A dad has slammed council bosses for failing to act after being forced to live next door to a rat-infested abandoned house - which has been left to rot for over 20 YEARS. David Nicholls, 59, says he feels like he is living next to a "rat hotel" after hearing the rodents under his floorboards and seeing them scurry across his garden. The dad-of-two moved into his terraced home on Murray Avenue, in Abington, Northampton with his wife and two kids in 1998. His next door neighbour had moved out the year before and since then he says the property has been neglected to the point it has become a serious health hazard. The unsightly boarded-up house has smashed windows, messy overgrown gardens and the interior piled high with boxes and bags. He is now calling on West Northamptonshire Council to take enforcement action allowing them to take over the property and put it back into use as housing. He said: "I moved into the house in 1998, the guy next door left in 1997 and up until a few years ago you would only see him once every five years or so. "He'd spend a night there, light a bonfire and then he was off again, the house has just been abandoned and left to rot. "The council knows the property is empty. They keep saying it is working with the owner but nothing's changing. A West Northamptonshire Council spokesperson said: "The council continues to investigate, and progress action in line with the latest findings from the local government ombudsman. "The council is not the owner of the property, and is not responsible for the property. "WNC confirms that where possible it will take enforcement action to secure improvements to the property and the neighbourhood when the law allows.”