“They move around in the common areas”: in Montpellier, rats proliferate at the foot of the buildings of a co-ownership

À quelques mètres de l’entrée des immeubles, les rats s’en donnent à cœur joie. Midi Libre – G. T.

Tenants denounce the increasingly visible and significant presence of rats near the entrance of some buildings in this vast condominium. They deplore the inaction of their trustee who himself deplores the illegal dumping of waste.

"You're here for the rats ?" At the foot of building I1 of the Cévennes condominium, the presence of a colony of rats has become one of the main topics of discussion. This Thursday morning, a few meters from the entrance, about fifteen brown rats measuring more than ten centimeters are fighting over pieces of bread and other waste that litter this abandoned flowerbed. A video attests to this proliferation.

"Inertia of the trustee"

A presence increasingly noticed and denounced by tenants. "Rats move freely in the common areas, which represents a serious danger to the health of residents and considerably degrades our quality of life" deplores one of the occupants of this vast real estate complex. At the slightest alert, the rats dive into the gaps in the slab or under a manhole cover.“The problem seems to be getting worse by the day. Faced with the inertia of the trustee, who is content with promises that are not followed up with action, we have tried to take steps ourselves but without success” adds this resident.

“Lack of respect”

The manager of the condominium that has just been divided and which is also the subject of a vast rehabilitation program led by the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRU), disputes this appreciation. "We did not sit idly by and the rat population has shrunk" says his operational manager, present three to four days a week at the residence. He observes that the rat colonies are fed by waste, sometimes thrown out of the windows at the end of breakfast… to feed the pigeons. “But little by little we are managing to raise awareness among residents”. In the stairwells, a poster raises awareness among residents about the increase in illegal dumping of rubbish. “This lack of respect for collection but also for the cleanliness of the residence increases the costs unnecessarily and further attracts rats” it is written.

Avoid feeding… pigeons

To deal with the proliferation of rodents, the condominium uses a subcontracting company, but due to significant unpaid charges, the contract with this service provider is no longer applied as it was before. “But it will be necessary to plan several interventions per year again”adds this manager. More garbage containers must also be made available to tenants by the end of the summer. “The problem is not specific to the Cévennes, it is also found on the Grand-Mail of La Paillade near the Assas tower. We have done a lot of campaigning and we will continue with the SA3M, with the children. The rats have so many food options” adds another FDI manager.

The tenants indicate that the City services have been alerted to the situation. “She must put pressure on the trustee. This situation reminds me of Marseille a few years ago" observes one of them. The fight against this type of pest remains the responsibility of the condominium trustee.

As part of the Anru project, building I, particularly affected by this health problem, must be partially demolished.

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