans to fix the issue.

“We are still looking into it, seeing what’s going on and I don’t want any comments,” a manager said.

The management company has an ‘A’ rating on the Better Business Bureau’s website.

Action News Jax did find that there have been 24 complaints regarding housing problems in the last three years.

“I don’t feel like I should have to pay to get out of an apartment that is infested with rats living in the walls,” Rochester said.

If you plan to submit a notice to your landlord, Carson said to make sure you document it with a picture or video to you can prove you sent it.

Cox Media Group