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Mazarrón’s Ayuntamiento says it is ready to carry out an intensive clean-up at a rat-infested home on Pablo Picasso Street, but cannot legally enter the property until a judge gives the green light. The update comes after growing concern from neighbours about rodents seen in the area following earlier complaints about rats “running riot” around the house.

 

At a press conference, mayor Ginés Campillo, together with councillors Carmen Navarro (Health and Civil Protection) and María Isabel Carrillo (Social Policy), outlined the steps taken so far and the limits of what the Ayuntamiento can do. Campillo explained that the affected property is a private residence and that this “significantly influences” how the municipality may intervene. The resident has a level 3 disability and was legally declared incapacitated in 2012, and, crucially, his legal guardians have since died.

 

The mayor added that the man had been part of an intensive social intervention programme since 2011 due to vulnerability and social exclusion, but left it in 2015 after refusing further help. Campillo stressed that since 2023 the Ayuntamiento has “repeatedly” tried to offer support, without success. An urgent request to the courts for permission to enter the home was turned down because it was not considered an emergency, so the case is now progressing via ordinary legal channels. He underlined that without either judicial authorisation or the owner’s consent, “the Ayuntamiento cannot legally access the property.”

 

In the meantime, the focus has been on the surrounding streets. Navarro explained that, given the impossibility of acting inside the home, “rodent control treatments have been carried out in the surrounding areas, in accordance with health protocols.” She said a specialist company and municipal teams are on standby and “prepared to act immediately with an intensive treatment inside the building” as soon as a court order or other legal basis allows access.

 

Carrillo emphasised that from the moment the situation was detected, there has been coordinated work “between the different councillors involved and the entire Ayuntamiento, using all available means” to try to resolve the problem, always “within the legal framework” and with particular attention to the vulnerable situation of the resident.

 

The Ayuntamiento insists it continues to work “actively and responsibly” to bring the matter under control, balancing public health concerns with strict respect for current legislation and the rights of the person living in the property.

 

Imaes: Ayuntamiento de Mazarrón and Joshua J. Cotten/Unsplash