Rats and mice in the neighbourhood

Here's a quick guide to tell you who to contact if you spot vermin in your area.

Parks

Please contact us on 020 525 2000, open 24 hours, or email parks@southwark.gov.uk if you think there is a problem with rats or mice in any of Southwark's parks.

Council housing estates

Sightings of rats or mice on housing estates should be reported to the area housing office. Click here to find your nearest area housing office.

Privately owned land

If rats and mice are causing a problem on privately owned land, e.g. an overgrown garden, building site etc, Southwark's Residential Group can serve a notice on the landowner. The notice will require that the land is treated and the problem dealt with.

We may not be able to help with the following

• Unregistered land. Unregistered land is simply land, the ownership of which is not registered at the Land Registry
• Accumulations of inert material such as building rubble
• Overgrown gardens. Unless it can be proved that it is attracting vermin

If we are able to help, we will usually serve a notice on the owner of the land requiring them to resolve the problem. The notice is a legal document listing all the work that must be carried out to rid the land of the problem. If the owner does not meet the conditions of the notice, we can take formal action against them.

A notice is usually served around two weeks after the first inspection of the property. The owner is given 28 days to deal with the problem, although it may take longer for the problem to be resolved.