ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — An Albany mother says she and her children are afraid to stay inside their home after what she describes as weeks of living with rats, bats, roaches and deteriorating conditions.

Dee, who asked WALB to use only her first name to protect the identity of her children, moved into a duplex on Lucille Street about two months ago.

She says the problems started after the family moved in.

“They’re running around in my house,” Dee said, describing rats she says she has seen inside the home.

Dee provided WALB with cellphone video showing a rodent running in the home and bats swarming her vehicle near the carport. The video showed what appeared to be a mouse, not a rat.

She also provided photos showing apparent rodent droppings around window frames and portions of a ceiling that are deteriorating.

Dee says her children have heard scratching in the ceiling and feared bats were in the home. There was no video evidence of that.

‘I don’t feel safe’

Dee says the conditions have affected more than her family’s comfort.

She works as a self-employed cleaner and says she missed work after bats began swarming her vehicle.

She says she has since lost clients and is now trying to find temporary housing for herself and her children.

Dee has started a GoFundMe to help with those expenses.

What the landlord says

Dee provided WALB with screenshots of conversations with the landlord/property owner.

In those messages, the landlord acknowledges the rat problem and says he put down rat poison.

The landlord also told Dee that pest control is the tenant’s responsibility and referenced a pest-control provision in the lease.

That provision could be important to determining who is responsible for addressing the conditions at the property.

However, Georgia law requires landlords to ensure tenants are safe and fit for human habitation.

Landlord Responds: Blames tenant, cites ‘Endangered’ Bats

WALB spoke with the landlord, Wallace Miller, who manages 74 other rental tenants in the area.

Miller adamantly denied being responsible for the pest issues and accused Dee of fabricating the severity of the situation to “put him on blast” on social media.

“On the bats, I just got on the phone. The bats, they’re an endangered species,” Miller said. “I’ve got 74 other tenants. And on the bats, I can’t touch them because they breed from now to October... I’ll do a year to five years in prison if I touch them endangered species bats.”

Miller claimed he offered to move Dee to another unit and return her deposit, but says she refused and went to the media instead. He further claimed the duplex had been inspected by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for a previous HUD tenant who lived there for three years without complaining.

“Evidently, she brought [the rats] with her,” Miller said. “She had boxes in storage before she moved in.”

Miller said he offered to pay the tenant $1000 to leave. She says that’s not enough and is considering suing him.

Miller told WALB News 10 he reached out to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Resources Division regarding the bat infestation and is awaiting an official inspection.

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