‘We’re paying rent to live in squalor’ claim angry residents
By Laura Lyne
RESIDENTS in a Tallaght housing estate have said that they are being forced to “live in squalor” due to continuous dumping in a neighbour’s back garden.
A number of residents from the Brookview Court housing estate have contacted The Echo about the conditions of their neighbour’s back garden and raised health and safety concerns about the rubbish, which they say has caused an increase of rats in their gardens.
One resident who contacted The Echo said that the garden is left in a “state” and that the issue has been ongoing for more than a year, despite constant contact with their housing co-operative NABCO.
They said: “The whole estate is having issues with this. It’s an ongoing issue – cookers and fridges are even being dumped out the back garden, stuff in bags has just been left there for months.
“A skip was ordered probably around this time last year, but once that was cleared they didn’t care again and just started dumping the rubbish again.
“I had rats appear on my shed earlier this year and I know that the rats are coming from there. Other neighbours have had rats coming over their wall.
“Once the sun starts coming out and the heat hits, the smell off it is unbearable. We have to keep our windows and back doors closed constantly.
“We have to stick to our tenancy agreement, which includes keeping the house and the garden in a respectable condition, although it seems this person doesn’t have to stick with the deal.
We’re paying rent to live in squalor. It’s disgusting – everything we say is just going on deaf ears.”
A representative from NABCO told The Echo: “We are aware of the issue in relation to the accumulation of refuse in a garden in Brookview Court. The situation is under constant review by the local housing officer and buildings officer.
“Another skip has already been organised to address the situation. We remain in contact with the resident in relation to the requirements of the tenancy agreement in this regard.
“Our local office has no record of local residents raising concerns in relation to rats arising from this issue. However, as a precautionary measure, we have arranged for independent contractors to visit the site and address the possibility of pests being present.
“We will pursue any measures suggested by the independent contractors. The resident in question has been billed for all remedial actions taken to date and will be again in this instance.”
